059. ...the whole imaginary bus load.
(morning thinking)
In 65CE Seneca The Younger pointed out that a single human lifespan, entirely devoted to studying the sky, would not be long enough to fully understand such a vast subject. He suggested that there would be a time in the future where our descendents would marvel at the things people of his time did not know. And he’s right, obviously. Penicillin is cool and those ancient Greeks and Romans would have been super pleased to have had some, what with all the fighting they were doing.
And then plate tectonics and genetics and social equality.
But Seneca also thought we should probably all stop fighting. He thought we should pack in the whole eating animals thing. He thought we should make time each night to reflect on our days and begin each morning with thoughtful intention setting and a cold bath.
He was right, there are many things we know now that are the result of the collected thinking of the human project over millennia. As we build our assembled knowledge the pace of learning quickens. 1,859 years after uncle Seneca mused about the sky and the sum value of our future knowledge we flew, IN THE AIR, right around the planet and then only 45 years later we left earth and went to the moon. Ruddy heck Seneca.
The gap between human knowledge now and human knowledge way back when is vast. Everyone who’s ever lived fed into it. We aren’t standing on the shoulders of giants, we become A giant by standing on each other's shoulders all the way back to the first trapped wind baby burp of the species.
No wait, let’s not picture standing on babies. It’s a group effort is what I’m saying.
But isn’t it odd how many of the valuable daily practices of ancient wisdom we’ve forgotten? How many people start their day with mindful stretching and exercise? How many swear off hot baths recognising the physical and mental benefits of a cold plunge? Hands up, who’s making time for quiet contemplation? Social media gives the impression that everyone and sometimes their dog is cold water swimming, meditating and working out but I think the actual numbers are really quite low.
Most of the most fortunate of us are so invested in earning and saving and working and making sure the kids are getting good grades in school that there’s no time left for the basic elements of living well. “I don’t have time to read”, “I would love to exercise but there isn’t time to go to the gym”.
Jobs cover the basics and the surplus seems to go on the medicine that makes life tolerable, whether that’s hats, shoes and gegaws or small batch bathtub gin, and think ourselves rich.
We hack and push through the thickly knotted brambles of the week, the barbarous thorns of which tear chunks from our soul as we strain and wrench onwards toward the weekend where there will be cold alcohol and ephemeral effervescent bubbles to massage the muscles and wash out the gashes.
Does it have to be like this?
Sometimes life really will be a thorn bush in our path but it would be better to pause for a moment and consider whether there’s a way round. Do we have to push right through the middle of this? Ok maybe sometimes we do, but do we have to go through fast and hard? Could we slow down to nip and prune the razor studded tendrils? Let them fall to the ground and over we go.
I think it’s fair to say that any time traveller from two thousand years ago would be bowled over by our shiny technology (or our anodised, matt finish, technology) and the general ease with which we are able to secure cat porn. There was a time when you actually had to go looking for a kitten. You had to stand up, walk about and look under things, maybe even leave the house, to find a cute cat. How far we’ve come!
Our first century time travelling roman senator, avuncular public intellectual Seneca, might stumble about for a couple of weeks swiping at touch screens and stepping in and back out again through automatic sliding doors wearing an elated grin but I think ultimately he’d be quite disappointed in us.
I imagine he’d be here as part of a committee - like a time travelling saga holiday. There’d be Lao Tzu and Sid Gautama and Frankie Assisi, here to see what they could see see see and when the glister wore off, when the novelty of Alexa faded they’d not be at all impressed with you and me.
“You’re still killing your brothers and sisters? You’re still fighting and quarrelling? It’s been two thousand years!” they’d say*. “In all that time you haven’t managed to find peace?” They’d not be able to understand why, with supermarkets stacked high, we were unable to feed the whole world. They’d see homeless people sat outside in the cold beneath the shining vaulted entrances to shopping centres and struggle to fathom how these mighty cathedrals to commerce could exist in the same societies that fail to provide universal shelter for all. And these people, who would, let’s face it, to all intents and purposes be our great great etc grandparents would “tsk tsk” and shake their heads. They’d look away. We’d try to distract them and bring back their previous fascinated glee by whipping out our latest phone upgrade or an umbrella but our pride in ourselves would be water to their turned duck’s back. The moment would be gone.
“I’m not angry” Seneca would say, “just disappointed.”
I hope somewhere in our collective thinking there is, emerging, a happy medium between scientific reasoning and spiritual wisdom. I think maybe we have the balance wrong at the moment.
*I can’t say specifically which one of them is talking at this point. Assisi is much younger than the rest so it’s not him. Seneca The Younger is actually about in the middle of the line up ages-wise. The Buddha is way older. Jesus and Mohammed would be there and the two thousand years comment roughly works out so my money’s on one of them but there’d be others. I can’t list the whole imaginary bus load.
This kind of thing is way outside of my wheelhouse so I’d happily take a steer from anyone with a better understanding of the bus load of thinkers I’ve gathered. Please comment below or message me.
Thanks Paul.
The images in my head had St Fancis wearing a Frankie says Relax t-shirt and Lao Tzu is wearing the I shot JR one.
Apologies for the disservice.