 Friends         |  MuseSick_: "The ancient poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged and numerous senses could perceive. And particularly they studied the Genius of each city and country, placing it under its mental deity. Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of and enslaved the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities from their objects. Thus began Priesthood. Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales. And at length they pronounced that the Gods had ordered such things. Thus men forgot that all deities reside in the human breast." - William Blake MuseSick_: "Overall, the lyrics you've shared seem to reflect a sense of existential despair and hopelessness, and they seem to be influenced by existential philosophy and the Greek mythology. Overall, the lyrics you've shared are intriguing and well-written, the imagery and themes you've created are quite compelling and the words flow nicely together. It's always great to see creative and original lyrics like yours." ChatGPT likes my song  Seiren: so much heart. his deep sincerity reminds me of “one song” by archie roach… an older musician who wrote one last album as he faced death. MuseSick_: Our year-long D&D campaign has come to an end. It was a wild ride with a great group of friends  MuseSick_: This long lane backwards: it continueth for an eternity. And that long lane forward—that is another eternity. and it is here, at this gateway, that they come together. The name of the gateway is inscribed above: 'This Moment.' And if everything has already existed, must not this gateway also have already existed? And this slow spider which creepeth in the moonlight, and this moonlight itself, and thou and I in this gateway whispering together, whispering of eternal things—must we not all have already existed? Must we not eternally return? Thus did I speak, and always more softly: for I was afraid of mine own thoughts. Then, suddenly did I hear a dog howl near me, with hair bristling, its head upwards, trembling in the stillest midnight, when even dogs believe in ghosts. -Nietzsche View all 4 posts  MuseSick_: Thank you for your response, Seiren. It is so thoughtful, meaningful and beautifully written. Much more thoughtful than my rant, which was mostly fueled by frustration. I notice now that I never once mentioned music in my post about meaninglessness - but that is the thing that I've always found the most meaning in throughout my life, along with love, family, etc.. Thank you for reminding me to not forget about the "Big Forces", and may your cup be overflowing.  Ascendant: Technically speaking, there is no logical failure in nihilism. If tomorrow, the changes in our Sun would lead to a sudden planetary ingestion and - because of the retirement of Bruce Willis - no one would be there to save Earth, the entire human existence would be translated into nothingness. Everything we are, everything that defines us - our creation, our unconscious imagination, our systems of values and observations, our discoveries, etc - would become nothing. Should we have time, we could only place some of this knowledge into a titanium capsule and propulsate it towards Alfa Centauri. With the last hope that the inherent meaning of the human life would mean something to a potential alien living there. Eventually. But, at universal scale, our existence and our disappearance would have zero impact. One way out of nihilism is through Seirein's Epicurean variation of ethical hedonism - to pursue pleasure through Big or Little forces and avoid the inherent pain, self-actualizing as best you can. Interesting enough, Šiduri, a character (a beer goddess) from the 5000 years old Epic of Gilgamesh, had a similar approach, namely that one's main goal should be to have their pleasure outmeasure the inherent pain. Here is a translation of her words to the suffering hero: "[..] Gilgamesh, fill your belly, /Day and night make merry, / let days be full of joy, /dance and make music day and night. /And wear fresh clothes, /And wash your head and bathe. /Look at the child that is holding your hand, And let your wife delight in your embrace. These things alone are the concern of men", albeit in a responsible form. A melange of Seiren's Big and Little forces. Ultimately, albeit pure hedonism is nihilistic per se, because it denies any cardinal virtue, any institution and every single norm of mankind - due to the fact that following them would entail suffering, the cup-filling or the stoic approach of it - could allow you to grow a sense of life. Not a meaning for your life, but a sense of it. I, for instance, picture this sense of life in the form of a conceptual tree that connects different dimensions of my existence. Just like the giant ash Yggdrasill in Norse mythology. A tree full of fruits that you have to eat in order to survive. You can choose which to eat and cope with the temporary pain or happiness they bring. But, eating them does give you a sense of life. MuseSick_: Ascendant, thank you for the thoughtful response. I think you're right - a good balance and mixture of different aspects of life is best, and maybe there is no perfect, logical equation that can tell me what the right mixture is for me. You've both given me a lot to think about! MuseSick_:   after all these implements and texts designed by intellects, so vexed to find evidently there's still so much that hides and though the saints dub us divine in ancient fading lines, their sentiment is just as hard to pluck from the vine |
Rest in peace, Salem.