June 14, 2010
Frog in a well
Categories Stories, Philosophy, Thoughts Comments (0)
The first thing we need to understand is, that people in mayoralty has need, to explain things that surround them, since unexplained things, fright them. In the long history, there was a lot of explanation, for all the phenomena that was happening, and for the life itself. We aren't new at that; also, we aren't special, when we believe (so strongly) that we figure everything out. I'm sure people always believed, just as we do, that they figure everything out. The only thing that was constantly changing was the explanation.
As I said, we need explanation - we're curious, and curiosity (as my friend said) is what make us humans - it's the force which pushing us further and further. Of course, when talking about curiosity, we must take into account laziness - which seems to be even stronger force. So, let me tell you a fairytale: long time ago lightning appeared - people were confused, and they were searching for an explanation, a wise man realized that lightning is something made by God; since he was convincing and since that explanation made perfect sense - all people agreed and didn't though about it anymore. Many years latter, and after many corrections of that theory, people accepted that lightning is just "an atmospheric discharge of electricity", they weren't sure what that is - but they were happy - and they made a lot of fun, of those savages from past, who believed that lightning is send by God. The End.
What this fairytale illustrate is, how there was always majority of people who just agreed with the explanation which was valid in their time, since they were too lazy to think with their heads; but what's really disturbing is, that they were really ready to defend that -false- believe, defend it even with giving or taking lives.
I'm concern when I talk to people nowadays, since mostly all I can see, is just blindness and total inability to think with their own heads. I could swallow even the most crazy idea, if only that idea would be something that person actually figure it out on his own, and it's based on his own experience, his own life. But what's mostly happening is just repeating; what's ironically is, that mass media nowadays has more power (to brainwash people), than all churches put together ever had, but we still believe, that we're somehow advanced, enlightened, that we understand everything - and (now here's the irony) - that people in the past were brainwashed and mislead by institutions of that time. Does average person ever ask himself, "why do I believe in what I believe?", it seems that such questions aren't often on peoples' mind. People seems to be fanatically closed - unable to open up to anything. But westerns, calling themselves different than those fanatical "terrorists"; they give their live for a silly thing called religion - but really - doesn't right now happening war in middle east, in which smart westerns giving their lives, for just as silly ideas?
What's in practice nowadays is learning by heart - we're like computers, outputting bunch of data, not knowing even what that data is, and why are we outputting it. We're absorbing data, with same mindlessness. To know a lot, is insignificant, why do I care which is the longest river in world, which is the tallest mountain, what's the distance to the moon and back? It's just trash, kitsch - it has no real value. Everyone with too much time can learn all those facts. Give me wisdom and I'll shake your hand, and I'll even walk with you on your path and respect you. But wisdom is something, masses never were looking for, and never will.
I heard a story about the frog, who was living all his life in a well. Two birds has visit him from time to time, and tell him about the ocean. The frog, was trying to understand a scale of ocean, while still having in mind measure of the small well in which he was living. The more he was trying to understand the wideness of ocean, the less he could, of course. He was asking birds, he was thinking and thinking, measuring, calculating. The more he was doing that, the less sense everything had - finally he concluded - there's no such thing as ocean - it can't be, it's totally impossible. He even start hating those laying birds. Nevertheless, from time to time, even if only in deepest dreams, he sens the wideness of thing called ocean.
Indeed, in small puddles in which we live, which are all we can see, from time to time, even if only in deepest dreams, we sense the infinity, which is beyond anything we could ever understood.