The Death of Beauty in Language

Language is something that has become common place, it has been so for thousands of years. It has always had the purpose of communication an description and yet now somehow has become lacking in any style other than that we are influenced to use everyday. While there may be art in writing, whether that writing is to be read personally or heard from another’s speech, the everyday eloquence in our language that was once (hopefully) commonplace, seems to now have fallen on hard times. Where once our speech was of a form that was to be perfected and used to its upmost power and intrigue, words strung together in the tangible poetry of language, has been dulled to it’s simplest of forms. A seemingly endless slur of meaningless noise that replicates the speech of other cultures who made it their own first.

You must see, this is not an attack on colloquialisms, abbreviations or jargon. This is an attempt to point out the mimicry that so many seem to think is originality. Whether that be in music, film or everyday life. Our culture, not our art, seems to have become a mess of so many different influences that there is no longer something that separate us from anything we see in the media, aside from our inherent cynicism toward it. It seems when art imitates life you can see the blatant mash of anything considered vaguely ‘cool’, caused by the arising need of life to to imitate art. Although this is something that has gone on for generations now, it is as if our understanding of that very fact has become a point of manipulation. The very nature of our understanding has transferred into the trends that have come about, the open manipulation of individuals into becoming something approved and expected by people who remain faceless or without true depth and yet somehow hold our attention so profusely we hang on every single word.

Obviously my point divulges greatly from the original title, my reasoning is that language is the gateway to everything. Without it we would have so much less than we do now. Community, art, the media itself would probably never have existed. A world without language wold be very dull indeed. But that is not reason to take what should be a beautiful creation, that allowed  people to come together and express thought and emotion about the things around them. It should not be something so easily ignored (a point for another time), used to cause grief in just about every way imaginable, or to sarcastically undermine another’s love or beliefs. It should be there to support and bring out the best in every person and moment.

Language has the power of cruelty imbued through it in todays world, someone is respected more for their ability to condemn and belittle than to inquire and inculcate. Language should never have become a weapon, it should be a thing of beauty always. So speak when it means the most, listen to every word and be mindful that most peoples language,  even if it comes in droves, are only a minor reflection of their true thoughts and personality. The question left is do they even see it themselves? Sadly most of the time I feel that isn’t true. They believe that to speak is to give true meaning, rather than speaking when they know something is true.

Anywho, hope my point wasn’t too colluded within the rambling, ironic huh. Always in the end, live life and speak true to yourself, not the socially accepted crap that seems to be the norm. Bring beauty back to language.

An Insight Into Loss And Loneliness

Being lonely is a strange thing. Some people feel it when they lose someone, others when they lose something. No matter what each of these are hard, but neither more than the other. Loneliness can be a seriously powerful influence in our lives. For me it began with losing people.

It’s weird, one of my first memories is loss. Being sat at my Granda’s funeral. Everyone around me was crying. I specifically remember being sat next to my cousin, tears rolling down her face and not really understanding. I was very young at the time and genuinely didn’t see why everyone was so upset. The mind of a young child right? Naive to the trouble all around him.

For my Nana, I think it was religion and God that got her through it, and whether you believe or not, that’s a pretty beautiful thought. Pure belief giving you the strength to smile. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) some of us are more logical (or cynical) and cannot rely on an ideal as insubstantial as this.

My Dad is more like this, despite his upbringing, and for him I think it was his family that gave him the support. His Mothers strength and my Mum’s support and the fact he had to be strong for me and my sister.

But what if you don’t have family or belief, or what if that family is too distant physically or emotionally to truly help. What happens if you experience a death, falling out with close friends, or probably sharpest of all the loss or betrayal of a love. In any of these situations the people are most likely one of your closest friends (family and loves included) and the very fact you’ve lost that can change your whole perspective of the world. Suddenly lost you can lose all faith in what you know and feel, even if you’re surrounded by people you care for.

From what I’ve seen there are two general reactions we tend to lean towards (obviously in very different ways). Firstly some of us will find someone or something new and latch on. In different extremities, whether thats to fall quickly in love with someone, or go out on a run of one night stands, or to eat or take intoxicant’s to take our minds away from the thing that hurt us. Each of these is a way to overcome (and sometimes over compensate) for a loss that we cannot comprehend on an emotional level. I mean honestly, it’s not an easy thing to do, and is there really any surprise people turn to easy ways to make up for that sudden hole in their life. For me this is probably the least health of the two reaction, to suddenly force new things on yourself, things that you as your true self would probably consider a pretty weak way of dealing with a bad turn. This is not to say I would ever look down on someone doing these exact things, I’ve been there myself at multiple stages of my life, it’s easy, and it works… for a short time. But when you come rond and look back at yourself and what you did to cover up the real issue it means you have to start again, build yourself back to where you were. It’s a huge step back sometimes, and the last thing any of us should want to do is step back in our life.

