Wolfe on “The Unspoken Thing” in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test:
There was something so… religious in the air, in the very atmosphere of the Prankster life, and yet one couldn’t put one’s finger on it. On the face of it there was just a group of people who had shared an unusual psychological state, the LSD experience–
But exactly! The experience–that was the word! and it began to fall into place. In fact, none of the great founded religions, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, none of them began with a philosophical framework or even a main idea. They all began with an overwhelming new experience.
…”there is no language which will express the things which I see and hear in the spiritual world…” Sounds like an acid head, of course. What they all saw in…a flash was the solution to the basic predicament of being human, the personal I, Me, trapped, mortal and helpless, in a vast impersonal It, the world around me. Suddenly!–All-in-one!–flowing together, I into It, and It into Me, and in that flow I perceive a power, so near, and so clear, that the whole world is blind to.
For all the disillusioned, disgruntled atheists, non believers, and for the dazed and confused–religion is not as bad as you all make it out to be. The quote above proves the plausibility of greatness being associated with the religious/spiritual–a notion very foreign and difficult to step outside the bubble.
The fact that they were all high on speed or grass, or so many combinations thereof that they couldn’t keep track, made it seem like a great secret life. It was a great secret life. The befuddled citizens could only see the outward manifestations of the incredible stuff going on inside their skulls. They were all now characters in their own movies or the Big Movie.
Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping, And the vision that was planted in my brain, Still remains, Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone, Narrow streets of cobblestone, neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp, When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of A neon light, That split the night, And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw, Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening, People writing songs that voices never share, And no one dared, Disturb the sound of silence.
Fools said ,you do not know, Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you, Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell, And echoed, In the wells of silence, And the people bowed and prayed, To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning, In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets, Are written on the subway walls, And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence.
A different perspective than what you once had. It’s your context.
The following comes from Tom Wolfe’s Book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
They had no particular philosophy, just a little left-over Buddhism and Hinduism from the beat period, plus Huxley’s theory of opening doors in the mind, no distinct style, except for the Legless look…They were…well, Beautiful People!–not “students,” “clerks,” “salesgirls,” “executive trainees”–Christ, don’t give your occupation-game labels! we are Beautiful People.
This weekend, I had dinner with a friend’s little brother, who was twelve years old. I haven’t been around young people in a long time–and I forgot just how young twelve is.
Crazy to realize that in half a decade, the brother will already be in college. It is such a drastically changing six years. It scared me to realize how fast six years go by. Even scarier, is that time is going by even faster these days. As you grow up, the days pass, and it soon becomes the months, and ultimately, the years will go through us as fast as we always wanted them to go.
The grass is greener on the other side.
There comes a certain point where you stop wanting to grow up, and you start wanting to slow down. This time is a little daunting because you realize you may have peaked in happiness; however, when you realize the good days are going by, you will focus more on them. You won’t take advantage of them. Instead, you will live fully and be fully engrossed in the here and now. That’s the good days.
The following is my notes I made regarding an essay contest funded by the Elie Weisel Foundation–the question was to discuss “ethics” and/or an ethical dilemma you have encountered in your life.
I know this post is long, but this passage is the foundation for the rest of my blog. This is the cornerstone for all my ideas.
Ethical, eh? What is ethical? My immediate reaction was to write about my mental wanderings and all the philosophical quandaries I’ve encountered. But was that really ethics? Or was this just another one of my youthful idealistic ideas? Upon looking it up in the dictionary, it doesn’t really imply that ethics covers the areas of philosophy and theology as much as I thought, and my ideas wouldn’t really work. But, the definition given to me was great yet the definition was made up somewhere along the line. The definition is truly what we think of it. Yet there are no words to express this innate understandings of things.
Ethics is all encompassing. Every choice is an ethical dilemma where you decide yes or no, every day is a choice. And our choices are making the best of it. My most ethical dilllema thus far is the path of the brain or the path of the heart. Both are looking for the same thing: extreme happiness. They take different routes. One is the way the parents desire. This is the route of no return. Once you turn away from the other route you are that person, one forever stuck in the world of not getting it.
The route those people turned away from was the route of youthful ambition, the second possible route. This is the ambition of the all the children of the world. The fire, the insight, the passion, the love. This path takes you to happiness with out material success but through the means of mental pondering and mental understandings.
So far the route of the fun youthful idealism takes me has given me much more happiness. I can see tangible results. However, the dark road beyond it is not clear. It is obviously great to think this when you’re young, but how far do you ride it out? You rarely hear of the pot-smoking hippies who made it to material scueess, they face trouble later in life. Their commitment to their beliefs and ideals is imcomparable.
Its incredible, because so many take the easy way out, or more conventional way out of youth in which is to become another member of society fnctionning as one devoid mind would function. Obbviously I am biased in my evaluation of these paths to happiness, but I am living on one route now, and I don’t know if I should transfer. Shall I settle for the good? Or shall I risk it with all to lose and the most to gain?
