THE
WRITER'S LIFE | DEAR DIARY
I
like to read, and I read a lot: Newspapers, books, blogs, and all
sorts of internet research. For the latter, I use many sources
relevant to different areas. But Wikipedia is always there: a
depository of human knowledge, and kind of a hitch hiker's guide,
made by the people, for the people. It's free, because it's financed
by donations (I'm a donor). It's a fact, that every article on
Wikipedia, eventually links back to the section on philosophy, which
sits at the opposite end of the see-saw to ignorance.
Over the last four years, I've
developed my own philosophies, as I've got in touch with life and
questioned it. Along with my previous essay
on lucid dreaming and the quantum human soul, these philosophies help
me through life, understanding it in the best way I can, and trying
to convey some of that to others in words. Some I picked up from
others and adapted, and others I wrote myself:
Life
is like a jigsaw puzzle: all the pieces fit together eventually. But
don't spend your life following rules and convention. Do the edges
whenever you feel like it. Think differently.
It's
your life. Do with it as you please, but with due consideration for
others.
There
are three people who occupy every human body: Who you think you are,
who other people think you are, and who you really are.
Being
a pessimist or an optimist makes no difference to the outcome, but
the optimist has the better time leading up to it.
If
you've done something wrong, you have a moral duty to put it right.
Imagine
you're in a room, with no visible means of exit: How do you get out?
You could stop imagining. Or you could use your imagination.
You
need to understand what misunderstood means.
Be
the best that you can, at the thing you enjoy most.
I
say those things to my kids, and to others who ask me questions,
about life, the universe, and everything. My philosophies are partly
a personal coping mechanism. So why am I getting all philosophical?
In short, because in the not too distant future, I can imagine the
world at a pivotal point, even if I wasn't a science fiction and
horror writer. Some of the scenarios I've written about, in my short
stories and my books, are now looking more real.
For
humanity, the see-saw has been the splitting of the atom, once the
holy grail of science. In achieving our race's goal to unlock the
nucleus, we unleashed a power which could destroy or save our
species. Until now, we've used our discovery to create weapons, and
to destroy each other. And yet, as one race, we'd be destroying
ourselves. For the most part, we agreed that nuclear weapons had been
a bad idea. But rogue states still threaten to upset the status quo.
And
now, we've perfected nuclear fusion: splitting the atom to
release limitless free and clean energy. Soon we could be using
nuclear fusion drives to take us far into space. We are on the verge
of becoming a technological race, which uses that technology to
explore, not to destroy. But the see-saw could still tip the other
way.
It's
an existential thing: Through ignorance and quick, aggressive action,
we could extinct our species. By thinking bigger, we could evolve and
travel to the stars. All we need to do, is keep talking.
Whether
I'm a writer or not, I repeat my optimism vs. pessimism philosophy
over and over again in my head. And I try to believe it.
My
books are available on Amazon.
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