Random rambling again.
I was having this very nice talk about nationality, ground zero and identity. Those things that happen to just about anyone, but not many people have the guts to admit it, let alone talk about it. So I won't try to push this opinion upon you guys who think you're a real person... you know who you are. The rest of you, welcome to the conversation. What was in question was mostly about being able to tell if you're from one place or another, or rather having that feeling of belonging somewhere.
Well, I haven't moved around a lot (internationally speaking) but I've never felt particularly connected to any given set of places (or people, for that matter). I'm not implying I don't have a past, but even so, I have this weird thing inside my head (called brain) that keeps changing what I believe is my past. I'm talking about an ever-changing past, in addition to the ever-present future. At this point, the suggestion came up: now that we've moved around and lived in different countries (many different cities too, in my case), our timeline isn't comprised simply of one axis (time), but of two (time and space). At this point, different opinions kicked in: I'd definitely unfold those two axis into three (time, space and groups of people), but I don't entirely disagree of those who'd have a bijection between the people and space axis (like a straight line).
So that's the definitive answer to the big question of what is a human being: a curve (continuous?) in a n-dimensional space, with n depending upon how complicated your life has been so far. And, of course one can find many points of identity throughout that line. Let's take a simple life: born in Littleville in Utah, USA. Graduated from high school, went to college, got a job and then got shot. If you allow me to place that poor image of a human being as an example, that guy would be a straight line, completely identifiable to Littleville, Utah. If I ever had that, I lost it.
History is, surely enough, part of what we are, but as defining as they may be, they're also limiting. Your past limits you, yes. And what I'm trying to realize is simply how really limited and tiny and insignificant we, human beings, ultimately are. Not that I feel depressed or despaired because of that, in fact, quite the opposite. It's a relief. You don't have to step up and be a man or whatever.
More on that later.
Well, I haven't moved around a lot (internationally speaking) but I've never felt particularly connected to any given set of places (or people, for that matter). I'm not implying I don't have a past, but even so, I have this weird thing inside my head (called brain) that keeps changing what I believe is my past. I'm talking about an ever-changing past, in addition to the ever-present future. At this point, the suggestion came up: now that we've moved around and lived in different countries (many different cities too, in my case), our timeline isn't comprised simply of one axis (time), but of two (time and space). At this point, different opinions kicked in: I'd definitely unfold those two axis into three (time, space and groups of people), but I don't entirely disagree of those who'd have a bijection between the people and space axis (like a straight line).
So that's the definitive answer to the big question of what is a human being: a curve (continuous?) in a n-dimensional space, with n depending upon how complicated your life has been so far. And, of course one can find many points of identity throughout that line. Let's take a simple life: born in Littleville in Utah, USA. Graduated from high school, went to college, got a job and then got shot. If you allow me to place that poor image of a human being as an example, that guy would be a straight line, completely identifiable to Littleville, Utah. If I ever had that, I lost it.
History is, surely enough, part of what we are, but as defining as they may be, they're also limiting. Your past limits you, yes. And what I'm trying to realize is simply how really limited and tiny and insignificant we, human beings, ultimately are. Not that I feel depressed or despaired because of that, in fact, quite the opposite. It's a relief. You don't have to step up and be a man or whatever.
More on that later.
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