post-modern kids

I'll build
an origami aeroplane
from these words:

safety and sour sugar

and I'll build
a pilot
from this word:

fly

I'll build
the crumple-crash

crash!
crumple!

until one day
accidentally
I build death
with this word:

die




I wrote this poem several months ago, but I've been thinking about post-modernism a lot lately, and about how the post-modern worldview has affected the "youth of today". I've come to a few partial-conclusions.

I have to admit that I am guilty of approaching thought-systems on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one, and post-modernism makes me want to cry. I'm depressed with the lack of ambition and enthusiasm I see in the under-30s around me. They seem to have no desire to learn, or to discover, or to revelate or to philosophize. But their condition doesn't surprise me, because I notice it in myself almost every day.

It seems to us that all the important books have been written, all the profound statements made, all the great discoveries published. It seems to us that everything there was to know about human nature was explored in the classics, and then refuted in modern psychology, and now we know everything there is to know about our emotions and motivations, and it turns out that they are nothing by chemical reactions and explainable synapses. It seems we might as well do what we want. It certainly doesn't seem worthwhile to attempt to say anything new about the human condition. And since what comes closest to modern truth is so discouraging, why should we want to learn about what has already been said anyway?

The same thing happens when we examine science and philosophy. The more we realize that the sum of human discovery seems to have led to the conclusion that reality and truth are fabrications of language, and that humans are not of any real significance compared to the random, huge, and impersonal schemata of the cosmos, the less we want to know, and the less we feel we have anything to say.

The result is a disinterest and a dislike for learning, and a general hopelessness with certainly must affect aspects of our lives other than the intellectual one. For me, it has driven to an apathy and agnosticism that frightens me. Has anyone else experienced this?

On a tangent, I like to call myself a writer, and sometimes I realize that I believe more in the words than in what they say.

Like You Mean It ...

Ignore ignorance ...
Bliss for a while
End a convo with a smile and a cherio

Wonder about things out of the norm
"I wont give up, I'll never give up"
Understand the meaning ...

Say it like you mean it.

I will ignore ignorance
I will wake up tomorrow feeling blissful
I will end every conversation with a smile and a cherio

I will wonder about things that dont happen often or not at all
I will say that i wont give up and that i'll never give up just so you know
i understand the meaning.

I understand it when you say i can change
I understand the consequences of being plain

At my own peril i will change for me and not for you.

Do you find that a person will say something and mean something else? Do you find people will only say things that they feel will make you feel better but not actually mean it.

Where are the people who care in the world, just a little bit. Who would simply go out of there way to say something they mean. "i love you" I truly believe the 3 words are passed there useby date after the 1st year. Its just a feeling. Do you understand? Say your answer 'Like You Mean It...'

The Two Essential Truths About Hippies

"The first can be described as chronic passivity in relation to the stream of life. Part of what it involves is dependence, a willingness to let chance or the conduct of others determine one's fate, a blind confidence that some provision will be made for one's survival and welfare.”
“The second, irresponsibility, freedom from obligations”
- Hans Toch, Professor of Sociology

I quite enjoyed reading this earlier in the week. The first impression I got was to wonder what ‘that feeling’ must of felt like during the ’60s when war was occurring but people still flocked annually, during summer to San Francisco to take recreational drugs and party.

I sometimes took it upon myself to imagine living in a world like that currently. No wars, no violence, just absolute freedom. But of course we would still have to deal with world issues like racism, hunger in Africa and the homeless.

It’s disappointing to understand that there are so many people around the world with money and power to change and develop the place for the better but don’t, only to strengthen their own personal gains/ends.

If someone came up and asked me, “Would you consider living with a hippie?”
I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes and agree.
Naturally I would expect that home to hold morals such as unity and peace.

Indeed hippies did manufacture and begin a cultural revolution, but they were still simple people with common ground to reach.

That’s my belief, for a higher society to work we need peace.

As I stood at the edge of nothing, I saw everything.

stand on the edge of a building and see how small you really are and appreciate it.

people are so focused on being rich, being famous, being everything they think they need to be. they always look for the the thing that makes them imperfect. but imperfection is part of beauty. its part of life. for some reason we thrive to find the things to make it better.

what do you already have? why arnt you happy? what happened to the little things in life that make the bigger things seem so trivial. like that dollar that goes to the homeless guy, the butterfly thats stuck in the spiderweb or those smiles that you give to each other that mean nothing outside of being happy with where you are and who you're with.

why does everything have to lead to something? why must we run straight to a climax? what happened to being content and staying in one moment. freezing clocks, not caring about how far you are, how you're going to get back or even if you were planning to go back in the first place?

2007

nothing profound here, i'd just like to know what you guys read over 2007, which books you enjoyed the most, which you thought were well-written, which changed the way you think, which the rest of us might enjoy... come to think of it, don't limit yourself to books. movies and albums of 2007 would be interesting to hear about as well. and what are you planning to read/watch/listen to in 2008?

My Heart At My Sleeve: To Write Love On Her Arms

There are times when I am burning to writing something, just the pure urge to pound my fingers to the keys until I realize I have nothing really to say. It's as if whenever I lack inspiration there is a calling card that sends it right back to me.

There is a tendency in me that adores everything about the internet and loves to bound me to a computer chair and divulge into a whole world of people I may never communicate with otherwise. Through the mind swept sensation of the internet, I have learned probably more than I have in school. I've joined clubs, kept myself entertained, made incredible friends, and believe it or not, I use it as an online journal. The internet has been criticized enough to leave a lovely scarring and lasting impression on the people that are not too tech-savvy to not appreciate it at all.

What if I said that the internet has saved lives? I'm confident that a lot of the people that read this briefly know about To Write Love On Her Arms. If those who don't, I'll keep it short and sweet for you: To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit organization and its aim is to spread hope through the world and to reach out to the sufferers of self-inflicting wounds, depression, addictions and obsessions. It began as a story about a girl who committed herself to escaping the emotional pains of her life through physical pains. Sadly, her story is a common one and even I can say that I relate to it.

This organization is best known for its clothing. As I type this I am wearing a gray t shirt that has printed on the right "To Write Love On Her Arms...rescue is possible". It's not everyday your heart is at your sleeve and most t shirts today only have lewd and indecent remarks anyway, but this top is what I am all about.

Rescue is possible. Love is the movement. Stop the bleeding. Three of their 'mantras', if you'd like to call them that. I want to be there for anyone in need. And the needed need to know that people will be there for them. I know how being alone feels and I know that I was not alone at being alone. Let TWLOHA be the first step to recovery. It was my recovery...not only to me but as many as a hundred more sufferers. Most of all, it played the role of a reminder that people did face the feelings I felt, that they did resort to the things I did, that they did overcome the traps they fell into. The legendary Beatles sing "love is all you need" and it's true. Knowing people are willing to walk with you through whatever it is you are facing is such an incredible feeling and I promise you, rescue is possible.

For anyone that wants more information about To Write Love On Her Arms visit their myspace right here: http://www.myspace.com/towriteloveonherarms