Stories

A rest from K story means contemporary philosopher Yuval Noah Harari's "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" has a turn and sets off the mind on a tangent with his story of the 3 competing macro stories of the 20th Century - Communism, Fascism and Liberalism ... suggesting that whilst the first two were archived, the survivor is currently struggling, with no clear successor in sight ... sceptics will note reworking of the first two as reactions to the obvious failures of the third ... whilst Charles Eisenstein and friends are writing a New Story with "The Beautiful New World Our Hearts Know is Possible" ....

The worlds as stories is not a new idea of course ... Shakespeare, said to have covered all available stories in their essence, gave us "All the world's a stage ..." to ponder ... the insight from the fuller quote is to remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, whilst choosing and playing our roles authentically, as if they were real ... beyond the roles, as previously observed, no substantial individual self is to be found ... whether this realisation is experienced as liberation or not is apparently dependent on our preparation for such disturbing news ... ongoing acceptance dependent on resisting the trap of the Gurus, who, having seen it, fail to notice the persistent, pesky little ego returning to bask in new found fame ...

Using the frame of nestled hierarchies, we might imagine stories within stories within stories at all levels ... the macro stories mentioned above as micro stories at cosmic scale suggesting the insignificance of our little dramas ... maybe a misreading of the nature of Infinity and Eternity and the potential for each of us to create our own stories, therefore realities, therefore worlds. ..

Meanwhile, in Stanhope, the weather turns cold and clear, ideal for early walks through the woods and over the fells ... later walks a little marred by the custom of heather burning as part of the management of the land for rearing grouse so wealthy killers may satisfy their blood lust by blasting semi-tame birds for sport ... the Buddhist story might point out the Karmic perils in such activity, though reincarnation is by no means fully embraced in contemporary Western stories, nor anything much beyond a life of slavery and a final exit ... the last chapter, The End ...

A visit to a friend nearing the end continues the question of ongoing consciousness, though as a convert to the once true faith his focus seems on the binary choice of heaven or hell and some doubt about what any of it means ... still, he seems reconciled to departing soon as the system slowly shuts down ... the vital spark flutters persistently,  as often seen, raising the question of conscious dying ...

Energy and its transmuted form, Power, and how the need for it drives the stories is next up ... Sun is still shining and outdoors calls ...