Cookie Jar...

Basho had this famous haiku, which I  always loved -- "sitting silently, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself."

There was a time in life where I aspired to reach a state of mind where one was truly not doing anything. Not even thinking -- just being a blank slate. But to not be thinking... what would be the fun of that? To sit silently, doing nothing... But, it is only when you are doing nothing that you can truly be thinking. The thinking you do for work or your relationships is just such an exercise. You are constantly looking for a solution, trying to fix a problem... But to sit silently, having nothing to do -- and then you think. Think about random things that mean nothing to you, but, you are just thinking... wondering. 

I suppose, I now aspire to have a life where I find plenty of time to just sit back and think. Think about nothing important. Think about textures... tastes... carbon emissions. Not because I am sitting and thinking about how I can solve the problem of carbon emissions. I feel like I have gone beyond the broader issues in life -- animal cruelty, environmental protection, whatever else. Sometimes I think it's because I have become far too selfish. Making money is hard enough to then start worrying about these things. But, no... That's not the reason. I have started realising that life is all about 'if not this, then it would be something else...' 

If not killing a particular breed all the way to extinction, it would be another breed instead. If not us humans, it would be someone or something else. If not us killing any of those animals at all, then there would be something else. Perhaps the population of orange roughys would be far greater than humans, but whatever they eat would be close to extinction.

Not that it justifies what we humans do. We are cruel at the most random moments. Like the hunt of all those pilot whales at Faroe Islands, only because it is more of a cultural significance today. But if their culture and tradition didn't leave behind this practice today, it would've been something else. We repeat whatever we understand is remotely ours over and over again. We make changes to our practice based on our convenience, but the practice must be continued -- in fact, expanded, if it entertaining in any way. Like those Indian weddings which are all so grand today. Everyone will try to steal the shoes of the groom, everyone will the 4 functions minimum... and oh those performances.

But... If not this, then it would be something else...
So, I suppose, this will do.

I would turn on the TV, but it's so embarrassing,
To see all those other people, I don't even know what they mean,
And it was magic at first, when they spoke without sound,
But, now this world is gonna hurt, so you better turn that thing down...
- Jack Johnson (Cookie Jar)