I was rolling along with this piece, enjoying the passing scenery of your words as usual, but the moment your "friend" said the words "God has it in for me" I knew we were about to go somewhere juicy. And the rest of the letter did not disappoint! The Charlie Munger piece, then the priestly comic, and finally you, well delivered the rest of the goods - "So, have a laugh. And relax. God doesn’t have it in for you. He’s probably very busy. And we’re so infinitesimally small. " I find this perspective deeply reassuring right now. Even the feeling that things are bad nationally or globally right now stems from the same underlying context of self-importance. We're so infinitesimally small indeed.
Thank you, Rick. As always, you nailed it. You captured the essence of the message to my friend. We talked about this, I think: one of the things I became more certain about with age is that I don't know anything. Obviously, the fact that we're so infinitesimally small doesn't mean that our life has no meaning. It just puts everything in context, for me.
This might be my favorite unsent letter so far :) It flows perfectly, with a zoom in and out of topics, all anchored with your thoughts/letter to the person, making it universal.
Funny thing, I didn't know Charlie Munger had died until I read your draft. Thank you for being my indirect news source 😂
The Munger quote is so good. And he was the experience to back it up! He had to go through the death of his own daughter. All the reason for self pity in the world.
The one part I struggled with was the last paragraph. I’m tired and may be missing something but it seems to tilt towards nihilism.
I think there’s no reason to assume consciousness isn’t cosmically significant. We’re the only things we know that are “like us” for 6 billion light years. And even if it isn’t maybe to the cosmos, it is for us, and as we’re all we know, it has to count for something.
We could very likely be the only conscious beings in all the universes. That’s significant.
Your friend’s belief that God “has it out for him” reminds me of Cain in the Genesis story. It’s hinted that Cain’s sacrifice was nothing bad, God simply favoured him less than his brother. We all know people who seem to just be favoured by God. But what this story seems to imply is that the only course to take is to continue to act properly. Even in the face of unfair fortune. Because any other course of action, as Cain shows, leads to Hell.
Sorry for the ramblings. You always get me thinking (:
I'm glad I always get you thinking, Tommy. That's the purpose of reading (and writing). No apologies; you're not rambling. You're expressing your view on a theme that is very delicate to tackle, I guess. However, my piece isn't about God or religion, even though God is a "character" in it. You know, trying to comfort a friend when they think the universe is "against them" isn't an easy task. In my personal and humble view, lightness is essential -- lightness and playing down. Sometimes, laughing in the face of adversity holds great power.
Not an easy task at all. I think you’re precisely right about lightness.
As someone who skews towards heaviness, I often lack a certain lightness. Aldous Huxley has this quote about treading lightly through this world I’m in love with.
He is not like you or me; so if there are billions of people, with billions of problems and an infinite number of stars and universes, what we do matters precisely because of the paradox. What we feel matters. What are the inner most desires and wants of the human matters. I think reframing the agony or loneliness of living makes sense with the worldview that there is God that is unlike us in any way. I’m not going to convince you, but I just wanted to think about this out loud.
Thank you for reading, Sadia. This is not a piece about God or beliefs or religion, although God appears in it and plays a role. This is a letter to comfort a friend, to try and make things lighter for them. Sometimes life is hard, cruel, ruthless. I'm glad that it made you think out loud. :)
I loved this Silvio, and what a great concept! I need to go back and read your others ☺️
This part is gold - "It’s curious how we get across. The fact that some obscure and unique code defines us intimately and immutably across multiple dimensions, some evident to all, some vaguely felt by a minority, and others picked up by only a few, remains a mystery to me."
I think about this often, the stamp we leave on someone, however big or small. How are we remembered? Can something so small such as the tilt of a head or the way we smile, really stick in someones mind? I suppose for the right person it can.
Thank you for reading, Lindsay. And for your nice words. Indeed, the impact we leave to others is a mystery. And, to me, even more mysterious is the fact that we have no control over it. I find it fascinating.
