3.25.2004
Welcome to the Desert of the Real
Being a “computer geek” with a liberal arts background, it should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of the popular Matrix trilogy. The fact that the whole series of movies is one big metaphoric “mirror” of our own society is something that probably escaped the masses, which delighted in the flash, violence, and special effects, (which, are by no means anything to sneeze at).
When Morpheus tells Neo that the Matrix is about control, he wasn’t lying. Nor was it a coincidence that just about every major myth, legend, and spiritual belief in existence was somehow represented within the confines of the three movies. Perhaps we aren’t “human batteries,” as it was portrayed in the films, but we are certainly moving through a world based upon rules and controls.
Consider how we get our information. How do we know whether it is “true” or not? Most of us accept what we are told because we don’t have the time or inclination to root things out for ourselves. I cannot think of one source of information that is not “filtered” through several other levels before it reaches me. Even the Internet, that bastion of freedom and rebellion, is not entirely free of the potential corruption. Many of us are so “...hopelessly dependent on the system,” that there is no way to “unplug” us from it.
How about our dependence on “the basics” of survival: food, shelter, electricity, running water, a reasonably maintained system of sanitation, vehicles, fuel...what if these systems and sub-systems suddenly “broke down”? What would happen if so many of our layers upon layers of support were suddenly ripped away? How many people would be able to fend for themselves? How many people would starve to death, or succumb to diseases that our civilization had previously wiped out? If the “structure” we so greatly depend upon were to come crashing in upon itself, I suspect we would see a lot of primal instincts and urges from our past resurfacing. The evolutionary concept of Laze Faire, or “survival of the fittest,” would surely come into action.
The message is clear: we have become lazy. We have allowed the control over our thoughts, our feelings, and our very survival to become so hopelessly over dependent that many of us would not know what to do without these structures. We have become voluntary victims of the success of our forebears to the point that their success, has led to our excess. We have way too much and no clue what to do with it all. This in and of itself creates a level of control- we are the ultimate consumers. We consume far more than we can produce, and we take far more than we need, without replenishing what we take.
The Matrix explores just about every method of control there is. When one is broadcasting into the matrix, one is pretty much “strapped down” into a chair. If one’s “projected self” dies within the matrix, the body in the “real world” also dies. All our understandings and beliefs control how we think, feel, and operate within the world. Try, even for a moment, to consider the possibility that everything you’ve ever been told, come to understand, or taken for granted to be “true,” is a misrepresentation or an outright lie. Imagine that the very fabric that allows you to function as you do each day is torn asunder. Could your sanity survive? Would you be able to salvage what was left and continue to function?
I submit that most of us have come to understand our world through our own personal interactions with it. If we were to discover that our interactions were flawed or somehow “separated” from “true reality,” we would no longer have the frame of reference necessary to function. We would have to start all over again, rebuilding our concepts and beliefs until we could come to terms with our environment. We humans tend to be contextual beings. We quite often create contexts by which we are able to assimilate and accommodate everything around us. Without these “artificial constructs,” many of us would be unable to do so.
Our sense of “artificiality” has led to the advent of so-called “reality TV,” where we passively partake in the struggles, trials, and tribulations of others. It is sort of a “rehash” of the highly successful formula used in soap operas: most people become mesmerized by OPP (Other People’s Problems) because in so doing, they can, even for a moment, escape their own. When we no longer have to fight and struggle to stay alive, we must find other ways to channel these instincts, naturally, we have turned to sex, drugs, violence, thrill seeking, and all manner of distractions. It seems we need something to immerse ourselves in that allows us, even for a moment, to forget that we are more-or-less “stuck” in our own lives. If we want to keep what we have, and add to it, we have to be willing to give up much of our freedoms to do so. Just like in the movie, it is a choice we’ve made, but I’m not so sure we’re really interested in understanding that choice. Perhaps this is why we spend so much time distracting ourselves.
