nature. man. machine.
you may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension. - nikola tesla
i have a unwavering distrust of the technological machine world and the humans who are creating it with evermore fervor, celebration, and hubris. my reasons should be obvious but i’m not getting the sense that most feel as i do. it is what it is. i’m here and so are you. we make the best of it. or we don’t. we forge a different path. or we stay on the well-trodden one. i certainly don’t know why we humans do what we do. but i sure ain’t the kind to sit quietly and do as i’m told. not because i think it will make any difference. it won’t. it’s about being true to myself and those i love so i don’t look back on my life and feel all kinds of regret. to all you fellow rabble-rousers i salute you.
one of my favorite films is ‘dreams’ by akira kurosawa. be sure to take a look if you’ve never seen it. it’s a beautiful and horrifying expression of humanity.
“people today have forgotten they're really just a part of nature. yet, they destroy the nature on which our lives depend. they always think they can make something better. especially scientists. they may be smart, but most don't understand the heart of nature. they only invent things that, in the end, make people unhappy. yet they're so proud of their inventions. what's worse, most people are, too. they view them as if they were miracles. they worship them. they don't know it, but they're losing nature. they don't see that they're going to perish. the most important things for human beings are clean air and clean water.” - akira kurosawa
much that aldous huxley shared with the world was like a sparkling jewel of insight and vision. he never fails to frighten, comfort, challenge, and inspire. if you’ve not explored his offerings, now would be a most excellent time to do so given the way things are going.
“technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” - aldous huxley
edward abbey is a man worth hanging out with. his book ‘the monkey wrench gang’ put a big smile on my face when i read it as i rode my motorcycle across america some years ago. he seems to have been a witty, funny, and tough fella.
“anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners”…. “men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear-the earth remains, slightly modified. the earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break....i sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. rock and sun.” - edward abbey
alan watts has been a most delightful blessing in my life. check him out if you’ve not had the chance. you’ll not regret it.
“technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize that they are one and the same process as the universe. ” - alan watts
to wrap this up. here’s a recent poem i wrote regarding technology and the moment we’re living in.
imagine you were told you had to take a drug
that made you stare at a screen for hours a day.
would you willingly pay for, and take, that drug?
are you truly happy when you interact with your devices?
does it bring you lasting satisfaction? peace? contentment?
does it make you anxious? lonely? troubled? fearful?
why have these machines taken over our lives?
why have we let them?
what is with the bits and bytes? the ones and zeros?
the algorithmic vibes that push and pull
our minds and hearts every which way?
why are we staring at screens for hours a day?
why did we incarnate? for this?
what would happen if we unplugged? turned off the screens?
and instead, began to relate; grow our food; dance with our neighbors; read each other stories; sing each other songs; comfort the dying; cradle the newborns;
and simply chose to be a human, being!
would the world fall apart and chaos ensue?
would our lives and relationships begin to heal?
would we experience a collective reunion and reawakening?
i wonder.
how about you?