I was rolling along with this piece, enjoying the passing scenery of your words as usual, but the moment your "friend" said the words "God has it in for me" I knew we were about to go somewhere juicy. And the rest of the letter did not disappoint! The Charlie Munger piece, then the priestly comic, and finally you, well delivered the rest of the goods - "So, have a laugh. And relax. God doesn’t have it in for you. He’s probably very busy. And we’re so infinitesimally small. " I find this perspective deeply reassuring right now. Even the feeling that things are bad nationally or globally right now stems from the same underlying context of self-importance. We're so infinitesimally small indeed.
Thank you, Rick. As always, you nailed it. You captured the essence of the message to my friend. We talked about this, I think: one of the things I became more certain about with age is that I don't know anything. Obviously, the fact that we're so infinitesimally small doesn't mean that our life has no meaning. It just puts everything in context, for me.
Yes! Meaning, in fact, can only exist when we have the context right, even if the context is pure mystery, which it pretty much is!
This might be my favorite unsent letter so far :) It flows perfectly, with a zoom in and out of topics, all anchored with your thoughts/letter to the person, making it universal.
Funny thing, I didn't know Charlie Munger had died until I read your draft. Thank you for being my indirect news source 😂
Thank you, Oscar! Always a certainty to see you here, my friend. So glad you like the format, and to be your source of news lol. :)
That self pity piece got me, Silvio
🤍
Silvio, this was lovely.
The Munger quote is so good. And he was the experience to back it up! He had to go through the death of his own daughter. All the reason for self pity in the world.
The one part I struggled with was the last paragraph. I’m tired and may be missing something but it seems to tilt towards nihilism.
I think there’s no reason to assume consciousness isn’t cosmically significant. We’re the only things we know that are “like us” for 6 billion light years. And even if it isn’t maybe to the cosmos, it is for us, and as we’re all we know, it has to count for something.
We could very likely be the only conscious beings in all the universes. That’s significant.
Your friend’s belief that God “has it out for him” reminds me of Cain in the Genesis story. It’s hinted that Cain’s sacrifice was nothing bad, God simply favoured him less than his brother. We all know people who seem to just be favoured by God. But what this story seems to imply is that the only course to take is to continue to act properly. Even in the face of unfair fortune. Because any other course of action, as Cain shows, leads to Hell.
Sorry for the ramblings. You always get me thinking (:
I'm glad I always get you thinking, Tommy. That's the purpose of reading (and writing). No apologies; you're not rambling. You're expressing your view on a theme that is very delicate to tackle, I guess. However, my piece isn't about God or religion, even though God is a "character" in it. You know, trying to comfort a friend when they think the universe is "against them" isn't an easy task. In my personal and humble view, lightness is essential -- lightness and playing down. Sometimes, laughing in the face of adversity holds great power.
Not an easy task at all. I think you’re precisely right about lightness.
As someone who skews towards heaviness, I often lack a certain lightness. Aldous Huxley has this quote about treading lightly through this world I’m in love with.
Thank you for the reminder :)
He is not like you or me; so if there are billions of people, with billions of problems and an infinite number of stars and universes, what we do matters precisely because of the paradox. What we feel matters. What are the inner most desires and wants of the human matters. I think reframing the agony or loneliness of living makes sense with the worldview that there is God that is unlike us in any way. I’m not going to convince you, but I just wanted to think about this out loud.
Thank you for reading, Sadia. This is not a piece about God or beliefs or religion, although God appears in it and plays a role. This is a letter to comfort a friend, to try and make things lighter for them. Sometimes life is hard, cruel, ruthless. I'm glad that it made you think out loud. :)
I loved this Silvio, and what a great concept! I need to go back and read your others ☺️
This part is gold - "It’s curious how we get across. The fact that some obscure and unique code defines us intimately and immutably across multiple dimensions, some evident to all, some vaguely felt by a minority, and others picked up by only a few, remains a mystery to me."
I think about this often, the stamp we leave on someone, however big or small. How are we remembered? Can something so small such as the tilt of a head or the way we smile, really stick in someones mind? I suppose for the right person it can.
Thank you for reading, Lindsay. And for your nice words. Indeed, the impact we leave to others is a mystery. And, to me, even more mysterious is the fact that we have no control over it. I find it fascinating.