The second is when people cut themselves off from the world. The loss, whatever it is, causes a reaction that means we build a sudden defence and block out any potential other negativity in our lives. Now if you still have people around you who do care this is a lot harder to pull off,  as in my opinion, a good friend never sits back as someone important to them is suffering. Even if that person tells you to go f*&k yourself, you stand strong and show them not everyone is like that, and that no matter what there is someone who can be relied on in this world (thats a fucking important thing to show people every day, let alone when someone is in need, you never know the affect it may have). When cut ourselves off we sometimes believe it is because we are strong enough to handle whatever has come our way, and you know what we are. BUT, and its a big but, by cutting yourself off from the world you have around you, however you do that, you really aren’t dealing with the situation, so all your strength is completely misplaced. When we believe we are dealing, really we’re just dodging the real feelings we have and not coming to terms with the fact we’ve lost. Instead of getting on with what we have and once again  finding something new thats just as worthwhile as the thing we thought was important, we’re shutting off the chance to progress in our lives and find something truly pure in the world. Something nothing will take away and something no one has any right to criticise. When you put up walls, you don’t support yourself, you don’t deal and you don’t become a better and stronger version of yourself.

But please if you read this, don’t take what I say as if I feel it is completely fool proof or as if I believe it’s gospel in some way (that’d be a little short minded to say the least). The fact is you know yourself better than anyone, and you know what makes you really feel good about being you. Whether thats a career, hobby or another person. But that’s my point, by dealing with loneliness you don’t need to, and should never go down either of the paths I’ve briefly highlighted (very briefly as this subject really is huge). Be who you are, don’t change in spite of how you feel, change because your life has changed. We are a product of our experience, and it’s down to us to choose how those experiences affect our perception, if at all. What you knew before, you still know now, even if one thing didn’t turn out to be as you thought. Live life the same way you did (hopefully), openly and honestly. Take every chance that comes your way, and make the most of every moment, because every thing we ever experience makes us who we are, so how can they ever be considered a bad thing or bad influence unless we allowed them to be. Love life, experience everything that comes your way, and make the most of every one.

Eye contact

My day job is working as a store supervisor at the cooperative in a small village local to York.veveryday I’m there I deal with customers throughout the day, as I’d the nature of the job. A lot of people are genuinely lovely people, who I’ve come to respect and like, unfortunately though, and it seems to be something of a given these days for the people of our dreary little country, that even the simplest form of respect or friendliness, whatever you want to call it, is something they really give no thought to.
It really takes no hardship on the part of these people to make eye contact with the person serving them, simply to show you know it’s a PERSON behind the tills serving them, someone who is trying to do their job, and be friendly to the hundreds of people they come into contact with everyday. For some reason though most of the people I see in the shop seem to find it excruciating just to do that simplest of actions. And honestly it’s pretty disheartening when you actually try to be decent to these people. You say hi, ask them how they are and don’t bet more than a grunt from them as the stare blankly st the flops or the till trying their hardest not to make any kind of contact other than cash and receit.
Tis isnt to say they’re all ignorant who do it, although really they kind of are. You may be in a bad mood or have something on that’s taking your attention, but is it really so hard to smile and say hi. We’re not asking for you to become our best mates or anything just give us a little appreciation. This surely goes for every ‘menial’ job on the market. There is a serious lack of respect for anyone who does the mundane work that keeps a country going at its base. All I say to the people out there who are to stupid, lazy or generally selfcentered, is be carefully. You should never fu!@ with the little guy, we have power over parts of your lives you take for granted everyday. So next time you’re in a shop, or a hospital or any place where someone isn’t getting paid what they deserve, show a little respect, some gratitude and I guarantee you’ll for one make them feel better, and I know for a fact they will do the same for you.
On the other hand if the clerk is exactly likeive just described be friendly enough, but if they insist on being a bit of a dick then ignore them, really not worth it.

