finally, the water level topped off leaving him with no more air to breathe he drew his last breath and slipped down deep into the darkness that claimed his soul
wyatt michael
F L I G H T R I S K
volume up . 1080p
departures & arrivals
both in the same building
at the same time
I really, really, really need
my fucking pills
a jim lamarche remix
from the album ONE LIFE
assembled in photoshop, logic audio & final cut
featuring the roland system 8
source music w/johannes hedberg & daniel vadestrid
“The soul is born old but grows young.” — Oscar Wilde
I’ve met some amazing people from a multitude of nationalities. My favourites are East Indian/South Asians, particularly from the northern Punjab region. There’s a sense of humility that’s in their old souls. It can’t be described accurately and everyone I meet and talk to from the Punjab exudes empathy and generosity.
A childlike innocence that embraces life regardless of the obstacles - an all knowing sense of self randomly drifting in the turbulence. Contentment.
It’s passed on as well. Younger Punjabi Indians born here have the same shimmer, an unexplained aura, temperament and ok - good karma. Mischievous and unpredictable.
Humanity is too vast/complex to even pretend to know what’s going to happen here. I mean it’s a crazy spin or roll of the dice that lands a certain way and we just deal with it. The one thing that remains consistent is our troubling times. I'm thinking this … we got through it before; we’ll do it again. I have faith even though I’m not religious. Faith embodies everything, transcending the limitations of religion. Salvation? Sure. Bring it on. Purgatory? If we must.
Life is difficult. We humans are cruel. It’s just here and there; it's what we do.
The Welcoming
In a recent poll, it was determined that around half of Canadian Conservatives would have voted for Trump too and that floored me. Roughly two thirds of us right now are Conservatives so 1/3 of Canadians overall approve of him. That said, we as a country are standing on the same precipice they were just a few short months ago, ready to jump like they just did. I was under the impression that almost all of us despised Trump's arrogant psychopathy but nope. We welcome it! The Lemming Theory comes to mind. It's a 'how could it possibly be any worse' or 'what have we got to lose' mindset having absolutely no idea that the answers to these questions are unthinkable.
Our complacency is relentless. Oh he's just kidding. That could never happen here. We wallow in mind numbing complicity while perilous provocateurs sow seeds of autocracy and all in the name of freedom. A crime of the century con carried out in broad daylight with those doing the stealing smiling and waving at us while we wave back in awe and admiration.
Our old souls are not amused.
The Imposition & The Reaction
Rage baiting resentment politics, casting that reaction vote is so very much in fashion, in pursuit of justice - empowering entitlement and appeasing anxiety (wishful thinking). That impending threat of being swallowed up by progressive socialist elitists forcing their insipid ideology on those of us just needing to be left alone (or so we would like to believe).
No. It's the friction, tension and anger that is very much part of the allure. We have been inundated with the idea that hate actually feels good even though it's something most would never admit to. It's a covert agenda shared enthusiastically amongst like minded cohorts who love painful pleasures. Inflicting scorn - eating popcorn.
Imposing Black Lives Matters, LGBTQ/carbon tax, vaccination nonsense on us like rules we’re just supposed to follow now? Time to take a stand. Bring it home (to Daddy). Short term gain, long term pain but hey - it’s what’s necessary to maintain some sense of tradition.
Old souls are detached, wise and gracious. Generally quiet, understated. Always listening and relaxed yet alert. They don’t say much but when they do it’s like a bright light in a dark tunnel, illuminating truth and accepting any challenge presented. No affiliations, no allegiances - no puritan pride. Neutral ...
Responsible. Kind.
Epilogue:
This imposition of authority is erroneous. Old souls remain detached, knowing this. We're born, we live our lives then we die ... every one of us. The ongoing need to be dominant only hurts.
Any old soul will tell you that those pretending to be all knowing are those who know nothing and that politicians pretending to be 'for the people' care little about the people, only about what they can get from them. In these treacherous times one needn't look very far to make these discoveries.
Hey Canada. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. Time to strap in and drop like a stone.
