Sometimes you are the universe,
and sometimes the universe is you.
here’s lookin’ at you, kid
Tag Archives: stars
Amazingly Labyrinthian Existentialism
As I continue to pace along this brick path I come to the center and ponder with depth the situation at hand. Before any of us knew it, we were all thrust into what appears to be some kind of generational loop of dynamically and intricately woven connections between individual instances of living manifestations of matter, some of which seems self-aware. Here we all are journeying further and farther down our paths which were in part laid down by all who came before. Careening through space on this boat named Earth we get to spin round and circle the Sun as is flows around and around with the rest of the Milky Way. When you look up to the heavens a very different, very vast, and very long term perspective comes into view. Dealings back here on ground level seem mundane and trivial in a galactic scale, but in the labyrinth of our lives we know there to be great passion, love and meaning. There is great danger we must ward away, a bull headed monster roams this hedge maze. He is greed, hunger, violence, brutality, injustice and lives within each of us. He is not to be forgotten, but is easily kept at bay by our good will and charity.
“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.” – Frank Herbert, Dune
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.” – Lao Tzu
“Regardless of the staggering dimensions of the world about us, the density of our ignorance, the risks of catastrophes to come, and our individual weakness within the immense collectivity, the fact remains that we are absolutely free today if we choose to will our existence in its finiteness, a finiteness which is open on the infinite. And in fact, any man who has known real loves, real revolts, real desires, and real will knows quite well that he has no need of any outside guarantee to be sure of his goals; their certitude comes from his own drive.”
― Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity
“He was free, free in every way, free to behave like a fool or a machine, free to accept, free to refuse, free to equivocate; to marry, to give up the game, to drag this death weight about with him for years to come. He could do what he liked, no one had the right to advise him, there would be for him no Good or Evil unless he thought them into being.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
Gallery of collected labyrinthian imagery, please add your own in the comments below! 😀
Existing within nature.
We are surely a part of our natural surroundings. Serving as hosts for countless small organisms, our survival depends on the offerings and sacrifices of other forms of life. We are so deeply intertwined with everything else and on such a scale that even the atomic matter that makes up our bodies was once stardust and is now consciously reflecting on just that very idea of the universe’s self-awareness.
Those are the kind of ideas I’m trying to inspire with this piece called “We Exist In Nature.” Made in 2000 it still serves as one of my favorite early ventures into digital collage. It speaks to me of planetary harmony and separate paths to the centered enlightenment of diverse interconnectedness. What does this image say to you? Leave a comment below, share with friends.
Edit: And now you can get it on a card, mouse pad or why not even an iphone4 case thanks to Zazzle! 😀
Add your own quote, note, or what ever floats your boat to the inside and give it as a gift or a thank you.
Yes, I even slapped it on an iphone case. It was fun!
You should be able to put the design on other things they offer too. We are living in the future! Enjoy and be well!
And here we all are…
And here we all are. So insignificantly small when we look at the clear night sky, the winking stars so plentiful so far away and so long ago are telling us an important story. A lesson about who we are, who we will be, how much time there is reminds us of how we fit in. It’s all over in less than the blink of an eye. The lifespan of a gnat, the life’s work of an ant, a flickering flame sending an ember on an upward journey. Gone forever, unforgettable and with illusions of grandeur we rise and fall. From the deepest depths we crash and roll, breaking with the tides, endless, for all eternity. The hypnotic dull roar muted by clear glass doors, lulling us back to sleep. Lost in dreams. Alone with the hum of the fridge, the ticking of the clock as seconds pass forever, out the cold night’s breeze. Men strong and desperate work for squanderings on pitching decks under false lights that hide the heavens. And the fish die, giving themselves, ending their lives, as is their place, under the stars.
1.11.2013 – Mark Weathers