Dreamers to Doers
How the hell did we get here? And what the hell are we supposed to do?
All of us get lost in the darkness
Dreamers learn to steer by the stars
All of us do time in the gutter
Dreamers turn to look at the carsRUSH The Pass
Well here we are! Exactly where we thought we’d never be. Precisely at the place previously predicted. The bottom of the slippery slope. Nowhere to go but the stars. Where are those flying cars they promised us, right? No wonder we’re pissed.
Compass Star Wordsmith celebrates its third anniversary and looks forward to building upon the solid foundation that has been laid with over 200 weekly posts published since 12/30/2020. The support of this community of readers for this project has instilled in me nothing but humbling amazement.
My maiden missive of 2024 is bullish and beamish, because we still have personal freedom and individual liberty. I stand for that, write about that, and consider those two concepts to be the greatest gift that America offers her citizens. In fact, they are the greatest gifts that any human being alive today could ever receive.
Those gifts are our greatest treasure and the epitome of human desire. They are simultaneously an inspirational concept and a practical reality. We collectively reap benefits that we did not personally earn. We spend capital paid for by the ultimate measure of devotion, as our 16th President declared.
Our rights are God-given promises yet subjected to Man-made law, as our First President observed. Our reconciliation of that dichotomy confounds us until this day. Be Free. Love Liberation. Allah Akbah is easier said than Praise God. One religion above others was not the intent of our founders. I’ll muse upon that.
Food + Music + Art + Craft + History
CSW plans to focus on those five elements of life that create culture - as I believe them to be. Those categories of human behaviour evolved from nothing to become everything. We evolved from animals when we discovered cooked meat. That boost of protein grew our brains and eliminated our 13-hour days of plant chewing.
We became thinking beings, full of self-awareness with no means of self-expression. And now we’re the opposite. Too much self-expression and no self-awareness at all. For shame. And guilt. And denial. And longing. Last being lost.
FOOD
Beginning with next week’s post, Food will be on the menu, featuring a multi-course flight - on DIET. I’ll look at all kind of Diets, from the pay-for-food to the eat-for-points to the take a pill or the inject a shot. I’m sure all of them work for some of them - if that makes sense. Maybe just cooking for oneself is the solution? You Can Cook! I’ll show you how and what.
As with all things in life worthy of accomplishment, the goals of dieting are admirable: weight loss, disease prevention, improved appearance, and not least, physical mobility. But most methods on TV are destined to fail for large numbers of participants.
The reasons for failure are myriad, but the source of all failures is not. Friction. I found a quick read with a ton of resource links to this topic. Why does one person lose 250 pounds with one diet and another on the same diet doesn’t and quits in disgust? Does the 250-pounder have more willpower? Maybe. But for sure, both are dealing with friction in different manners than they did before. I reduce the friction. Trust me.
MUSIC
The first words human beings uttered were most likely song lyrics, I believe. And so do some really smart dudes (and a smart chick too) that know way more stuff than me. Or at least they went to college for longer than I did. Not sure if that makes anyone smarter or just more persistent. Or privileged. But I digress.
Music was as important to human psychological development as cooked meat was to our physical evolution: Protein allowed us to think and music let us share our thoughts. Way before the actual spoken word language of alphabets, rhythmic beats told of that days’ hunting trip. We gathered around the bounty now cooking over recently tamed fire, telling stories.
Fire conquered Night. We wanted to remember. We created memories from experiences. Our offspring now possessed generational knowledge. We’re now human beings.
CSW will seek out collaborators this year, in the spirit of that ancient gathering around a fire that allowed our ancestors to tame the night. By sharing music, we communicate in a timeless tradition of basic human perception. Music organically activates human neurological impulses and somehow arranges and configures our brains for creative and mathematical enterprise. Lucky us.
ART
After fire and food, and at about the same time music created an Audio Evolution, humans created a Visual Medium. Art commemorations on cave walls depict the tribe’s culture. Art announced the arrival of tribal awareness. Every single human being that has ever walked the Earth has created Art. Art rejects objectivity and stipulates subjectivity. We are Art: Therefore we create Art.
The implication of Freedom in the phrase Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder bestows upon all of humanity the ability, nay, the necessity of holding duel roles -creator and critic - compelling us to confront our conflicts, comprehend our complicity, and compromise our commitments. We are differently the same.
Art exposes emotions and disguises desires that humanize us. After we ate fire-licked meat and talked about the hunt, we needed entertainment. Art filled a void argued about but agreed upon as an intrinsically human effort, albeit Ancient Aliens attitudes. We’ll go there too. Live Long and Prosper.
CRAFT
Undeniably, unmistakably, and unilaterally the first, potters put forth a wheeled toy transforming human existence. Humans are born to believe; the wheel created carriers of civilizations cementing that belief. Little toy horses led to big oxen teams. It’s not hard to imagine if we lose ourselves in need. What have you done that required you to go beyond anything you’ve ever done before?
The Craft of Humans blew up. We envisioned everything we needed. We expected everything we wanted. We extracted earthly elements to adorn our bodies. We enslaved peoples to build our temples. Classes created to define distinctions - you’re a builder - you’re a cook - you’re an administrator. All for the collective effort. We made ourselves into rulers and slaves. We have all of that power. Still.
HISTORY
Here is the rub. What is dirty laundry and what is polite society? Some will say, and rightly so, shut up! White Man talk too much. I grew up in polite society and got fucked. So I’m not a fan there. This section of CSW will consist of dirty laundry, juicy gossip, revealing secrets, and downright debauchery. Oh clutch my pearls.
Now that I have your attention, I’m so glad that you have scrolled all the way down. I’ve read 7 or 8 minute posts, so I know the time commitment your pouring in here. You’ll never get those 9 minutes back. Maybe 10 after rolling your eyes and guffawing. But Hell Yeah!
Because that is CRAFT. You’re wondering WTF does this have to do with writing? Nothing and Everything. Think of your Craft. What do you do? It’s fricking amazing and awesome. Share it with our community here.
Listen folks, I write this post every week thinking that I connect to other humans in a positive and meaningful way. I love financial support, but that’s only the $$ part of this project. If you are a free reader, please - I’m asking and actually beseeching you - like, comment, or share. Those are important metrics in this landscape of community-supported creators. The more likes I get the higher on the Totem-Pole I rise. Oh, please. Not the totempole argument again. Please just like, comment, or share, and I’ll keep writing. I Love You People. You make this possible, and now, I ask more of you. Jump in.
I’ve shared this link before- but it’s the absolute go-to music for Every Romantic Encounter. But that’s not the point. It’s also a great relaxer. I sent it to a friend and she asked, “Are you surrendering?”
Yes, I replied. I’m surrendering to my base evolutionary emotions. Eat. Listen. Create. Apply. Record. That’s all we have. That’s all we need. I stand for you.
Don’t just sleep on it. I’m brushing my teeth wondering how to change the world. It’s not over yet. We got a lot to do. We’re not done, nor will we be denied. We change the world by living. Just living our everyday lives. Imagine a time when Humans were Animals? We were. And we lived like Animals. Seems familiar.
With Much Love - Ric