I used to think I was one me, but over time I´ve found I´m many Mes.
There´s a serious Me and a joyful Me. An emotive Me and an analytical Me. A Me that is detatched from everything and a Me that loves to get as close to life and pain as possible. Many, many Mes make up me, in all flavours and colours.
I have many Mes, but none of them are actually me. They are only bridges which the real me uses to access the outside world. The true me is something no one could ever know. The part that watches my Mes play. Spend enough time with my Mes though and you may get to know something about me.
Some people like certain Mes, and some people others. In the past I used to try to control my Mes, but now I just let whichever Me that chooses to surface to play in the world. My Mes are much happier with this situation and so am I.
You might think that having so many Mes would make life more difficult, but the opposite is the case. Each Me has it´s own strengths and weaknesses, and each has it´s own unique contribution to offer. Some times when people meet my quiet Me after seeing my talkative me they think that I´m sad or angry. They don´t seem to understand unless I explain it to them: Nothing is wrong, I´m just being Me.
As a closing note before I go, and before someone else takes over which would think the following a bit wishy washy, I want to say: ¨I love Me, each and every one of them¨.
Journey Update:
Currently in Pomferadda (Not sure if I spelt that correctly, but what the hey).
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Life Fantastic
The universe that we live in is a pretty amazing place, with one of the most mind boggling things for me being the existance of life itself. It´s hard when looking around at the place we live in not to be blown away by the variety of life, and the different forms it takes.
The wonder of this all also comes from an a believed understanding of how stuff works. Now, as you´ve probably been taught in school, all stuff, all matter, consists of energy in various arrangements and combinations. Now the improbability of there existing a universe capable of supporting life aside, there are a few things that I find pretty amazing about life.
Number one, that out of the energy from which the universe grew, matter formed.
Fairly important, because as I see it, it had no real reason to form or change into anything, let alone anything solid. There exists a number of "laws" which made this formation of matter possible, but why and how these laws exist are a pretty big mystery to me (Unless any physics geeks out there can explain it to me).
That a habitat came to be that was capable of supporting life, and on that planet grew matter capable of reproducing itself.
Again fairly improbable, but a bit less amazing. Considering the sheer number of planets in the universe I guess there was bound to be one with all the right conditions needed to allow life to develop. Still, what is amazing if you´ve followed the progression so far, is that you have all this energy, some of which has coalesced into matter, and which due to the right conditions has developed the ability to reproduce itself.
That through random mutation this matter grew into more and more complicated forms.
This matter reproduced, it evolved, it grew more complicated. From a simple origins it started to develop numbers of competing variants, some of which with multiple cells. Many different forms of life developed, competed and filled their own niches.
That this increasingly complex reproducing matter. This life. Evolved to the stage where it was capable of perceiving it´s enviroment in a greater way.
Grown from a small seed, life is now able to perceive it´s enviroment. It´s able to see and touch and smell and taste. Matter, life, has matured greatly and moved an inconceivable distance from it´s simple origins.
That this matter became self aware and became capable of of exploring and investigating it´s own enviroment.
This is the truly amazing part, though if you follow the whole process not really amazing at all. Intelligence being a survival advantage, and organisms getting increasingly more and more intelligent, there finally arose something that was aware of itself as thinking, talking matter. Something capable of delving into the mysteries surrounding it´s origins and capable of changing their selves and their enviroment in a very large scale way. This is the stage we have reached at the moment. Self aware creatures living in a inconceivably large, amazing universe.
So when you look at a tree, what you are really seeing is a mass of energy, arranged in such a way that it consumes nutrients from the soil from which it sprouts, and energy from the sun. A form of life that has made a journey of millions of years to reach the point it has now, and should it be allowed to continue, a journey of millions of years more. Life is matter, given mobility, form and motive force. Life is matter which is able to perceive itself, to perceive other matter. Energy coallesed into form, form given senses. A rock that has grown eyes, able to look around it´s home and wonder at the beauty of it all.
I don´t know if there is a God, and advocates of religious doctrine seem to be quite against the idea of evolution as it competes with their own stories of creation. I however think, that if there is a God, then he is indeed a genius, for I can think of no method greater, no solution to the creation of life more elegant, than to allow life to evolve and develop itself. A system, where life grows to fill and suit it´s enviroment without requiring any design what so ever. Where these life forms adapt to suit any changes in the enviroment without requiring any maintenance or redesign what so ever. And lastly, should the organism prove worthy enough and not be eliminated due to changes in it´s enviroment, competition with other forms of life, or it´s own stupidity, eventually leave it´s limited enviroment to explore the greater universe and all the wonders that it may hold.
