an essay for humans Dec 19, 2017

i'm going to be very honest with you. i don't think you're operating at your full potential. it's okay; most of us aren't. and some of us never even come close to touching that ceiling. but this is something we can remedy. we can be better. we can reach higher. now more than ever, our potential for greatness is nearly unlimited. though we have difficulty seeing ahead, we are certainly on the path of transcendence. walk with me. we have so many places to go.

love everyone. we are all the same. imagine that when you die, you will become another random person from any point in history; that you have already been so many random people. you are one stitch in the fabric of the human race, woven back and forth through time, across the face of this world. we only exist because of each other. we only exist because we hold each other up. the food you eat was grown by people, was the body of an animal or plant, was farmed with machines that were milled by machines and assembled by people, designed by engineers (people, who also eat food), delivered by (for now) people. machines are created by people, in our image. god looks like we do. we are a nice warm blanket on this pretty old marble.

admit that you don't know. learn how to learn. this is getting easier and harder. there is more information available now than there ever was before. but remember, information is fire. if you start a fire in the forest, it doesn't immediately burn down the forest. but if you're on the other side of the forest, you may be able to see the fire, or at least the smoke. stoke that fire. gather wood. help someone else start their own fire. letting someone dip their stick into your fire doesn't diminish yours at all. we need more fire, because the woods are dark. the people are cold. you are one of them. make fire.

admit when you are wrong. doubt yourself. doubt other people. do research. be bold. make mistakes. look at your mistakes until you understand them completely. these are the foundational aspects of science. you can understand everything. no one is born with the ability to speak. to love. to paint. to play the trumpet. these are things we must learn. we are born breathing. most of the rest of it is practice. you may not believe one can teach love, but you are wrong. it is many-faceted, a jewel, about which many lies have been told. do research.

be generous. get it all out. don't let it die. everything we do is inspired. we soak up experiences and then sweat them out in the conversations of everyday life, in the speeches we give at funerals, in a poem read at an open mic, in a look given to a passing weary shopper, a comment about somebody's hair, how are your parents doing, how was the game, did you enjoy the lasagna? i want you to paint the world. if you aren't ready, then soak up some more. search for your people. be the people you want to find, and they will see you coming. they will wave, and you should wave too. we wave to each other. make sure you tell them about your strange hobbies because they also want to tell you about their strange hobbies. trust me. get out there. they need you.

you can find these lessons everywhere. watch bob ross paint. go for a walk in your neighborhood. go to the store and strike up a conversation with someone you don't know. these lessons and many more. they are easy to learn, and easy to forget. we must strive. we must continue to strive: every moment, every day. to interact with one another. to find new horizons, in this increasingly dimensional world. to build love into the fabric of humanity, to start fires in everyone, to feed each other, to raise up those who have fallen, to hoist high those who reach for the power of the sun, to build a pyramid into the future, where all those who have died wait for us to join them at the end of time, and i don't know what that looks like, but for now we are here. and there is a lot of work for us to do.

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an essay for humans

links to:
- haunted by nodeshells, like pronouns signifying other worlds
- light and time, stone monuments in the far depth
- manifesto
- the lake around which are a thousand tiny fires
- what is life?
- you can close your eyes but not your ears

linked from:
- a direct teaching
- IX. The Necessity of Bricks
- joy to the world
- like coming up for air
- mirror on the mountain
- Valentine
- we are here. we are here. we are here. we are here. we are here. we are here. we are here.

category: exploration/meditation
next: mirror on the mountain

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