A few days ago I passed the cubbyholes at school where some of the students store their belongings, and saw this little panda peeking out at me. It's wearing a little sash with words on it but I didn't stop to read them. Something about being cared for? A hospital gift, maybe.
I hate to say I had a busy day yesterday, because I say that all the time and it's not very inspired blogging. But holy cow, this whole week has been busy. For one thing, I've been helping to process probably a hundred new books, which means adding stickers, stamps, covers and labels to each and every one. (Well, some come pre-covered, which always makes my heart sing.) Covering books is kind of an enjoyable task, like vacuuming -- I can mostly turn off my brain and I'm left with a satisfyingly improved product at the end. It does take time, and I'm not sure it's my life's purpose, exactly, but I don't mind it.
Besides, who says life has a purpose? As I've always said, I'm not a deeply philosophical person -- I don't spend a lot of time pondering the mysteries of the universe. To the extent that I do, I believe we're all basically happy accidents. Nature is chaos, a primordial stew of chemicals and DNA, and from that emerge all the ever-evolving life forms that surround us, including us. And I could just as easily have been an entirely different person, if a different sperm had connected with my mother's egg, or if the same gametes came together in a slightly different way. There is no grand or divine plan.
I was listening to my QAA podcast last night and they were talking about the Religious Right, and how evangelical Christians really do believe that this world is merely a veil overhanging the real, spiritual world beyond. That we're all in a sort of Holy Holding Pattern, waiting to begin our real existences in the Great Beyond. I just do not understand this kind of thinking. I see how it can foster a conspiracy mindset, because then you don't need evidence to believe anything -- people who are heavily spiritual can take information on faith and stand by it as their reality. I'm not saying all Christians are conspiracists, and in fact I grew up in a liberal Protestant church and absorbed none of those tendencies. But there's definitely a link between evangelical, faith-based thinking and Q-Anon and other forms of political mysticism.
So, yeah, that is not me. I am an evidence-based person, and I suppose I'm a bit nihilistic. I don't think we have a purpose at all as individuals, beyond the biological imperative of perpetuating the species. (And I've even failed at that!) I do believe we have a moral responsibility to be kind to each other and to the creatures with which we share the planet. That's not a divine imposition, though -- that's just our human responsibility as self-aware beings who have evolved beyond beetles and fleas.
Does that make any sense? Maybe not. That podcast got my mind spinning and this is where it took me.
Speaking of fleas, I passed this disgusting, wadded-up bag on the sidewalk on my walk home, and it immediately reminded me of one of those electron-microscope images of a flea. Can you see it?
Right?!
Olga was a complete pill last night. She decided at 3:30 a.m. that night was over and it was time to get up. After lots of whining and licking and carrying on I got up and let her out into the back garden, and when she came back in I went back to bed. She eventually joined us for another hour or so, but at 5 a.m. she was raring to go again. I think she'd completely forgotten that she'd already been out just a short time earlier. She's a very sweet dog but her brain is not very big.
Dave's been saying for years that we need a new light fixture for the dining room. Last night I passed this one sitting on someone's wall next to the rubbish bins. I texted him: "Do we want this light fixture?" I'm thinking with some black paint it could be pretty cool, maybe a bit like the one that cast shadowy lines on the walls of our cabin in Whitstable.
But Dave texted back an understated "no," which probably actually meant "NO!" So I left it.
And now the dog is being a pill again, wanting her walk. We shall philosophize again another day.
I totally agree with your philosophy on Life...and with Dave's verdict on that light fitting!
ReplyDeleteDitto the above! Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteI’m with you on your philosophy on life. I guess I’m also a nihilist. The flea image is astounding. Thank the goddess for Dave!
ReplyDeleteI agree utterly with your third paragraph. That is the basic human reality and yet we have to go tiptoeing around and holding our tongues out of "respect" for those who cling to illogical religious creeds. I have always been irked by the common notion that "everybody is entitled to their own point of view" - especially when religion has caused so much suffering and death.
ReplyDeleteWe are all happy accidents, what we do afterwards is totally down to us.
ReplyDeleteA little deep for me. I try to avoid thinking about the existential. I do say no to the lamp.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself religious though I don't buy into conspiracies and favoring usually the simplest explanation based off the science and fact. I know plenty of people who do believe in conspiracies but I'm not sure I would classify any of those people as religious. Thinking back through my catalog of acquaintances, I can't think of a single person I would classify as religious and believes in unsubstantiated conspiracies. So for me, the religious right that people describe is sort of an abstract conspiracy in itself, as I have never seen proof of it. I'm sure such people exist, but in my sheltered world in rural American, they must not be running around in my circles.