So when you take a look at anything, be it a tree, a rock, an animal or a person. Take a moment to realize what an amazing thing you are looking at, and wonder at the fact that you´re able to look at it at all.
Edit:
On a bit of a side note I am now in Carrión de los Condes, 371km down the Camino de Santiago. For an idea of where I am now, and where I´m going you can check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Way, which shows some of the main cities that I will be passing through during the next few weeks. Be sure though, that I will be in no way keeping up with this schedule as I am way to lazy to complete the camino in the time or way indicated. I think I´m actually over a week behind what is indicated due to me slowing down, stopping and at one stage, walking 2 days backwards down the pilgrims route to get back to an interesting place I passed along the way.
Anyway, until next time, Chow.
The wonder of this all also comes from an a believed understanding of how stuff works. Now, as you´ve probably been taught in school, all stuff, all matter, consists of energy in various arrangements and combinations. Now the improbability of there existing a universe capable of supporting life aside, there are a few things that I find pretty amazing about life.
Number one, that out of the energy from which the universe grew, matter formed.
Fairly important, because as I see it, it had no real reason to form or change into anything, let alone anything solid. There exists a number of "laws" which made this formation of matter possible, but why and how these laws exist are a pretty big mystery to me (Unless any physics geeks out there can explain it to me).
That a habitat came to be that was capable of supporting life, and on that planet grew matter capable of reproducing itself.
Again fairly improbable, but a bit less amazing. Considering the sheer number of planets in the universe I guess there was bound to be one with all the right conditions needed to allow life to develop. Still, what is amazing if you´ve followed the progression so far, is that you have all this energy, some of which has coalesced into matter, and which due to the right conditions has developed the ability to reproduce itself.
That through random mutation this matter grew into more and more complicated forms.
This matter reproduced, it evolved, it grew more complicated. From a simple origins it started to develop numbers of competing variants, some of which with multiple cells. Many different forms of life developed, competed and filled their own niches.
That this increasingly complex reproducing matter. This life. Evolved to the stage where it was capable of perceiving it´s enviroment in a greater way.
Grown from a small seed, life is now able to perceive it´s enviroment. It´s able to see and touch and smell and taste. Matter, life, has matured greatly and moved an inconceivable distance from it´s simple origins.
That this matter became self aware and became capable of of exploring and investigating it´s own enviroment.
This is the truly amazing part, though if you follow the whole process not really amazing at all. Intelligence being a survival advantage, and organisms getting increasingly more and more intelligent, there finally arose something that was aware of itself as thinking, talking matter. Something capable of delving into the mysteries surrounding it´s origins and capable of changing their selves and their enviroment in a very large scale way. This is the stage we have reached at the moment. Self aware creatures living in a inconceivably large, amazing universe.
So when you look at a tree, what you are really seeing is a mass of energy, arranged in such a way that it consumes nutrients from the soil from which it sprouts, and energy from the sun. A form of life that has made a journey of millions of years to reach the point it has now, and should it be allowed to continue, a journey of millions of years more. Life is matter, given mobility, form and motive force. Life is matter which is able to perceive itself, to perceive other matter. Energy coallesed into form, form given senses. A rock that has grown eyes, able to look around it´s home and wonder at the beauty of it all.
I don´t know if there is a God, and advocates of religious doctrine seem to be quite against the idea of evolution as it competes with their own stories of creation. I however think, that if there is a God, then he is indeed a genius, for I can think of no method greater, no solution to the creation of life more elegant, than to allow life to evolve and develop itself. A system, where life grows to fill and suit it´s enviroment without requiring any design what so ever. Where these life forms adapt to suit any changes in the enviroment without requiring any maintenance or redesign what so ever. And lastly, should the organism prove worthy enough and not be eliminated due to changes in it´s enviroment, competition with other forms of life, or it´s own stupidity, eventually leave it´s limited enviroment to explore the greater universe and all the wonders that it may hold.
So when you take a look at anything, be it a tree, a rock, an animal or a person. Take a moment to realize what an amazing thing you are looking at, and wonder at the fact that you´re able to look at it at all.
