10/14 ESCAPISM: ‘1. This post is important! 2. This post is not important!’

“Before I go on with this short history, let me make a general observation — the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.”

F Scott Fitzgerald- ‘The Crack-Up’

Holding two ideas that contradict each other, and considering both to be equally true, seems to be the only way to cope in the world, at least to any healthy degree. For example–my system, or way of seeing the world, is that anytime I try and put everything into a neat little box there will always be an infinite amount of contradictions that crop up and destroy, or outgrow, my little box.

In other words, I have a system that notes that having a system is futile and useless. See the contradiction? I’d note the term ‘uroboros’, but that would make an already pretentious post unbearable.

The universe, in my eyes, is infinite. If I lived forever I could come up with a million theories to explain everything, and immediately a million counter theories would crop up to contend against it. Again, I’d point to the term ‘dialectic’, but we’re already behind the 8 ball!

…Philip K Dick would love this post!…

A person who leans to a more Buddhist view of life might say the solution is to become nothing.(nothing to contradict)

Someone else might say that the solution is to become everything.(contradiction is contained)

Perhaps they are both right.

Perhaps in becoming nothing you become everything, and perhaps in becoming everything you become nothing.

Confusing, isn’t it?

Confucius say what?

I think most of us, whether we realize it or not, are stuck in the middle.

In order to stay sane you need a plan of action while at the same time you need to realize that things probably won’t go to plan.

Let me repeat…

1. You need a plan
2. You need to realize that your plan has failed the second you created it.
3. Both 1 and 2 are necessary

I think all of our lives are a bit like leaving early for an appointment, and then your car breaks down anyway.

Some say, ‘Don’t drive to the appointment at all! Don’t bother! You won’t get there on time!’

Others say, ‘Leave early and believe that your car won’t break down!’

The OCD’s say, ‘Perform Maintenance checks! Change your oil every blah blah blah miles! Take a GPS! Don’t forget to charge your cell phone!’

…Then someone else, who didn’t do any maintenance checks, gets a flat tire and rear ends them.

In the end, you can say, ‘…but sometimes people make their appointments! Sometimes things go exactly to plan!’

I’d point out that sometimes things don’t, and though I don’t know the equation for chaos theory, I can say that you can never quite predict the hows, whys, and whens.

Some might say that if you were really, really bright you could calculate probabilities that would help you to be successful more than not. For my money, the possibilities are infinite, and indivisible. You know, like Pi and the Pledge of Allegiance.

For my money, and hope, the two statements…

1. We are heading to Nothing

and

2. We are heading to Everything

Are both true, or at least in the end, whichever way we’re headed, we’ll eventually arrive at the same place.

However, If what I’ve been talking about is true, there are probably an infinity of problems with this theory that I have yet to foresee ; ), that of course doesn’t mean I’m not right all at the same time! It might just prove that I’m right!

Do you have a headache yet?

I think it’s kind of fun …’Chasing Chaos’

: )