Fate…

It’s comes to my attention that the idea of fate is probably the coolest, and yet, really not cool concept we humans have come up with. All our destiny’s tied up alongside each other in an unfathomable way that could, potentially, one day be understood to the point of foresight (who knows), but that would mean we would never really have choice when it came to the decisions in life.
I think most people would choose freedom of choice, specifically because we prize it and the culture and symbolism that has grown around it, I know I probably would.
I wonder which way we’d be better off though. Free will and the choice to do whatever pleasures us, or fate, and a world where nothing you ever do is really because you chose to do it.
Although is fate really so restricting, or is a better definition more to do with the cause and effect we see in our everyday lives. You walk into a river, the water parts around you. You walk across the street, you get to the other side. You text while driving, you crash and die (last ones for the journalist out there, who so love the gritty truth…).
Fates one of those ideas that cropped up along the way and seriously changed sh!@. Consider seriously how many concepts we live by have been effected by it. Through understanding fate, disciplines like maths and science could be conceptualised, 1+1=2 therefore, 1+2 must =3, we see heat in this experiment so there must be a connecting factor we don’t understand fully. Religion would be entirely different, would it even exist? No fate, means no godly plan right? And if no plan can be put in place there must be nothing there with divine power to put it there.
It’s a pretty complex stem of our insight into the world around us, one that can reflect a personality and change how you think. Pretty cool right? But kinda not.

A little philosophy in the mourning never goes amiss (part 2)

Ok so I left you with the question If confronted with reality (a personal truth) that you had never conceived how would you react to it?

It’s a pretty tough question to get your head around in the way I mean it, to even consider a change in viewpoint that literally disproves something you’ve been lead to believe is the utter truth is something that rarely happens, but the fact is – it can.

Since something like this always likely comes from someone else, it’s hard to see something new yourself if you’re already stuck in a specific mind set. The closed nature of people that this shows, or at least the inability to truly perceive our true nature, is because of a mindset that refusing to understand and contemplate anything that is beyond the boundaries set in place by itself. Just like the prisoners when shown the truth they rebel, and react negatively to anything being said because of the fault that must have been seen in their own perception. So rather than facing the light, they turn back to the familiar shadows, happy in their ignorance, pushed back by their fears of a loss of identity.

It’s true though, if forced to look directly at the light, they will be blinded by the brilliance of it. Unable to see the truth of the situation, unable to change their understanding because of the impact caused. This pretty much applies universally. Think of times when someone had something to tell you, or a situation in your life meant you had to confront a part of yourself, something that when you heard it seemed so completely impossible and idealistic you refused to accept it. But always, after time, if the revelation holds real ground you would never be able to change the fact it will gradually seep into your mindset and change it at the core.

It is this approach that must be taken by anyone who themselves feels they need to bring something big to someone else’s attention, or someone who is faced by just such a thing. Take it slowly, gradually hint at the facts and bring a new understanding around by subtly showing the light of it. As you ease yourself or the other party into the different way of thinking, then you can begin the task of actually showing them the issue and the true light around the situation.

Here’s a little metaphor based on the Socrates passage before.

The Sun is you, and the stars are everyone else around you. The light is the truth that cannot be denied, and the shadows are the opinions without real context. Just like it is hard to stare at the Sun without the right preparation (sunglasses etc) it is hard to look at yourself when you’ve never really held that vision for too long. Blinded by the brilliance of the Sun (ourselves), whether that is through positive or negative perception, we turn back to the shadows and to the inaccurate ideals that we had set ourselves in.

Instead, when confronting a home truth, we must first gain the understanding and ability to do so without reeling at the potential pain we may discover. This can be done by looking to the people around us, or in the metaphorical sense, using the stars to understand the sun. In essence they are very similar, although obviously underneath every star is different. But just like the stars, the people around us shine less brightly in our lives than ourselves. Not because they are less important, but because like us they hold back and only show what they want. The difference being we aren’t in their minds, we can’t see them to the same extent we see ourselves, so we only get glimpses of truth, of the light they produce. What we see though, we see it clearly, we aren’t blinded by perception as easily the small aspects that are shown are easy to pick out over the darkness beyond. This can be utilised, by picking out the sparks of others, the traits and viewpoints, you can begin to understand where, in the sense of a bigger issue, they are going wrong. Because we aren’t so much a part of it we find it much easier to gaze upon and remain unaffected emotionally by it. Learn from them, see the right paths and choices they need to make in order to come to terns with their own truth, and from there you can find a way of looking at things without connection. Seeing, not interpreting, the causes and effects for what they truly are. Then as the Sun (you) rises and the day (your personality) comes back into view, you will have learnt a perception that means you can remain somewhat separate from implication of change. You can see what should be done and not be scared of how it may cause you to change.

