Monday, June 21, 2010

Of Meaning

Meaning, that on which it all hinges.
Accept, inhaling meaning.
Expression, exhaling meaning.
Gift, meaning passed from me to you.

I hand you a book wrapped in paper. I do not know you. You hand me a piece of paper, and walk away. A book bought, a transaction. Particles collided, interaction completed, immediately forgotten.
I hand you a book wrapped in paper. I do know you. You hand me a piece of card, and we walk together. A gift given, a relationship deepened. Expression of humanity, exchange completed, feeling ever binding us.

You see, a gift mediates meaning. If there is no meaning - a corporate gift, a free pen, a loyalty bonus - there is no gift. A gift is anti-free; it is binding. There is no greater love than that between mother and child, we are told. It derives largely from an evolved need for the mother to protect her offspring, true. But come here and look at it this way: she gives the gift of life to her child, the gift of protection and nourishment with her own body, to produce a child helplessly dependent upon her continuing to give. The bond is deep, and the meaning absolute; the meaning of new life.

The Jews were given the gift of freedom from oppression, the Christians were further given the Son of God, who gave them redemption - for God so loved the world he gave. This, the essence of the power of their stories.

So, if to be human is to live meaningfully, then to live is to give. What you give is largely immaterial, only it must be meaningful to you. If you have no time, give some that you do not have to your family. If you seek significance at work, give yourself to it or find a new position in which you can.

Meaning, inner significance.
Significance, difficulty of sacrifice.
Gift, my sacrifice made manifest, in offerance to you.

Who is my neighbour, someone once asked a Nazarene. The Samaritan that gave comfort and healing to a dying Jew, when his priest did not. The body on the road meant nothing to the priest, and he saw no value in it. The Samaritan saw value in the human life, and sacrificed his own resource to support it. Who is my friend, then? Look at your friends; are they not arbitrary? Who are they that you are so close to them but people who you happened to meet at school or work, accidents of geography and family history. But you could not replace them now, because of your shared history, the depth of your bond. You have given time to each other, gifts, love, support. You have listened to their troubles, they have salved your pain.

Medical professionals can kill your physical pain, but you need friends for your emotional hurt. When you grieve, can pills help like the reassuring hand on your shoulder?

Friend, someone now significant you have built a relationship with.
Bond, emotional history that binds you together.
Sacrifice, voluntarily giving up something significant, for the sake of meaning.
Gift, my sacrifice given to you, offering to bind us closer.

So, Meaning, then? Inner significance. And Gifts? My sacrifice, dedication of something significant to me, to deepen our relationship. Gifts mediate meaning.

What is the meaning of life? Given. Over and over, for all time.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Re: Goodbye to the office

In response to Seth Godin's Goodbye to the office.

"What's missing is #7... someplace to go."

Have you heard of the telecottage/telecentre concept used in Europe?

Telecentre [Wikipedia]

Workplaces [Teleworker Association]

The place is a communal, internet-connected space/building.

I surmised, when I heard about it, that infrequently-used buildings like churches could easily set up as telecottages during the week, and allow local teleworker networking. Of course, that all tends towards the creation of local tribes, and eventually into semi-organised aggregate workgroups who meet locally and are employed globally. Say goodbye to the oil crisis.

On a side note, it may make for a more varied cross-section of society (particularly as the implied flexibility of hours suits mothers) than at most IT-based workplaces, with a resulting impact on mate-finding which is currently predominantly done at work. Except for Silicon Valley, where nothing would change.

It also lends itself to far more efficient time-sharing of space; a much freer movement of people between facilities, predicated on preference for surroundings, busyness, company, cost. A new lease of use for churches, restaurants, cafes. You could go into the pub garden for a meeting, keep an eye on your children in the creche.

If I were to commute at a cottage (the tele prefix would have to die, as per the telephone), I would choose one that had a resident motivator psychologist, who could help me get through the Dip, and to avoid procrastination, and access to a technician to fix my PC.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Doubt

I can almost believe in God,
but more and more
I doubt evil.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Moving Finger

Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the poem The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, 1859:
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.