Wheels-within-Wheels #3

iii. A fine line will often be found separating fantasy and delusion. Illusion has many benefits, but may consume an individual who then loses the world. Any degree is entirely subjective until base reality interferes and pronounces judgement. Motivation can be obsession. Except for the zealot, choice is a confused matter. Especially in very subtle or deep matters, reality is sometimes confused with fantasy and delusion. The conscious mind does not fully fathom the depths of it own well, and may honestly believe otherwise. A tiny error may propagate itself through many threads and lodge themselves, thus leading to the formulation of even larger and greater errors. Some take the form of belief, but may even prove life-sustaining for a time. Most errors outlive their usefulness. Some chose their own lies. The willing are stubborn or just plain stupid. A degree of each element exists within all individuals, but becomes even more manifest and apparent in herd dynamics. Certain states might be encouraged, sanctioned or codified by society, culture and government by demanding and rewarding compliance. A universal application suits nothing exactly. Most supplications prove hollow in their old age and may even prove ruinous. Those projecting a dead Christian morality to American culture have allowed competing schemes, like maximum advantage, to predominate through their blindness. Despite cultural inertia, the world changes. Eventually, the existing order is supplanted by those espousing new values with no place in the status quo. The human animal seeks stimuli. Boredom creates idle minds which may seek to create new niches or expand upon those already in their infancy. Besides often cited backlash, revolutions occur in part due to such mechanisms. Circumstances may lead to susceptibility of the existing order to toppling influences, but the underlying sentiment must be present (although possibly submerged). Perception is the guiding force behind any need for change. Belief in cultural myths, like progress and equality, are necessary, else the existing order would appear to stagnate and therefore fall to external and internal pressures. Variation seems necessary, especially in the present age of development, where each hue must hold commercial potential. Eventually, the appeal will lose hold, and the world will slip toward another age determined by the dominant element. The decadent, an unhealthy and anti-natural by-product of restless impulses, will only stagnate because energy is expended on nothing. Decadence may be a social manifestation of learned helplessness leading toward nihilism. History will determine which path will be tread by both the natural and anti-natural in response. Real change is unnoticed by the over-stimulated. Walls are sometimes seen where none need exist. Genius might be considered the ability to walk through these walls. Habit may often demarcate these walls through learned responses. Although appearances may be deceiving, the world is never truly stagnant. Even decay provides opportunities. The cycle continues. Destructive impulses may be overcome through accepting and adapting to change. Hence, obstacles are overcome, and goals accomplished. Having never really existed except as erroneous perception, some difficulties may even be ignored. The discerning mind will often see, but refuse to believe the possibility of even the greatest errors. Will is often stunted in this manner. The opportunist will often be able to exploit the resultant schism and frustration for maximum advantage. Weakness may always be made strength, but not always within the scope of self-interest. Power is forcing others to accept limitations. Insecurities provide keys to many a door. Hence, some doors are locked in perpetuity. The individual will often mirror the attitudes of society at large. Improper establishment of causal and effectual relationships keep many chained to fear. Knowledge alone does nothing. One must also possess the true wisdom for comprehending complex subtleties. A meaningless flood of data drowns. Trends may indicate the opposite of conventional wisdom. Care must be taken in any analysis. The delusional or apparent may be rejected by accepting evidence before the senses. Emotional reactions may be externally controlled, but will lead to difficulties when applied internally. One may avoid manipulative emotional appeals by realizing the agenda thus avoiding crushing disappointment and the resultant cynicism which poisons everything. The world is rarely in pitch darkness. Beliefs need not be absolute or permanent. Truth exists within wheels-within-wheels. A picture is always an incomplete representation of the event filmed. The idea is often lost or changed in the translation. Response is controllable and conditioned. One may actively program oneself by willingly discarding a piece of humanity, or choose not to be programmed by an act of will. Either way, one gains over allowing the job be done by others. The resultant self-respect may even overcome all moralities, technical or otherwise. The choice is all that matters. A self-victimizer is a ready made tool. Even while swallowing one whole, insanity can be fought. Balance is not inherent. Struggle is usually uneven. Fairness is a mythical fantasy, but none the less necessary for it. One might suffer learned helplessness otherwise. A tool will ultimately deserve its fate, whereas the choices involved may prove sublime and celebrated. Great leaders have followed this path. The present road is less clearly delineated by the present age where the military has changed its function and meaning. Future warriors will fight obscured by fog. For many, comfort and security are found by becoming content with a few shiny stones. For others, happiness is a bane. Laziness is easy to exploit by simple maintenance rather than improvement. The initiative to overcome fear and apathy is found only from within, else strength becomes blunted and stagnant. The mist evaporates only when we will it.