Saturday 20 February 1999

Pic of the day: You may or may not believe this, but I found this shirt in a bag in one of the overcrowded storage rooms of mine. It seems to have been lying around since last winter unopened, there were still some stuff attached on it that I had to peel off. In real life, it is black without any hint of blue. It is nice and comfortable, and it's been lying around unopened for probably a year.

This is an incredible time to be alive, especially here in the rich Western countries. Food is so abundant that more people die from overeating than from starvation. We can choose among a wide range of clothes, from the practical and comfortable to the purely decorative. Most of us have a reasonable amount of spare time (defined as "not work time"), and we have entertainment that kings of old could not dream of. We can communicate with friends all over the world, and even a child has access to knowledge such as the greatest scientists recently would have given years of their life to see. It's a miracle.

So, are people deliriously happy? Well, it happens. But there is also a lot of weeping & gnashing of teeth. How can this be, when we are living like kings? Well, for one, sickness and death are not gone from this world. While our food is laced with vitamines and minerals that build our body, we also eat our meals in trepidation and fear of toxins, bacteria, prions and hormones; not to mention calories and fatty acids. And ever more often, we eat them alone and in haste.

Must we always long for what we cannot have, and fear what we cannot know? No, when we wake up, when we become aware, we can sometimes stop the rush. Stop, take time to admire the colors of the sky, the taste of a fruit, the smile of a friend. Add a few moments of life to the years of haste.

A saying I have heard in the later years: "If you cannot get the one you love, love the one you get." It's a bit late for me to apply this literally, but there is wisdom in it. Our goals tend to race ahead of us like we're chasing the rainbow. Perhaps we should spend a bit time being alive while we still are.

I guess after three weeks it's time to wave goodbye to Rosa's fashion diary for now. (Mainly because it's becoming a hassle to check up and make sure I haven't used the same clothes before.)

If you want to read the diaries of a somewhat more normal man, you may want to continue to the Daily Epiphany. Have a nice day, and thank you for visiting the Chaos Node!

Visit the Diary Farm for the diaries I've put out to pasture until they buy the farm:
January 1999
December 1998
November 1998