Even time is an artificial construct. We never seem to have enough of it. When we are busy, it seems to “fly.” When we are not, it seems to drag on indefinitely. The numbers don’t change, just our perceptions of the count. So many people make themselves frantic trying to “stay on time.” We try to squeeze more and more into the same amount of time, and somehow justify that someday if we keep working hard, we’ll actually get a chance to relax. Usually, by the time “someday” comes, we no longer have the health or vigor left to enjoy whatever is left of our lives.
Time is an illusion. It controls us because we make choices based upon our faulty perceptions of it. It drives a sense of urgency that is also illusionary, but many of us feel we cannot ignore that either. The more “urgent” our time becomes, the more desperate we begin to feel, the less likely we are to consider others around us, and the more likely we are to justify rude behavior in our expedience. The more we allow time to control us, the more selfish and less compassionate we become.
One of the more important elements to The Matrix is the concept of choice. According to Agent Smith, the first matrix was a disaster, people refused to accept the programming because it was far too Utopian in nature. Without a sense of purpose and a sense of struggle, humans don’t know what to do. We cannot live in a state of constant pleasure without the corresponding (and interwoven) possibility of suffering. Yet there are many who, even today, believe we can deny those things that we perceive to be “unpleasant,” by clinging to that which we perceive to be “pleasant.” All things are one, they must be accepted as they are, not as we would wish, hope, or pray, for them to be.
This brings us to faith. Such a small word, and like love, it means many different things depending on whom you ask. For some, it is about surrender, for others, it is about unquestioned belief, still others see it as something they can turn to for solace, guidance, and ultimate understanding. Faith may be all of these things and more, but at the core of faith there is one very important principle: letting go. When we have true faith, we let go of our worries, our concerns, and our troubles. Faith trusts that, whatever happens, that is what was meant to happen, whether we believe it to be by “divine intelligence,” or sheer coincidence. It doesn’t matter which. At some point, we all have to let go of the things we cannot control, and trust that events will unfold accordingly. We must recognize that, having done the best we can, whatever happens, happens. Somehow, I doubt that everyone would agree with my interpretation of this issue.
People have turned faith into a type of control. They have turned it into a sort of clingy, needy, and desperate, longing for events to unfold a certain way. Many people build their entire lives around the idea that having faith means they must not only cling to their beliefs with steadfast vigilance, but that they must also convince others that they too should believe the same way. Such people have confused ego with faith, and cannot abide the idea that anyone would believe differently than they do. A familiar pattern emerges, yet another form of control, (which begs the question: whom is the controller, and who is being controlled?).
This brings an interesting paradox to the whole equation: “If faith is about letting go and most of what we encounter in our lives is a control of one form or another, isn’t faith simply accepting those controls thus making us willing participants in our own enslavement?” Recognizing that our current state of affairs is pretty much designed to control us is only part of the issue. Recognizing that our best way of gaining back control of our lives is to let it all go, that is the tough part.
Most of us have been convinced we do have control over our lives. We have been “programmed” to assume that, because we are making decisions and choices every day, that we are ultimately in control of our own destiny. Once we realize that the current system does not really permit that level of autonomy over ourselves; only then can we accept the choice to let it all go. Our feeble attempts at controlling our lives within the current framework usually end up going awry anyway. In order to regain the freedom to control our own lives, we must first recognize that we cannot control the situation we now find ourselves in. Then we can let go. Once we let go, we realize we were being fooled into giving away what was never really ours to give.
We have, each of us, made a choice. We have chosen to accept what we understand, perceive, and feel right now to be reality. We have chosen to rely on this vision of reality to the point that it has become the keystone in our collective “arches.” Yet, in order for us to evolve, to grow, to learn, to become something greater than we are right now, we have to be willing to push outward from the “safe boundaries.” We must be willing to travel into the unknown and discover what it is it has to teach us. This is how we break out of the controls, rules, locks, and bars we have established around our lives. This is how we shake loose the sediment and dust of our current circumstance and open ourselves up to new possibilities. Fear may be a part of this process, but it does not have to dominate or control us. We can choose our own path, but first, we must recognize the path we are now on, and decide to choose another.