Its an ethical dilemma in my mind because those two paths represent two ideological things, and in a way it takes my moral judgment, my moral faith, and trust in the welfare of the world in order to take this offer. The road is unknown ahaead. It could turn out great or it could turn out worse. But the great would be beyond the life of the good who settled. But to win, you gotta play. To get to that point you have to let go a little bit and jut fly, and just go with it!I saw it, I just saw it, but it vanished once again.
Live the life of an inspiritaional artsy intellecuel, and struggle, or take the path of least resistance and do the norm and follow the norm for a food, but not great life.
Ethics, which I am choosing to define as the set of behaviors you exhibit which are representative and resultant of our most sacred values one has. So, yes, it boils down then to the simple fact of what do I value most. Do I value the free spiritness and vast expanses of knowledge more than I value my the secured generic life like the majority of the population?
It seems clear to me, I want to live the carefree great life everyday, but I recognize my perceptions are heavily influenced by my present experience of youthfulness. There is more out there, and I may be choosing the wrong path. Maybe the people who take the intellectual path are those that really lose in the long run. This is all a gamble. But I don’t want to make it a gamble, for I make these decisions, and I will do what my heart desires, I will follow my values.
Here lies the problem, which of my values has priorities?
My solution to this conundrum was to follow the middle path–to try to incorporate both realms of life into my everyday life. But I don’t see anyone else being as balanced as I. Is no one else trying to balance it all like I am? Am I the only one who has attempted this route of existence? Am I making a mistake, this is probably not a good idea. As it goes now, I am either the first to figure this world out, or I am the last one who hasn’t given it up. But going with the middle still creates problems. Problems of committemnt struck me. I couldn’t commit to one side, to one style of clothes to one group of friends, it was always multiple and diverse and I got a little taste of everything.
Society wants us to choose one way or another. Perhaps my ethical stance is that neither one is perfect, and perfection comes in the form of balancing it all. Youthful idealism and conventional ideologies seem to be opposing ways of life, and a huge ethical dilemma has been to decide between the two. However, there is no dilemma if both are incorporated into my life.
Be Optimistic. Be optimistic about people. In an intoxicated state, someone once said to me, “I am optimistic about people but pessimistic about world views.” Why was he this way? Because he forces himself to be optimistic for people. Think about it. I thought, and I said I was the opposite of he; I, for one, have a positive look on the world but yet very cynical of people. I never realized this–my natural inclination to find the worst in people. Clearly, this is not a good way to be. Think about it–if you are optimistic about people, and you treat them as an open slate and go in and get to know them with no judgments, if you take away all your tarnishing assumptions on people, then the result can only be beneficial. I realized the absurdity of my previous assumptions of people, which are based on nothing, literally just preconceived notions. Try to free yourself from those normal societal restraints and see everyone as an intriguing story. What is their story? Everybody has a story, and everybody has something to offer you, whether it be advice, experience, friendship, or some knowledge, you take a piece of everyone you engage with everywhere you go. If they are interesting, get to know them, that is the point of meeting people– to understand the viewpoint, the worldview the lifestyles, the language and words, of this person. When you understand the ideology of someone else, it only helps you understand yours more clearly.
The following is a column that Mary Schmich wrote for the Chicago Tribune based on the idea that within everyone lies a graduation speech–this would be her commencement address if she ever gave one. Later, Australian director Baz Lurhmann set the “speech” to music and titled it “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”. The YouTube video of the song is attached. Listen to the movie while reading the lyrics.
I have never listened to anything which addressed so many different aspects of life. This truly spans across all realms of living and gives simple advice which undoubtedly make sense to follow. I can’t even begin to stress how important all this simple advice is–surely, if you follow this basic, laid-back ideology described, there will be benefits. For me, every phrase I heard or read I found myself agreeing with. THE SPEECH is powerful and it makes you wonder why we don’t already live the lifestyle and by the mentality that Schmich puts forth. Enjoy.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 97…Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked…You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other peoples hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes youre ahead, sometimes youre behind…the race is long, and in the end its only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you dont know what to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didnt know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still dont.
Get plenty of calcium
Be kind to your knees, youll miss them when theyre gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you wont, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, dont congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody elses.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, its the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you dont follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you’ll never know when theyll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, price will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do youll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time its 40, it will look 85.
Be careful who advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.
“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt myself in a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life.”
–Leo Tolstoy, in “Family Happiness”
I saw this quote for the first time in Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild. It’s true–why live a simple, quiet life when there is so much more to life than stagnation? Its the extremes, seen via dangers and excitements, which give our lives true satisfaction. The status quo, normal, conventional life is exactly what Tolstoy describes as “the calm course of existence.” Why stay calm, when you can experience the un-calm? The fluctuations, the extremes, and the inherent mystery in the loud, active life, is invaluable. Why would you live at medium, when you could be experiencing high highs and low lows? It is the extremes which truly impact us. It is the movements in our moods, personalities, friends, and surroundings, which give us more meaning and more of an intriguing identity. Travel. Move. Always Change. Don’t stay in one place, and never be quiet, in words nor actions. Always Progress, and never waste anytime.
