Making or destroying

[vaneramos]

Finding peace along the Eramosa River this afternoon


I dreamt of doing violence: smashing, blasting, stabbing. One frame after another portrayed shattered machinery or splashes of blood, undoubtedly inspired by Dungeon Siege, which I played for 27 hours over the weekend. In the dream I was appalled.

I criticize the human inclination to separate everything into good and evil, yet here I go designating violence as bad, creativity good. I see no such directive from nature, which destroys things as quickly as they evolve. In times of environmental stability, complex systems emerge, and large, specialized organisms: dinosaurs, whales, people. After the next global upheaval we will be left with cockroaches, rats and starlings. I doubt humanity can rise to a "higher state" where acceptance and compassion reign; it has never existed, except in imagination.

This shouldn't discourage us from imagining or valueing what we will. By choice, I make peace and art.

I dreamt of a white tree full of spring blossoms amidst ruined stone walls. A wedding was supposed to be underway, but something was wrong. Guests' bodies lay scattered among spilt trays of tiny perfect sandwiches and shattered martini glasses. I had stricken everyone down.

Then I realized they were only asleep, and would soon awake.

Comments

[missprune.livejournal.com]

Halfway through "Elegant Path" - taking it slow - delighted with your poetic voice, so streamlined and pure.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you! I long to rest in that voice more often now.

[ubermunkey.livejournal.com]

wow that is pretty extreme
I can even visualize the martini glasses and the mini sandwhiches.
be well

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It was the first time I remembered a dream in many weeks. It always helps to leave a notebook and pen at hand and tell myself, "I'm going to dream, and I'm going to remember." It makes me wonder what wild stuff has gone running through my subconscious the last while when I wasn't paying attention.

Cheers,
Van

[writer00.livejournal.com]

I criticize the human inclination to separate everything into good and evil, yet here I go designating violence as bad, creativity good. I see no such directive from nature, which destroys things as quickly as they evolve.

I don't think nature destroys wantonly . . . destruction is in service of something greater -- the forces that cause evolution, change, encourage adaptation, etc. Is it violence when a lion takes down a gazelle? Yes, but not in the same way as someone plowing a plane into a building, or shooting a clerk during a robbery. As for other natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc), these are the forces which continue to shape our planet, and which helped create the conditions to sustain life including ourselves. It is a continual work in progress.

I doubt humanity can rise to a "higher state" where acceptance and compassion reign; it has never existed, except in imagination.

I can certainly think of individuals who have reached a "higher state" of love, compassion, and understanding. There have been many "holy" and secular men and women who have preached and practiced compassion and non-violence. They are just as representative of humanity as the next meat-packing dictator. It is true that they are in the minority, but I choose to believe that each individual who embraces a life of love and peace keeps the flame burning. As long as people like that continue to pop up in our lives, I hold out hope that some day they will be the norm.

Your instinct to creativity and art, as well as the actual art you produce, shows you to be one of the ones who help keep that flame burning, no matter how many pixelated creatures you smash, blast, and stab.

BTW, you and Zig have some pretty weird dreams!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Nature serves nothing, and destroys only according to natural laws rather than any value for life. Evolution occurs because unstable conditions favour adaptation.

Competitive violence is widespread among animals. They also kill in order to mate and protect resources. Among social species, humans are not unique in demonstrating self-sacrificing behaviour to promote the survival of genetically similar individuals.

I agree with your point about individuals, and obviously many of the great figures who preached non-violence and compassion did so despite great inconvenience and personal affliction. But these views have been around for thousands of years without propogating themselves more effectively than greed and aggression. Often the very ideologies they produce turn quickly to engines of control and avarice.

If we could find an effective and just way to distribute wealth and share its control, perhaps we would see a loss of violence. Still, competitive behaviour would be written into our genetic code. The average individual probably supports peace and non-violence only because it is convenient in a secure and affluent society. I can't imagine living in conditions where I had to worry about survival every day.