by Ray Jason
In a far anchorage of the
Archipelago of Bliss, the thick tropical night heat had glistened my little
ship. As I came on deck, I was delighted
to find her shimmering with moon glow. A
single night bird was calling for a mate - or perhaps it was just saluting the
almost unbearable beauty.
I was carrying a pitcher of water to
pour over myself with the hope of cooling down enough to go back to sleep. After dousing myself, I stood on the bow and
smiled - knowing that I was the only human in this silver-tinted lagoon. The night bird fell silent. Maybe it had never seen a naked man
glistening and shimmering in the moonlight.
I sat down, and my dampness merged
with the dewy deck. Sleep no longer
appealed to me. This was one of those
transcendent moments that only a fool or an empty person would fail to savor. Such a night must have inspired the many
immortal classical music geniuses who had composed “nocturnes.” The idea of writing a philosophical nocturne
suddenly intrigued me. Ideally, it would
be poetic and evocative and broad in its perspective – illuminating the grand
sweep of the human horizon.
*******
How seldom do we modern humans step
away from it all to reflect on our lives - and on LIFE! We are so mesmerized by the frenzy and
trinkets of the consumer society. It
would be emotionally - and perhaps even foundationally - dangerous for most
people to pause and question the elixirs of Speed and Stuff.
Instead, it is the artistic outriders, those who exile themselves from the human
caravan in order to observe it more clearly, who offer some cultural depth
perception. The great painter, Paul
Gauguin, who abandoned Paris and renounced domesticity for the more authentic
and almost feral life of the South Seas islands, is a great exemplar of this.
In what he
considered his finest painting, there are three panels. The figures on the first segment relate to
the question of “Where do we come from?”
On the second triptych the theme is “What are we?” And the third portion of the masterpiece
inquires, “Where are we going?”
This is a far cry from “Who will be the next American Idol?”
I too am blessed (or cursed) with the desire to unravel the enchanting inscrutability of the human condition. As an ocean sailor, who often views the world from extreme, deep-sea isolation, I have a very different perspective on things.
For example, most people never ponder the highly
regimented flow of a normal modern life.
Our Paths are so much more pre-ordained than we are willing to
acknowledge. We perceive ourselves as
the Architects of our Destiny but we are often just the Products of a Human
Assembly Line. Rare indeed are the
individuals who break out of the mold in which they were cast at Fate’s Foundry.
Look at some of the labels that define and shape
us. We thoughtlessly accept the role of
“citizen” without acknowledging that our nationality is almost totally an
accident of birth. Does the country of
your birth represent your values and your aspirations? Certainly, mine does not.
And did anyone ask your permission to declare you a
“consumer?” Examine how insidiously that
reduces your human capacity and potential.
Do you wish to be remembered as a “buyer of stuff?” Or would you rather be a unique and ever-fluid
blend of thinker, parent, lover, athlete, striver, poet, dreamer and all of the
other qualities that the designation “consumer” suffocates?
Equally disturbing to anyone who embraces an
emancipated, free-flowing life, is the subtle but powerful way that “authority”
is worshipped in our culture. Schools
are practically conformity indoctrination factories. High test scores are valued far more than
creative or independent thinking. The
purpose of education seems to have veered away from the development of
inquisitive minds. Instead the goal
seems to be the production of obedient workers who are smart enough to run the
machines but not bright enough to recognize or rebel against their subordination.
Religion is another example of the almost un-noticed
way that powerful contemporary institutions force us to surrender our autonomy
and uniqueness. When have you ever heard
your pastor or your mullah stand before the congregation and say, “Today we
will do a comparative religion overview.
Afterwards, you can decide for yourselves which church best coincides
with your beliefs and aspirations.” That
is about as likely as one of them saying, “We now realize that humans do not
need commandments from on high. In fact,
you are quite capable of making wise moral decisions by yourselves, without
guidance from an invisible man in the sky.”
Patriotism is another way that The Malignant Overlords
diminish one’s individual sovereignty.
It is the old divide and conquer ploy of pitting one group against another
and thus making them far easier to manipulate.
The mass of ordinary people get suckered into the “us against them”
paradigm while the rulers above them increase their power and control. Very few people realize that the flags that
they wave are actually symbols of their own subjugation.
*******
As I sat with my back against AVENTURA’s mast, jotting
down notes for this essay, I suddenly realized that there was a change in the
lagoon. I put aside my old clipboard
with the little reading light attached to it, and looked up at the sky. The
moon had nudged itself halfway behind a cloud, thus turning the empty cove into
a wonderland of liquid silver. I smiled with
pleasure as I savored the sublime beauty of this tiny outpost of our
magnificent planet.
But when I returned to my notes, I sighed with sadness
as I pondered how so many people get unknowingly corralled into life roles that
they would probably never willingly select.
There are so many unique, inspirational, and joyous Paths available. So, why do so many people become American, fast-paced,
hard-working, god-fearing, flag-waving shoppers?