Ramblings on being

Thought I might get a bit off subject, not that there is a subject; but, off subject none the less. We tend to focus on things, sometimes this is good, sometimes we need to step back and focus less, that is where impressionism comes from.

We live in the trappings of a material world. As we "grow up" (the few of us who choose to) we begin to self define. Some of us never move past the material, intellect and spiritual and philosophical are ignored by them. I dated a woman, a very nice woman, and she detested philosophy. She was completely material, not greedy, not selfish, not corrupt, just material. If she could not see it, she did not wish to think about it.

Oh, I should mention, the woman grew up in communist Russia. Russia taught its people to be only about the here and now. Russian children, in Soviet Russia, were taught that there was no right or wrong morally; but, that right and wrong were physical things. I did not explain that well.

Bill Maher is a perfect example of the philosophy. We are born and we die. He claims what comes next simply does not matter to him. He would say that we cannot know, so it does not matter and he does not care. Actually, he has said just that.

Wish such a belief set, what type of life would one live? Simple, get what you can, don't worry about later and morals are whatever is convenient. They would wonder why they should have any restrictions except those for safety from others. A "you only go around once, grab all the gusto you can" alcoholic type of philosophy.

I cannot understand the intellectual laziness that is behind such beliefs. I exist, you exist and what our lives mean is important. We are important even if we only live for a moment. We have value and our experience and others experience has value. In the end, whether we live for a minute or eternity, our self definition is unique and beautiful and ours. It is the only thing we have that we can create, ourselves. If we choose to be meaningless than we are.

Some choose to attempt to understand their own existence. This would be a prerequisite to understanding anything in this world. How can we understand anything, if we do not understand it's context to us and of us? As long as we are alive, isn't the question of why and of it's value of some worth and effort?

I choose to question whether or not we have meaning and then attempt to determine and define what my meaning is. On the most fundamental level we are a collection of changing emotions. Some are pleasant and some are painful. Both prove that we exist and have meaning. At a minimum we have meaning to ourselves. If we grow, we can look at what that meaning is.

Many would say that the most fundamental aspect that can be known is pleasure and pain. I would disagree, the most fundamental aspect is that we can know both, experience anything whether perceived or real, we still experience. That is powerful and something that rocks and the earth cannot do.

The fact that we can experience makes us the most important things in the universe, more important than the universe itself for if there is no sentient being to experience the universe than the universe cannot have meaning. A flower than can never be seen may have beauty but it does not matter. You see, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if there is no beholder than there is no beauty.

We create beauty by being capable of observing beauty. Pretty powerful. Our interaction and understanding of the world brings out what could not exist without us, meaning and beauty. We, at our most basic, are meaning generators, each of us individually is a meaning generator.

As we exist and understand we are meaningful, we can begin to attempt to put our lives in context. To see ourselves as part of something larger. We can begin to see that the material is merely a representation of reality, our awareness attempting to experience whatever is. Our ability to see does not change objects, merely our awareness of what we perceive.

If I am color blind, it does not change the object, merely my ability to fully perceive what is around me. Helen Keller could not see; however, she felt the tables and chairs she bumped into. The unseen chairs were still there. Refusal to see what is around us does not stop it from existing.

See, I have gone from the "real" (stock market, pensions, corruption) to the "real" (our experience). Some would say that just because we exist does not mean that anything has meaning. I disagree, I have meaning, at a minimum I have meaning to me and you have meaning to you. We have meaning, rocks do not.

Because my experience has meaning, I have the right to define myself, by defining myself, I increase the meaning of my life, I have that power and right. We define ourselves by determining what choices we will make and for what purpose we will make them. That becomes the definition of what we truly are.

I am not defined by my experiences, I am defined by my choices. I do not give up control over my choices or my reasons for them. My choices evolve overtime. My self-definition also evolves as I learn from my experiences. I do not have to make the same mistakes for eternity, I can find new ones.

That is the beginning of context. Growth, I can evolve, rocks cannot. Computers cannot attain sentience, they lack the ability to be aware. That is a problem for technology, it has no meaning outside of us. If a tree falls in the woods and no sentient being hears it then no sound was made, only sound vibrations. Sound requires an observer.

So, once again, we return to the issue of context. If I exist, which I am pretty sure I do, and I have meaning (which I do because I choose to) then the question of context becomes critical to growing in my understanding of my meaning and myself.

I can choose to ignore the God question and eternity, I can choose to believe that I am all that exists, which is insanity or I can choose to believe that my experience which is equally insane or I can choose to attempt to understand and define my context.

If I recognize I exist, hard to avoid that one, then I must, if I have any sense, attempt to determine what I am and why I am here. Some would argue I just am, that is rather childish and lazy. I am and I can choose a reason for being therefore I can choose to be here for a reason. I create reason, the universe cannot, and so can you.

Oh, this particular post if for a friend of mine named Chris. I hope he enjoys it, others are welcome to get from it whatever they choose. I do not have to be materialistic, realistic or any istic. I can choose to go from the "real" to the "really important".

A week ago I said the market would crash and get volatile. It did and that was a fairly "material", "physical" type of prediction. Sometimes I wish to talk about what has real meaning, you know our lives, our existence, our emotions, us.

If the only thing that I can be absolutely sure exists is me then how can I begin to believe that I can stop existing? Based on what? For the Bill Maher's of the world, I ask this question. What possible fricking proof can anyone provide me that I do not continue to exist? None. Based on their weak and flawed logic they cannot prove anything and accept anything. I can prove to myself that I exist, that is a starting point. They have none.

I shall simplify the argument for learning, understanding and growth. Prove to me that you do not exist. If you can do that then belief sets based on nonsense can be proven to me. Enjoy.