I used to love Star Trek (still do). Ok, removing all the goo, Gene Roddenberry was really onto something with that show that evolved into many wonderful segments, like a jigsaw puzzle eventually becoming a clear picture.One of those brisky bits that really moved me was the idea of a Prime Directive.
The Directive ultimately came to fruition during the Next Generation series with Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frake in the early 90s and lasted 7 seasons.In short, it’s a guiding principle of Starfleet, prohibiting its members from interfering with the internal and natural development of alien civilizations.It is almost biblical in its’ depth and fundamental understanding of human nature; coming from a place of timeless wisdom and humility.I became fascinated with the idea rivalling the allegorical musings of Tolstoy or Huxley and all presented in an entertaining one hour television show on Sunday nights.
You see, within the Star Trek universe, The Prime Directive is a crucial regulation that has all encompassing ramifications in terms of how humanity can sustain itself and evolve peacefully over many millennia.That said; it is rarely practiced.
It is in our primal nature to interfere with other countries, cultures, families, friends and lovers.To recreate them in our own image … to change them in order to fulfill our basic needs because we are fundamentally at the center of our own universe; omnipotent and oppressive.Going ‘where no man has gone before’ means making them one of us and has become a more pragmatic premise.In the practice of foreign relations, acquisitions in commerce, or even in the day to day running of a family, the Prime Directive is nothing more than a lofty idea lacking in practicality and absent of common sense.
With little regard of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet (or person), no reference to shared space, other worlds or advanced civilizations can we actually live together.Ok, looks great on TV but doesn’t work in the real world.Right?Ironic, that such an iconic principle can be relegated to mere fiction but that’s just how it works. Better to fantasize than realize.
The Directive reflects both a consequentialist commitment to reducing harm and a Kantian commitment to respecting the autonomy of others. Built into it is an assumption that cultures are better off if left to their own devices (whether those “devices” are social practices or concrete technologies). Interference by Starfleet, even if well-intentioned, is judged likely to mess things up in unanticipated ways — and if the culture in question is to deal with unintended harms, it would be better if they result from the culture’s own free choices. This embodies a kind of anti-colonialist ethos, a commitment to respecting a civilization's own values, beliefs, and practices rather than forcing “better” ones upon them. (Recall that the original run of Star Trek coincided with the Vietnam War, American involvement in which made a policy of non-interference look pretty good to many viewers).
It's in our nature to be helpful.
Maybe this is why the Prime Directive is not an exceptionless rule: Even if Starfleet ought not to play God, nor to use its superior technologies to correct with coercion, ultimately ethics may require that we trust members of other civilizations to choose their own paths even as they grapple with the possibilities presented by contact with Starfleet.Sharing a universe is in itself a kind of intervention. The trick is finding a way to share it on equal terms, but as long as our interests become myopic, will there be conflict and thus the constructive conclusion. A benign benevolence just isn't practical. That said …there is something quite liberating in non-interference even though the practice is often difficult to sustain.It is in our intrinsic natures to express our opinions and to impose our wills on others … especially our children - those we 'love'.
Finding that balance between guidance and imposition is easier said than done.
I was an education counsellor at a private vocational (post-secondary) school for 4 years a decade ago.I hated it but learned one thing.In sales (as in life itself), there’s persuasion and there’s manipulation and there’s really no way of measuring where one ends and where the other begins and ... resistance is futile.
What comes up for me in this careful closure is my first ‘zen experience’ (circa 1985 - true story).
My younger brother and I bought two kites and on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, we trekked down to the Thames River near Woodstock to fly them. Dave always had a way with these things as his kite went up effortlessly and in minutes. He laid back on the grass, lit up a smoke and watched it sail beautifully over the river. I struggled with mine for at least an hour. It crashed several times in a plowed, muddy field and when I finally did manage to get it up (no pun intended) … it wasn’t positioned right. It was over the field, not the river.
I continued to struggle with it until I eventually lost my patience and tied the damned thing to a bush, not caring if it crashed again. Frustrated, I went for a walk along the rivers edge and when I turned to look a couple of minutes later; I was shocked to see that my white kite was gliding beautifully … over the river!
