Last night, my son came to me all excited - “I think Roger Waters is preparing new music…” His mind was already considering the wondrous possibilities - new concerts, new trips to see those concerts. After listening to the short clip Roger Waters posted across all his social media, I don’t think we’re looking at any new music. The heartbreaking clip was probably just his attempt to draw attention (again) to the carnage in Gaza. I pointed this out to my son and we talked a bit, but all the while I was quietly considering the incongruity of the situation - here’s a teenager dreaming of magnificent concerts while the kids Roger Waters sang about are actually dying under the rubble. Could I say that to my child? No, that would have been so unfair. He’s young, the mess in this world is not his fault and he has every right to hope next year will be a good one. As a die-hard Roger Waters fan, he knows about the war, he has some idea of what’s going on there, but true to his age he hopes and dreams.
Stairs are just stairs. It's your job to go up or down
I am quite the pessimist by nature so that little talk got me thinking. Maybe we’re doing it all wrong. We grown-ups, I mean. Hoping the world will be a good place or a slightly better place is too much for me. Baby steps. However, we can hope our individual lives will be better. As this is an end-of-the-year post, I must say I’ve had a good year. I’m not looking for a better one. 2023 was good enough.
Santa is just visiting with my collection of lucky charms
Years ago, I was doing some research for an article on luck and why some people are lucky. The conclusion I arrived at was that people who believe in luck can indeed be said to be lucky. Not because they have the best lucky charm in their pocket. Simply because they believe good things may come their way. Armed with that belief they take action and sometimes they succeed, which only reinforces their belief. On the other hand, those who see the world as a hostile place and are perpetually down, will do little to better their lot and nothing good will come out of it. This will obviously reinforce their belief that the world is hostile and life sucks.
This also reminds me of the concept of synchronicity which can be found in Jung’s writings. Events in the real world will correspond to your internal struggle. If you’re unhappy with your situation, bad things may happen to you or around you. You need to pay attention to see the connection.
A few months ago, when I was considering quitting my job I lost access to the site I’d been working on. For no reason. The IT guys repeatedly told me everything was fine on their end. Yet my password wasn’t working. As I was just reading about synchronicity I took it as such - the universe was telling me to drop those guys. The error that appeared on the screen corresponded to my belief that it was a mistake to keep working as an AI assistant.
I don’t know much about the concept of manifesting. Years ago there was that craze with getting lots of money if you listened to some recording or repeated some mantra. Didn’t pay much attention as I don’t think that’s how the Universe works. I mean it would be nice if the Universe sent a million dollars my way. Yet, money can buy you a ton of nice things, but not peace of mind, calm, clarity of mind… real happiness.
In my time zone, new year is in 23 hours. Not much time left to make a wish. I’ll just hope for the best and do whatever I can to make it so!
Wishing you all a Happy New Year! And, of course, Bitcoin to the Moon, lots of Lambos for all of us, you know, the works!
All images are my own