Edit:
On a bit of a side note I am now in Carrión de los Condes, 371km down the Camino de Santiago. For an idea of where I am now, and where I´m going you can check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Way, which shows some of the main cities that I will be passing through during the next few weeks. Be sure though, that I will be in no way keeping up with this schedule as I am way to lazy to complete the camino in the time or way indicated. I think I´m actually over a week behind what is indicated due to me slowing down, stopping and at one stage, walking 2 days backwards down the pilgrims route to get back to an interesting place I passed along the way.
Anyway, until next time, Chow.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Moral Choices
Found an interesting blog as I'm wasting time on the internet waiting for my train. One of the gems from this site, dealing with moral choices is below.
http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/05/03/moral-choices/
http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/05/03/moral-choices/
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Grand Theft Bicycle
So I'm in Paris now, and covered the distance between Brussels and Paris in around 3 hours. The same trip on the bicycle would have probably taken me around 3-6 days so you could say I made pretty good time. As you may have figured out, I've stopped travelling via bicycle. The reason for this is pretty simple really: While in Brussels some bugger stole my bike.
Now I have to admit as well, I wasn't really heartbroken by the theft of the bike. I had gotten pretty sick of cycling everywhere and needing to figure out the way between every single destination, so a better word to describe my emotional state after finding the bike gone would probably be 'ecstatic' (I think I may have even done a little dance). It didn't help as well that my bike's tire became punctured 20kms out of Brussels which left me the task of finding a bike repair shop somewhere in Brussels and replacing both inner and outer tires. Much, much too much work in my opinion.
This also adds an item to the list of things I've had stolen from me during my travels, most of which were taken because I left the items out in the open in the hope that people wouldn't take them (I find distrust to be too time consuming and energy wasting most of the time, and with most of my belongings to take the steps which are apparently necessary to protect them from other people).
The list includes:
- 1 x Camera stolen from the front bag of my bike in Amsterdam
- 1 x The front bag of my bike stolen from my bike on a separate occasion in Amsterdam
- 2 x Shoes (Or you could say a pair) stolen off the back of my bike outside the Bibliotheek in Rotterdam (I hope a homeless person or like took the shoes and will be able to make good use of them, or at least sell them for drug money)
- The bike itself stolen from outside the front of a youth hostel in Brussels where I had locked it and hidden it behind a cargo container
As you can see, all the items were stolen because I left them lying around in plain (Or not so plain view) on the street. You'd think I would have learnt after the first time.
As I now am not limited to travelling in a linear fashion by the bicycle, this gives me more options as far as destinations are concerned and a lot more flexibility. Cycling was a great experience, but I've got to say I prefer not being limited by that particular rule I had made for myself.
Now that cycling is out of the picture it looks like the name of the game might be hitchhiking. I successfully hitchhiked from Brussels to to Paris and only had to wait around 20 minutes before I was picked up by a German painter named Herbert who was happy to take me the whole 300 odd kilometers to Paris. Being German as well he didn't seem to understand that highways outside of Germany have speed limits, thus we made very good time. Thanks also to http://www.wikihitch.com/ which told me which street to wait on with my cardboard sign for best effect as well as the Brussels Use-It (http://www.use-it.be/) for providing the cardboard and permanent marker.
I'm currently staying with a couch-surfer (http://www.couchsurfing.com) here in Paris, which means I'm not paying the outrageous rates that the hostels here are asking. The person I've been staying with has been pretty cool as well, which is good. At this stage I think I'll probably be leaving Paris tomorrow though to where and via what form of transport I haven't yet decided. I plan to make in the direction of St Jean Pied de Port though, so that I can finally start on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella.
Apart from that, not much else to say. I'm still healthy, Paris is expensive and I've got to get rid of some of the books I seem to be accumulating (Not so much a problem when riding, more of a problem when walking).
Anyway, seeya.
Now I have to admit as well, I wasn't really heartbroken by the theft of the bike. I had gotten pretty sick of cycling everywhere and needing to figure out the way between every single destination, so a better word to describe my emotional state after finding the bike gone would probably be 'ecstatic' (I think I may have even done a little dance). It didn't help as well that my bike's tire became punctured 20kms out of Brussels which left me the task of finding a bike repair shop somewhere in Brussels and replacing both inner and outer tires. Much, much too much work in my opinion.
This also adds an item to the list of things I've had stolen from me during my travels, most of which were taken because I left the items out in the open in the hope that people wouldn't take them (I find distrust to be too time consuming and energy wasting most of the time, and with most of my belongings to take the steps which are apparently necessary to protect them from other people).
