Wednesday 10 September 2003

Pic of the day: Screenshot from the anime Stellvia of the universe, from which I nabbed the song, and which also is held in similar tones. Well, except for the mushy stuff. ^-^*

While one is alive ...

My digestion has not recovered completely, but I was able to work several hours today. My hand still hurts, partly from work but in all honestly probably even more from typing the previous entry over and over until I found a form that I thought I could upload. Religion is quite a minefield.

***

And now, I will cite a translation of a Japanese song that I really like. It is a love song, but don't let that disturb you. I think you can all guess what part of it really appeals to me the most. But don't worry, I'll post the answer further down.

Heading towards the end of this sky
is the wave of the future that still can't be seen.
Surpassing numerous destinies while one is alive ...
I wonder who taught them and who they will answer?
For people in the intervals of exhausting life
it's OK to be frightened by encounters like this.
Even if the world ends today,
I'll still love you.

(The End of the World by Atsuko. Translation probably badly mangled.)

Of course the first two lines remind me of the Flynn Effect, the mysterious (?) rapid increase in general intelligence over the last few generations. Is this the wave of the future? Is this ... childhood's end, for mankind? Will the next generations move utterly beyond our understanding, should we even be alive to witness the change? Then again, haven't some of us already moved towards the horizon that our grandparents could see?

I remember my maternal grandfather. He was rather a wise man, but he was born in a time and a place where time moved differently, much slower. A century ago, he was a child. At the time, things like cars and planes were being invented, far away from the farms where life went on like it had done before. When he was still fairly young, he witnessed the arrival of electricity in the village. He lived through two world wars. He got used to cars, although he never learned to drive one. He died at a ripe old age indeed while I was still fairly young. Already a vast gulf separated us. I listened to him, telling me countless stories about the time that was now past. Despite my natural curiosity, I knew that this was behind a closed door.

Time used to move like a slow, majestic river. Then, somehow, it started to turn into rapids. Now, we take the dizzying ride for granted. We learn more, and somehow it seems the new generations are equipped to handle the new speed. Well, not everyone in these generations, but many. Even I have changed so much, I hardly know myself anymore. Surpassing numerous destinies while one is alive ... I mean, it's like living more than one life without dying first! To see this much, to learn this much, to understand this much ... you would have needed centuries, not too long ago. Many centuries. Even then, you would not be able to reach this far.

Should we not then be expected to fulfill destinies that were once unreachable? Should we not accept to walk a second mile?

***

Different races, different religions, different cultures, different languages ... everything is being broken up and put together in new ways, a kaleidoscope, swirling, the river of time bashing itself into froth and mixing everything that runs with it. It is natural for common people, who just want to do their job and have a nice quiet life, to be frightened of this. It is understandable if they cling to some random anchor of their old identity. Identify with a group, a place, a tradition. Something to hold onto, as they fear the rapids will change into a waterfall. Science fiction writers and futurists call it a singularity ... a point where everything becomes unpredictable. A phase change that has never happened before. As if we have lived with ice and never seen running water, and then comes the spring. Something new, something that has never happened before.

Perhaps so. Perhaps not. But even if the world ends, we must necessarily act according to our nature. The destinies that we try to work through in this life, they are within us. The reality of spirit can be debated, it can be ridiculed, but in truth it can never be denied. You can deny with your words, but the inner destiny will still drive you forward. We were born to live in this time. This is the time for us to do what we came here for. While we are still alive.