© 2004, J.S.Brown
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When Morpheus tells Neo that the Matrix is about control, he wasn’t lying. Nor was it a coincidence that just about every major myth, legend, and spiritual belief in existence was somehow represented within the confines of the three movies. Perhaps we aren’t “human batteries,” as it was portrayed in the films, but we are certainly moving through a world based upon rules and controls.
Consider how we get our information. How do we know whether it is “true” or not? Most of us accept what we are told because we don’t have the time or inclination to root things out for ourselves. I cannot think of one source of information that is not “filtered” through several other levels before it reaches me. Even the Internet, that bastion of freedom and rebellion, is not entirely free of the potential corruption. Many of us are so “...hopelessly dependent on the system,” that there is no way to “unplug” us from it.
How about our dependence on “the basics” of survival: food, shelter, electricity, running water, a reasonably maintained system of sanitation, vehicles, fuel...what if these systems and sub-systems suddenly “broke down”? What would happen if so many of our layers upon layers of support were suddenly ripped away? How many people would be able to fend for themselves? How many people would starve to death, or succumb to diseases that our civilization had previously wiped out? If the “structure” we so greatly depend upon were to come crashing in upon itself, I suspect we would see a lot of primal instincts and urges from our past resurfacing. The evolutionary concept of Laze Faire, or “survival of the fittest,” would surely come into action.
The message is clear: we have become lazy. We have allowed the control over our thoughts, our feelings, and our very survival to become so hopelessly over dependent that many of us would not know what to do without these structures. We have become voluntary victims of the success of our forebears to the point that their success, has led to our excess. We have way too much and no clue what to do with it all. This in and of itself creates a level of control- we are the ultimate consumers. We consume far more than we can produce, and we take far more than we need, without replenishing what we take.
The Matrix explores just about every method of control there is. When one is broadcasting into the matrix, one is pretty much “strapped down” into a chair. If one’s “projected self” dies within the matrix, the body in the “real world” also dies. All our understandings and beliefs control how we think, feel, and operate within the world. Try, even for a moment, to consider the possibility that everything you’ve ever been told, come to understand, or taken for granted to be “true,” is a misrepresentation or an outright lie. Imagine that the very fabric that allows you to function as you do each day is torn asunder. Could your sanity survive? Would you be able to salvage what was left and continue to function?
I submit that most of us have come to understand our world through our own personal interactions with it. If we were to discover that our interactions were flawed or somehow “separated” from “true reality,” we would no longer have the frame of reference necessary to function. We would have to start all over again, rebuilding our concepts and beliefs until we could come to terms with our environment. We humans tend to be contextual beings. We quite often create contexts by which we are able to assimilate and accommodate everything around us. Without these “artificial constructs,” many of us would be unable to do so.
Our sense of “artificiality” has led to the advent of so-called “reality TV,” where we passively partake in the struggles, trials, and tribulations of others. It is sort of a “rehash” of the highly successful formula used in soap operas: most people become mesmerized by OPP (Other People’s Problems) because in so doing, they can, even for a moment, escape their own. When we no longer have to fight and struggle to stay alive, we must find other ways to channel these instincts, naturally, we have turned to sex, drugs, violence, thrill seeking, and all manner of distractions. It seems we need something to immerse ourselves in that allows us, even for a moment, to forget that we are more-or-less “stuck” in our own lives. If we want to keep what we have, and add to it, we have to be willing to give up much of our freedoms to do so. Just like in the movie, it is a choice we’ve made, but I’m not so sure we’re really interested in understanding that choice. Perhaps this is why we spend so much time distracting ourselves.
Even time is an artificial construct. We never seem to have enough of it. When we are busy, it seems to “fly.” When we are not, it seems to drag on indefinitely. The numbers don’t change, just our perceptions of the count. So many people make themselves frantic trying to “stay on time.” We try to squeeze more and more into the same amount of time, and somehow justify that someday if we keep working hard, we’ll actually get a chance to relax. Usually, by the time “someday” comes, we no longer have the health or vigor left to enjoy whatever is left of our lives.