The list includes:
- 1 x Camera stolen from the front bag of my bike in Amsterdam
- 1 x The front bag of my bike stolen from my bike on a separate occasion in Amsterdam
- 2 x Shoes (Or you could say a pair) stolen off the back of my bike outside the Bibliotheek in Rotterdam (I hope a homeless person or like took the shoes and will be able to make good use of them, or at least sell them for drug money)
- The bike itself stolen from outside the front of a youth hostel in Brussels where I had locked it and hidden it behind a cargo container
As you can see, all the items were stolen because I left them lying around in plain (Or not so plain view) on the street. You'd think I would have learnt after the first time.
As I now am not limited to travelling in a linear fashion by the bicycle, this gives me more options as far as destinations are concerned and a lot more flexibility. Cycling was a great experience, but I've got to say I prefer not being limited by that particular rule I had made for myself.
Now that cycling is out of the picture it looks like the name of the game might be hitchhiking. I successfully hitchhiked from Brussels to to Paris and only had to wait around 20 minutes before I was picked up by a German painter named Herbert who was happy to take me the whole 300 odd kilometers to Paris. Being German as well he didn't seem to understand that highways outside of Germany have speed limits, thus we made very good time. Thanks also to http://www.wikihitch.com/ which told me which street to wait on with my cardboard sign for best effect as well as the Brussels Use-It (http://www.use-it.be/) for providing the cardboard and permanent marker.
I'm currently staying with a couch-surfer (http://www.couchsurfing.com) here in Paris, which means I'm not paying the outrageous rates that the hostels here are asking. The person I've been staying with has been pretty cool as well, which is good. At this stage I think I'll probably be leaving Paris tomorrow though to where and via what form of transport I haven't yet decided. I plan to make in the direction of St Jean Pied de Port though, so that I can finally start on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella.
Apart from that, not much else to say. I'm still healthy, Paris is expensive and I've got to get rid of some of the books I seem to be accumulating (Not so much a problem when riding, more of a problem when walking).
Anyway, seeya.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Smile for the camera? I don't think so.
I think we've all been there. The point where you're asked to smile, say "Cheese" or whatever the hell the person holding the camera decides on as the cue to act really, really happy. Now this would be all well and good, except that most cameras, and especially these new digital cameras that everyone seems to be using these days, takes a number of seconds before they actually get around to taking the photo.
Now why is this a problem you ask? It's quite simple. While the smile you put on when they first ask may at least be partly genuine, by the time the camera actually gets around to taking the picture your mouth is the only part of you that is still smiling while you're eyes have reverted to the "Have they taken the picture, is their flash off or something, what are you waiting for" expression. The resulting photo leaves me looking like a cross between some sort of serial killer and politician (Or maybe just a politician).
My solution. Don't smile. If whoever is taking a photograph when I happen to be happy, laughing or similar, good for them. If not, they get whatever expression happens to be making it's way across my face at the time. This resolves my issue with appearing like a serial killer as well as taking care of any reservations I have of putting on emotions that I'm not having at the time, or inducing that emotional reaction, which in both cases I don't see as genuine behavior or something to aim for.
As for my trip, I am now in Antwerp (Belgium) and depending on what happens I may stay for a few days or a longer time. Belgium is a pretty small country so I should break into France in no time at all (After visiting Brussels), and from there the next major city I'll reach will probably be Paris.
As for my future plans, I'm thinking of selling my bike either in Paris or deeper into France and walking the Santiago de Compostella. Considering the amount of time it would take to walk the entire route, I think I'll cycle a bit closer to Spain first before I get rid of the bicycle.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. Until next time.
Now why is this a problem you ask? It's quite simple. While the smile you put on when they first ask may at least be partly genuine, by the time the camera actually gets around to taking the picture your mouth is the only part of you that is still smiling while you're eyes have reverted to the "Have they taken the picture, is their flash off or something, what are you waiting for" expression. The resulting photo leaves me looking like a cross between some sort of serial killer and politician (Or maybe just a politician).
My solution. Don't smile. If whoever is taking a photograph when I happen to be happy, laughing or similar, good for them. If not, they get whatever expression happens to be making it's way across my face at the time. This resolves my issue with appearing like a serial killer as well as taking care of any reservations I have of putting on emotions that I'm not having at the time, or inducing that emotional reaction, which in both cases I don't see as genuine behavior or something to aim for.