 

One last point though, it can be a slippery slope when you begin to actually ‘look’ at yourself. Coming to terms with your issues is one thing, but when managed it can easily turn into an arrogant outlook. It can give the mentality that because you have stepped into the light you instantly understand things better than anyone else. But please, seriously? You should understand, if it becomes that, then you’ve lost perspective once again, only this time not because of fear, but because of that confidence. Knowing is one thing, being ‘completely sure’ is another, it implies the fact that you haven’t see all the aspects of light and dark out there. The fact is, no matter how far into the light you step, you must always look back to the shadow to make sure nothing has fallen back there or nothing that was once a part of the light has fallen into darkness. You must always stay true to ALL of yourself, the parts that you exude and can influence others, and the parts that are covered, the inner most feeling that go looked over when we can see and feel good about ourselves.

Blinded by the light, or straining in the dark, the key will always be to find shade that allows you to appreciate both and see them clearly. Until then you cannot judge others or yourself. Through understanding and contemplation of ourselves and others we can see the truth in every situation, but only when we are no longer affected by the light and dark in our lives, only when you see that neither is really so different from the other.

A little philosophy in the mourning never goes amiss

Ok, so I’m reading some extracts of Plato atm, some from republic and a few other of his works. Weirdly after 300 pages – no Plato, although I’m not complaining had a sh!@ load of Socrates instead, which is never a bad thing.
So I’m reading on the way to work yesterday and came across a beautiful passage about these men who had spent their lives in the dark, and how they would never appreciate the truth of reality if they never saw it. Here’s the passage, between Socrates and a guy called Glaucon I believe:
“Behold! Human beings housed in an underground cave, which has a long entrance open towards the light and as wide as the interior of the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained, so that they cannot move and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blaing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.
I see.
And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone and various materials, which appear over the wall? While carrying their burdens, some of them, as you would expect, are talking, others silent.
You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.
Like ourselves, I replied; for in the first place do you think they have seen anything of themselves, and of one another, except the shadows which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?
How could they do so, he asked, if throughout their lives they were never allowed to move their heads?
And of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?
Yes, he said.
And suppose further that the prison had an echo which came from the other side, would they not be sure to fancy when one f the passers-by spoke that the voice which they heard came from the passing shadow?
No question, he replied.
To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.
That is certain.
And now look again, and see in what manner they would be released from their bonds, and cured of their error, whether the process would naturally be as follows. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive someone saying to him that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision – will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?
Far truer.
And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take refuge in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?
True he said
And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up that steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.
Not all in a moment, he said.
He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; and, when he turned to the heavenly bodies and the heaven itself, he would find it easier to gae upon the light of the moon and the stars at night than to see the sun or the light of the sun by day?
Certainly.
Last of all he will be able to see the sun, not turning aside to illusory reflections of him in the water, but gazing directly at him in his own proper place, and contemplating him as he is.

It goes on for a while longer (they did in those days), but I love this passage. The metaphor is some thing that will apply to us as humans probably for our entire existence as a species. Like the prisoners in the speech, we have since birth been shown one way of living, that of our parents and the society we are a part of. One way to look, one way to think, one perception of the world around us, created by people before us, and the media in everyday life. Things like style, music, culture all are twisted by us, and our perception but they also affect us in every part of our lives and push to inadvertently manipulate the people in one way of seeing things. Just as Socrates said; ” the things they saw were the real thing”, meaning the shadows and noises became their only perception of reality, and it became their whole reality.

When the new images and movements were actually introduced to them it caused angst and pain, because of the unfamiliarity of the new scenery. Just as when we see something different, the more closed minded of us shun that change, some cal it fear, others hatred or misunderstanding, the description is irrelevant because the truth is not being perceived, it is being refuted because it means what was once known is now false.

“When he is confronted with reality – what will his response be?”

And I pose this exact question to you. If confronted with the fact part of your understanding in life may have been an illusion, would you move to understand and accept the change, or would you shun it and believe the way you see is as true as it needs to be.

When I ask I don’t want you to think you will, thinking you will or will not isn’t really answering it’s guessing. You know yourself enough to be able to give an honest answer, even if it is the hard one. See what you feel and you can understand your own short comings and learn to open yourself to the changes that happen around you all the time.

For now I’ll leave yo with that question, but I’ll come back and throw in a little extra metaphor to try and further define the point of view I’m aiming to explain.