I’ve been meaning to talk about something which is on my mind all weekend because of some things that happened. But the next day I had a grinding headache and was in bed all day and the day after I had a full scheudle of work that left me drained.
I could probably go into that topic pretty deeply now but I’d rather just touch on it. This is a topic that I could easily weite a whole series or a book on but I cant really handle that right now, I know I am only in a state to introduce the ideas.
I’ve learned not to force things or to bite off more than I can chew. Things tend to come together better when they come out naturally and aren’t forced.
Basicaly I wanted to talk about how “Everything Eventually becomes a cult”. I will still write that post eventually but for now I can just say, I’ve been experiencing a lot of ideology driving people’s thought process, more than anything you could call reality.
Nuance is a very tricky thing to accept because it forces you to accept that you don’t know everything and that people you disagree with can be right about certain things.
It’s also easier to form social structures and to join social groups when everyone agrees on the basic principles, but out of fear of being outsted or not having an idealogical home, we tend to adopt an entire worldview from people we trust rather than piecing together our own. Even when we do create our own worldview, its easy to fall into the trap of simplistic or extreme opinions.
Bitcoin maxi’s, hive maxi’s, no coiners, NFTers, they all tend to be all in on their ideology, as are the politically left leaning, right leaning, anarchist, libertarian, liberal whatever whatever.
People are often 100% in or 100% out whether its on climate change, immigration, certain sides in a war, traditional values vs. modernism, technology vs. nature, opinions about public figures.
It’s pretty rare to hear a more moderate or nuanced view on anything these days.
Like the opinion I have that Marc Zuckerberg probably isn’t a horrible guy, he’s just a normal guy with a lot more power than most people are responsible enough to weild. Its not easy to be worthy of that much power. I feel the same about Musk. They both have some ideas and perspectives which are valuable, and way more power than anyone could handle responsibly.
That’s an incredibly unpopular opinion although it is a pretty reasonable one, I think. Most people seem to think he’s either a great dude or more likely he’s an evil tool of the state or a slave to his own greed. I mean, maybe he is, but there is more to every story. It’s not easy to navigate power. I don’t want to condemn anyone for being a bit irresponsible with it. It’s more up to us to stop giving them more power than they deserve.
I was recently in a situation where I saw this kind of all-or-nothing mentality first hand with a clash between two different circles that I’m part of, the details of which I will save for another time.
For today, I’d just like to examine how my life is pointing me towards facing this issue more and more, the cult-like nature of all social circles and ideologies.
I don’t think we need to stop organziing, just to be more self aware. And more on that next time as well.
I had this experience with the community but also with my parents and with my friends as of late.
But I think the nature of the problems that humanity faces these days will eventually force all of us to accept nuance.
For the time being though, my body and life circumstances are asking me to take it slow with this exploration.
It’s going to be a very noisy year I think, but in the noise, more people are waking up. I don’t mean waking up to the fact that this or that side is wrong or that we are being manipulated or whatever (although that will likely be part of the process). I mean waking up to each other’s realities and the fact that our realities are similarly built more by experience then any objective truths.
I have a lot I want to say and a lot I want to do but winter is always a time of regeneration for me and so I will be charging my batteries for the forseeable future. Perhaps I will write a lot but I may be very inward looking.
I believe that things follow a natural path and the best thing we can do is to get out of our own way, focus more on evolving ourselves and less about the extenternal world. If we grow and evolve we will unavoidably have an impact on the world around us.
For that reason I’m avoiding heated debates and trying to take sides as little as possible. It’s not to say I don’t have my perspectives, but i trust that if my perspectives are in line with reality, they will express themselves best when lived rather than preached.
I can express my opinion freely, but i have zero interest in trying to change anyone’s mind. My focus is on growth and evolution.
I still feel very very tired right now and need some more time to rest before I tackle any of the new projects I am planning.
Life is more comfortable than it’s been in a long time though. As things become more unstable on the outside, I realize that I have been living in this instability for a long time and so I am more prepared. My finances are always a step away from being in danger but meanwhile they are improving every day.
I am finally able to set aside some of my income every month for saving or stacking or for various things that make life more comfortable, like better insulation to make our room warmer or some new cloths that are comfy and feel like me. My gf could buy new shoes and new glasses that fit her better.
I’m finding a nice rhythm at hive now thanks to threads at INLEO. I think they allow many people to get off the treadmill of long form posting and post more when they really have something to say. Since short form is another way of earning and making friends on chain, we may have less fluff articles in the future and perhaps the work of people like myself (not to toot my own horn) who really love writing will be appreciated more.
The fast pace of development over there and especially the circular economic tools that help stabalize and put buying pressure on leo and hive have got me really excited for the long term viability of both leo and hive in generally. I think they are setting a good example and fixing a lot of the incentive structures.
Slowly slowly I feel my life coming into balance, more things fitting where they should, less inner turmoil, although the world around me feels less secure than I have ever seen it, I know that if I follow my excitement, I can only have a positive effect, and as I and the people around me learn this lesson, we are creating a better world from the ground up.
A bit if a random all-over-the-place post, but that’s just kind of how I am feeling and I can process it through writing.
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Novels/music/merch/social media/patreon:
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Japanese Upbringing Explained (interview my Japanese student)