ReplyDeleteI think we all have our "beliefs" but we don't foist them on others or demand they live within our beliefs.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I think some of these believers will never ever know if they were right or wrong.
I'd have taken the lamp.
The panda reminded me of a panda I, or one of my children, once had. Very appealing, like a teddy bear.
ReplyDeleteWe have discovered that dogs become more demanding as they get older, and more vocal.
I can definitely see the flea in the rubbish! As for the philosophical parts of this post, I feel a bit too tired right now (my typical mid-afternoon tiredness) to into it, but it certainly made for interesting reading. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteNo to the lamp! And to conspiracies. And fleas. I'm a bit nihilistic this morning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your philosophy, Steve.
ReplyDeleteCould Olga have a bladder infection? As another old lady, I sympathize with her need to get up in the night. ;)
You have absolutely managed to write down how I feel about it all. From how religion can lead to people believing the most absurd things to the fact that we are, indeed, a happy accident. Mostly happy. Sometimes probably not. People who say that life could not have evolved in the universe without some sort of intelligent design seem to think that they have the truth of it there. But here we are and we are able to have these lives and thoughts and all of it simply because WE ARE HERE. This is how we've evolved. How it's all evolved here on earth.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a very philosophical mind, Steve. And yes, that bad does look like a flea. Ick.
That light fixture might have been brought back to something pretty cool, really, but cool enough to be worth it?
Do you think Olga may be getting a bit of the dementia? I say this as a woman probably around her age in human years who can relate.
I certainly agree with Ms Moon's comments. I grew up in a conservative evangelical denomination. the stuff they talked about was very creative. They had many ideas of what was going to happen...prophesy!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Dave on the light fixture.
ReplyDeleteI have a more esoteric view of existence/the universe. No god separate from creation that made it all. Rather existence/the universe is 'god' for lack of a better term or the All that Is. We are to it as a cell is to our body. There is no religious attachment to my existential view, just an acceptance that it all just is. I find it interesting that scientists who think they decoded the universe, understood the mechanics of creation , had it all figured out are now finding things that go against what they think they know. We're pretty clever creatures but to think that we can understand the vastness of the universe is pretty arrogant. There are things that we cannot even detect with our limited senses even with our fancy machines.
You are certainly very philosophical this morning. I bet that podcast is making you think deeply about certain things. I listened to a "Matter of Opinion" piece in the NY Times yesterday with Ross Douthat interview Marc Andreesen about How Democrats drove Silicon Valley into Trump's Arms. Believe me, that got me to thinking pretty deeply too.
ReplyDeleteI love the panda peeking out of the cubbyhole and I'm very glad you didn't touch that flea shaped bag.
I have to side with Dave on the light fixture. I too am a believer in the random nature of the universe. If I had made different decisions (even small ones) along the way, my path forward would have been radically changed. And I would have been fine with it, not knowing any different.
ReplyDeleteI think your opinion on the connection between the evangelical faith-based mindset and Q Anon conspiracy theories is spot on. Dave's right on the light fixture!
ReplyDeleteA little Saturday philosophy is good for the soul! 'm inclined to agree with you. Boy, when I saw the title of the post I thought Olga may have brought home a flea! Glad to hear it was just an interpretive paper bag! Poor girl -- when you get old you just don't sleep as well and hit the bathroom more. Well, at least some of us do. Maybe Olga too.
ReplyDeleteHuman anatomy is the greatest argument against intelligent design. I give you the structure of the shoulder and feet. Knees aren't too smart, either. I'm with Dave on the light fixture.
ReplyDeleteI'd be worried about the wiring on a discarded light fixture.
ReplyDeleteI can see the flea connection now that you've provided the photo for comparison, but i'm not sure I would ever have come up with that thought just from the trash!
I'm a very scientific, fact- based thinker that wants proven data. Conspiracy is often based on the flavor of the month hot button issues, and I have no time for this.
ReplyDeleteDave is right, the light fixture is likely to far gone.
We are all biological mistakes, nothing more but while we are here we seem so important- OUR happiness, Our drama, OUR doing good deeds, or not. may as well make it a pleasant mistake, life is easier that way- I would hate to be Trump.
ReplyDeleteThat cage light fixture is cool- Art object, is what I am thinking.
I would have brought that light home just to see what you could do with it. Worst case scenario, you'd donate it to save your marriage!🤣
ReplyDeleteI agree with your happy accidents philosophy, there is no real meaning, life just is, so enjoy it while you are here and be kind.
ReplyDeleteThat light shade makes me think the shadows from it might begin to seem like a cage after a while, so I agree with Dave. I do see a flea in that garbage. I hope Olga doesn't start getting you up so early every night.