MUTSA

“Every man is a hero in his own story. Murderers don’t believe they’re to blame for what they do. Thieves, they think they deserve the money they take. Dictators, they believe they have the right – for the safety of their people and the good of the nation – to do whatever they wish.”
~ ’Warbreaker’ by Brandon Sanderson

Cue Jaden Smith droning “Who am I?” over and over, and we arrive at the point of today’s meeting. We are gathered here to investigate the strength of perception. Beyond everyone’s ideas, their notions and postulations, you are who you say you are. It is one thing for everyone to label me a terrible dancer. Until I arrive at that conclusion myself, whether based on the word of others or not, I will not see myself as a bad dancer. And how we see ourselves is important, of this I have no doubt.

“I saw myself. I looked into a mirror and I saw myself, and I saw myself as I saw myself. And all was how I thought it should be.”
~Anonymous

The world can be rather tough sometimes. Between famine and tired Hollywood remakes, war and more tired Hollywood remakes, we certainly have our hands full. And yet, the world is the world. All that matters is what we do in it. How do you respond in face of good, or struggle, or hopelessness? So, beyond the troubles that plague us, I would argue that for a large number of us, there exists a fluid space of choice. And choice is the difference. It is the space in which character is forged and one has a chance to actualize one’s idea of self. Therefore, if I feel myself to be an honest man, or a terrible chess player, then I will demonstrate virtues that are in line with how I see myself.

“Are you what you want to be?”
~’Are You What You Want To Be‘ by Foster The People

We spend a lot of time talking about bolstering self-esteem, but I have not heard enough about its practicality. Your code defines you, and so if I desire that all that is done is good, then that can only come from people who see themselves as not only capable of doing ‘good’ things, but whose character rests on such a lofty moral. I look around and I see lies. We see and feel problems, and rather than address them holistically we tend towards quick fixes and stopgaps. We all have something to say when admonishing the actions of a person, and that is where all thought on the matter seems to end. A criminal is a criminal and therefore must be punished for it, but it stands to reason that only a criminal dabbles in crime, and so the problem is not so much with curbing committed crimes, but with the character of these convicts.

“I was always working steady
But I never called it art
I got my shit together
Meeting Christ and reading Marx
It failed my little fire
But it’s bright the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart”
~’Happens to the Heart’ by Leonard Cohen

But why? I am quite convinced of my premise and am as equally sure that I am not the first to arrive at this opinion. What is stopping us from truly engaging with each other and dignifying each other enough to challenge each other to be more? There are many possible answers, and perhaps it is a combination of all of these and more, but one thing is apparent to me: a lot of us pretend to see ourselves as beings who tend towards goodness, and therein is the problem. It seems that a lot of us do not attempt to raise each other because we do not see ourselves. After all, how can I deign to guide someone to goodness when I myself do not think I know what it is? There is doubt in every person’s heart, every person who claims to be sane at least, and this is good and healthy – how can one trust a person who does not doubt themselves at all? This doubt must be tempered, however, and this is a process that is greatly aided by honesty. It is daunting and we have spoken these words to each other before, but truly, we must open our eyes and our hearts and examine ourselves.

And now…

I do not think there are any good people or bad people – all we have are dreams and we aspire to these. Who you are, or rather, who you decide to be is entirely your own decision. There is power in that. We are very, very small people with small minds and small hearts. But these ideas, our ideas, are big and echo beyond our feeble bodies. It is these ideas that push us to continue when we are hurt and wounded. Perhaps your idea of yourself rests on a concept of God, or some principle, or nothing so…substantive. The point is there is gold in all of us. We are not beasts to be forced into shape by the winds that blow around us – we are human beings with choice that stretches beyond what we may think we deserve. We are more than the ways we hurt each other. We are more than the ways we hate ourselves. Hold on to that idea. Comment, like, share, dream, do. This is the stall.

#Stall13

Recommendations

MUSIC
‘Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds’ ~ Vegyn
Experimental. Very experimental, but not in a way that is detached from the everyday, and that, I think, is the best kind of electronic music: the relatable.

LITERATURE
‘Two weeks in November’ ~ Douglas Rogers
What a story. A behind-the-scenes look at the coup that was not a coup in what was once the breadbasket of Africa. Read and enjoy.

FILM
‘Submarine’
A coming of age story that is rich with wit and is somehow distant but not removed. If anything, it demands to be felt. Directed by Richard Ayoade, who is one of the greatest people alive.

“PITY THE LIVING, AND, ABOVE ALL, THOSE WHO LIVE WITHOUT LOVE.”
~Albus Percival BRIAN Dumbledore