Spirits in a material world

The Cheshire Cat 2004-03-01 03:56:41 ET I haven't listened to it in a few weeks, but The Police's "Spirits in a Material World" lyrics keep coming into my mind. Now they're singin' about politics and how our bodies and this planet are substantial, but we're actually spirits controlling everything. My take on the title alone, though, is that we are spirits living in a materialistic world. It's coming up to tax time and all I can really think about is the fact that none of this shit actually matters. The music I listen to, the photos I take, the pavement I sometimes have to pound. They're all just things to help us pass through this time we call life. Now I'm not saying I don't value the art others make, and that it isn't a worthwhile endeavour, or the concrete the city puts down for us to tread isn't something to be greatful for, I just don't think any of it impacts me the same way I thought it did. Cause when you're dead, well shit, taxes? they mean fuck all, just like U2 or NIN or my photography. I'm not saying I don't care if I live or die. I wanna live, cause theGirl keeps it interesting, and there's a bunch of things I want to do that I'm not sure I'll get to experience in the next life. Like who knows if they've got paintball in heaven? Or if there is a heaven... yada yada yada... But I'm not afraid of death like I might have been. I've had a few close calls, stuff that's had my heart racing, but they haven't changed me. Just made me realise that when it happens, there's not a goddamned thing you can do to stop it. So why worry. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, care for theGirl when she needs it, and hit the play button one more time. Who wants a pint? Paddy's day is comin' up.

Sybarite 2004-03-01 05:26:22 ET Our philosophies on life in general seem to be very similar, hon.. not all that surprising, though. ;)

The Cheshire Cat 2004-03-01 07:16:20 ET It's a varying philosophy at times. Some days I find myself actually concerned about the little things, and what's going to happen 5 years down the road, but worrying about all the variables, like bird flu and SARS and cancer and nearly getting killed cause I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time are just too much to have to worry about. But then, I still am concerned about making sure that things are taken care of, cause I'm not living life alone anymore. Nicole is fast becoming a huge part of my future and I have to be aware that soon the decisions I'd normally be making just for me will have a direct impact on her. So I have to start caring about things like taxes. Even tho they don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Sybarite 2004-03-01 07:31:03 ET Many of us go through that sort of see-saw of philisophy/emotions. Some days I just look around at all these people hurrying to get to work, and rushing to get to all sorts of things that.. really don't matter in the grand scheme. I see commercials for things like botox injections and hair transplants and just shake my head.. listen to people go on about the latest thing that they bought, and all I can think of is, 60 years from now, when you look back at your life, can you say that you made any contribution to the well-being of the planet and those around you? When you die, what have you really, truly left behind? Art, music, writing.. they're all important for the time being, for our souls, but they are in fact, ephemeral. A thousand years ago, a man might have played the most beautiful song in the world on his flute, bringing tears to the eyes of those around him.. but that's lost now. Granted, his creation might have had a change on one person who listened to it, causing a chain reaction that had a major impact on today, but we ourselves will never hear the strains that he played. So much shit that we deem important don't truly "matter" worth a damn. Fuck, I'm still trying to figure out why people think that celebrities are so incredibly special and important. TV sucks, most movies are crap in one way or another, and yet these icons are revered. The best thing we can do is live well. If we can look ourselves in the mirror each day and be happy with who we are, and know that we're being the best person we -can- be, to those we love, and to ourselves, then that's one step in the direction toward what truly 'matters'. ok. I'm blathering and I have more packing to do.

The Cheshire Cat 2004-03-01 07:51:35 ET That's exactly what I'm saying, Syb. For all we are, in time, it'll mean nothing. More than anything 'd like to leave a local legacy, that to a select few and their decendants, I was important. That I did something that changed a small corner in the world. And Yeah, I'd like one or two of my images to inspire someone else to go and do good things in some way. Even when my name is forgotten in 100 years, a decaying slab of stone the marker of me, I hope I affected something. But all I can do is just be me, and maybe that's all I have to do. Now I'm blathering and I have a fridge to shoot.

Xander 2004-03-01 09:56:42 ET can we discuss this on paddy's day?

Mark My Words 2004-03-01 10:07:09 ET I've got nothing philosophical to say, because its all been said already, so rather than being the broken record I say "rock on" =) *thumbs up to you*

Sybarite 2004-03-01 10:34:02 ET I'm sure you'll leave a legacy of some sort, Sean.. even if to a small, select group of people. There will be an impact.

Mark My Words 2004-03-01 12:27:01 ET A very good point.

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