Time is an illusion. It controls us because we make choices based upon our faulty perceptions of it. It drives a sense of urgency that is also illusionary, but many of us feel we cannot ignore that either. The more “urgent” our time becomes, the more desperate we begin to feel, the less likely we are to consider others around us, and the more likely we are to justify rude behavior in our expedience. The more we allow time to control us, the more selfish and less compassionate we become.
One of the more important elements to The Matrix is the concept of choice. According to Agent Smith, the first matrix was a disaster, people refused to accept the programming because it was far too Utopian in nature. Without a sense of purpose and a sense of struggle, humans don’t know what to do. We cannot live in a state of constant pleasure without the corresponding (and interwoven) possibility of suffering. Yet there are many who, even today, believe we can deny those things that we perceive to be “unpleasant,” by clinging to that which we perceive to be “pleasant.” All things are one, they must be accepted as they are, not as we would wish, hope, or pray, for them to be.
This brings us to faith. Such a small word, and like love, it means many different things depending on whom you ask. For some, it is about surrender, for others, it is about unquestioned belief, still others see it as something they can turn to for solace, guidance, and ultimate understanding. Faith may be all of these things and more, but at the core of faith there is one very important principle: letting go. When we have true faith, we let go of our worries, our concerns, and our troubles. Faith trusts that, whatever happens, that is what was meant to happen, whether we believe it to be by “divine intelligence,” or sheer coincidence. It doesn’t matter which. At some point, we all have to let go of the things we cannot control, and trust that events will unfold accordingly. We must recognize that, having done the best we can, whatever happens, happens. Somehow, I doubt that everyone would agree with my interpretation of this issue.
People have turned faith into a type of control. They have turned it into a sort of clingy, needy, and desperate, longing for events to unfold a certain way. Many people build their entire lives around the idea that having faith means they must not only cling to their beliefs with steadfast vigilance, but that they must also convince others that they too should believe the same way. Such people have confused ego with faith, and cannot abide the idea that anyone would believe differently than they do. A familiar pattern emerges, yet another form of control, (which begs the question: whom is the controller, and who is being controlled?).
This brings an interesting paradox to the whole equation: “If faith is about letting go and most of what we encounter in our lives is a control of one form or another, isn’t faith simply accepting those controls thus making us willing participants in our own enslavement?” Recognizing that our current state of affairs is pretty much designed to control us is only part of the issue. Recognizing that our best way of gaining back control of our lives is to let it all go, that is the tough part.
Most of us have been convinced we do have control over our lives. We have been “programmed” to assume that, because we are making decisions and choices every day, that we are ultimately in control of our own destiny. Once we realize that the current system does not really permit that level of autonomy over ourselves; only then can we accept the choice to let it all go. Our feeble attempts at controlling our lives within the current framework usually end up going awry anyway. In order to regain the freedom to control our own lives, we must first recognize that we cannot control the situation we now find ourselves in. Then we can let go. Once we let go, we realize we were being fooled into giving away what was never really ours to give.
We have, each of us, made a choice. We have chosen to accept what we understand, perceive, and feel right now to be reality. We have chosen to rely on this vision of reality to the point that it has become the keystone in our collective “arches.” Yet, in order for us to evolve, to grow, to learn, to become something greater than we are right now, we have to be willing to push outward from the “safe boundaries.” We must be willing to travel into the unknown and discover what it is it has to teach us. This is how we break out of the controls, rules, locks, and bars we have established around our lives. This is how we shake loose the sediment and dust of our current circumstance and open ourselves up to new possibilities. Fear may be a part of this process, but it does not have to dominate or control us. We can choose our own path, but first, we must recognize the path we are now on, and decide to choose another.
TANSTAAFL!
© 2004, J.S.Brown
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