As for my trip, I am now in Antwerp (Belgium) and depending on what happens I may stay for a few days or a longer time. Belgium is a pretty small country so I should break into France in no time at all (After visiting Brussels), and from there the next major city I'll reach will probably be Paris.
As for my future plans, I'm thinking of selling my bike either in Paris or deeper into France and walking the Santiago de Compostella. Considering the amount of time it would take to walk the entire route, I think I'll cycle a bit closer to Spain first before I get rid of the bicycle.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. Until next time.
Update scheduled at some point in the future
I will be updating this at some point.
Maybe in the next few days.
Just so you know...
Wheeeeeeeeeee!
Maybe in the next few days.
Just so you know...
Wheeeeeeeeeee!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Why I'm not a Christian
I thought I'd stop here and go into detail regarding the reasons why I'm not a Christian (As if I need a reason :P), as this seems to be a question I'm getting asked fairly commonly. It's not really a case of the Christians trying to convert me, rather it seems that conversation seems to gravitate to relgious discussions considering my location.
Anyway, here we go.
Reason Number 1 - I'm the boss
This seems simple enough. I'm not a Christian because I trust my own judgement, and would prefer that I am the one that makes the decisions in my own life rather than some god or higher power. I feel I'm smart and able enough to be able to make moral choices in my own life without having to be told or forced by a higher power to take a certain course of action. I'm responsible for my own life, I make my own decisions according to my own rules and beliefs and I suffer the consequences of my own actions. I have all the risk, and I suffer all the consequences for my choices. I make the choices I do, which seem to be along Christian lines (In my actions I seek not to harm others) and I do so for my own reasons, and not because some God forces me to. There is also no passing of blame to some god or devil.
Reason Number 2 - I make myself guilty, I don't need any help with that
Christianity seems to have a focus on sin, how we are sinful creatures and I have been told that only a belief in God will allow you to live a sin free life. I do what I do for my own reasons, and don't enjoy hurting or harming people, whether it is physical, emotional, or psychological harm. Emotional blackmail doesn't work for or on me, and I find attempts to do so quite demeaning.
Reason Number 3 - Have the Christians even read their own bible objectivly?
I'm reading the bible at the moment. I started in Israel with a transliterated copy of the Jewish bible (The Old Testament) and after losing that am continuing with a new copy of a Christian bible which contains both the old and new testament. I find it hard to believe that the Christians can read the Old Testament in particular and still have the strong beliefs that they can. A lot of the stories are downright ridiculous, hypocritical, self-serving and doesn't prove the existance of God at all, only that Moses was a very good showman with Aaron as his front man.
Internet time is runnning out. That's a few of the reaons, and I'll continue this later I think.
To be continued...
Anyway, here we go.
Reason Number 1 - I'm the boss
This seems simple enough. I'm not a Christian because I trust my own judgement, and would prefer that I am the one that makes the decisions in my own life rather than some god or higher power. I feel I'm smart and able enough to be able to make moral choices in my own life without having to be told or forced by a higher power to take a certain course of action. I'm responsible for my own life, I make my own decisions according to my own rules and beliefs and I suffer the consequences of my own actions. I have all the risk, and I suffer all the consequences for my choices. I make the choices I do, which seem to be along Christian lines (In my actions I seek not to harm others) and I do so for my own reasons, and not because some God forces me to. There is also no passing of blame to some god or devil.
Reason Number 2 - I make myself guilty, I don't need any help with that
Christianity seems to have a focus on sin, how we are sinful creatures and I have been told that only a belief in God will allow you to live a sin free life. I do what I do for my own reasons, and don't enjoy hurting or harming people, whether it is physical, emotional, or psychological harm. Emotional blackmail doesn't work for or on me, and I find attempts to do so quite demeaning.
Reason Number 3 - Have the Christians even read their own bible objectivly?
I'm reading the bible at the moment. I started in Israel with a transliterated copy of the Jewish bible (The Old Testament) and after losing that am continuing with a new copy of a Christian bible which contains both the old and new testament. I find it hard to believe that the Christians can read the Old Testament in particular and still have the strong beliefs that they can. A lot of the stories are downright ridiculous, hypocritical, self-serving and doesn't prove the existance of God at all, only that Moses was a very good showman with Aaron as his front man.
Internet time is runnning out. That's a few of the reaons, and I'll continue this later I think.
To be continued...
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