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wrfinalmixarchive2009-02-16 10:39 pm
songbird9.livejournal.com) wrote in wrfinalmixarchive2009-02-16 10:39 pm
Entry tags:
Perspective
That's right, folks, I'm at it again. For your contemplation and discussion if you so choose, here is another TL;DR philosophy ramble by yours truly.
...and all you see are patches of color. Stand too far away and you can't see any of the details.
I have a habit of standing on the far side of the metaphorical room, looking not at the painting itself but at its placement on the wall and how it fits in with everything surrounding it. I've always heard it said that you should look at the big picture, but sometime I think that I take it too far. I worry about the fate of humanity billions of years from now, but in all likelihood I'll only live for another sixty or seventy of those years, if that. Humans won't even be human anymore, a billion years from now. Homo sapiens only evolved a couple hundred thousand years ago. If the descendants of the human species survive to the end of earth and beyond, they'll almost certainly become another species entirely, and they'll have forgotten all the details of what the human race has done.
And now, if there is a permanent connection to all of these other worlds, it's even harder to predict the course of life in the future of Earth.
So what matters, and what doesn't? What can you take for granted, if anything? Should you live your own life to the fullest, or slave away for benefit the future of your species. Should you try to change the world, or the universe, or is it enough just to change the lives of a few people who care about you?
As far as I have observed, most people don't think quite as far into time and space as I do, and it certainly isn't a common trend to decide that you can and should remake the entire universe to your liking, even if it would help to ensure the survival of everything you care about.
I say things sometimes that are so very philosophical, so distant that I contradict normality. I feel quite wise when I say it, of course, but half the time I look back and wonder what in all the worlds had gotten into my head.
Earth has gummi technology now. Isn't that fantastic? Think of what it's done for our space program! How many decades or centuries would it have taken to develop anything remotely equal to this?
Of course it could be misused, just like anything else. Humans seem to have a lot of trouble learning from the past, despite how often that very thing is encouraged. The aftermath of H-day changed Earth, but people are fundamentally the same. There will be more war, there will be massive destruction and loss of life. Any technology we have at the time will be put to use in some way.
But Earth's humans must advance, because it is either evolution or extinction. It was wrong of me to ever suggest that humanity should be denied such a fantastic boost forward, and looking back I really don't know how I could have been that blind.
I know, that's all over, but this isn't an apology. It's just an example of perspective.
Another one; my 22nd birthday is coming up in two months. I'd really love to visit my family on Earth on that particular date, just like I've been considering a trip to Destiny Islands around June 20th when it will have been an entire year after Xemnas and I stood on that beach and shared a silly old legend that was supposed to bind our destinies together forever. Funny, that a while ago I was denouncing the custom of keeping time by Earth standards when half of us don't live on Earth anymore.
This entire train of thought came about when I was strolling around Radiant Garden to get some air, looking up at the stars, feeling like I'd been here forever, when it suddenly came back to me that I've seen Earth while orbiting it from space - something I used to think would be the most spectacular experience in a lifetime and one that i would never have. What's more, I'm standing on another world. I've visited quite a few. I've even spoken with the consciousness of Earth herself. Talking to a planet, imagine...
But of course you all have. Everyone who was there for the end of the War of Hearts, also called the War of Dreams. You've all flown about the multiverse regularly. It's a perfectly normal activity for us, like driving to the next city. Hardly special after you've done it enough... unless you change your perspective.
I hadn't realized it, really, but I haven't been putting much thought into my life before H-day. I dwell on the past a lot, certainly more than is healthy, but only on the last two years. I recall what it felt like to be a Nobody, and the few hazy, chaotic, random memories I have of being a Heartless. I think about the World That Never Was, walking the damp city streets and the sterile silvery halls of the castle. I wonder about Organization XIII, what all the members were like and how much they've changed now, or in what ways they've stayed the same. Memories of your past define you almost as much as the actions you make now. A part of Eric is still Axel. Braig definitely still has some Xigbar in him, or maybe there was just more of Braig left in Xigbar than he cared to admit. Ienzo's run away from it all, moved on to a completely new life, but he wouldn't be living that life if he hadn't been Zexion. Isa's a bit easier to trust, but he still intimidates me as much as Saix ever did. Oddly enough, he's harder to talk to, but I guess that's just because I enjoy arguing and Saix was great for thoughtful yet vaguely aggressive debates, but I have nothing to argue about with Isa.
Roxas is as Roxasy as a Roxas can get, given the addition of his very own heart, and Namine is Namine is sweet little Namine.
And as for myself, I probably hold onto my Nobody's identity more than the others, besides those last two. I still introduce myself as Song half the time, and maybe it is because I dwell so much on the time following H-day, while rarely bothering to look farther back, when life didn't involve frequent trips between worlds and random battles with alien monsters. So I tend to look at my surroundings from the perspective of someone who only became what she was after the destruction of her world, who had her most fantastic dreams drift within centimeters of her reaching fingertips, only to watch them fall back into the realm of impossibility. From those eyes, how can the daily wonders of our amazingly gifted lives look any better than a life on Earth would now if none of this had ever happened?
It's all perspective. Do you admire the networks of galaxies with their uncountable stars and near-infinite planets, as they move through all of time and space, or do you study the beauty of veins in a single leaf from the shrub you walk past every day? Can you do both at the same time?
~
...and all you see are patches of color. Stand too far away and you can't see any of the details.
I have a habit of standing on the far side of the metaphorical room, looking not at the painting itself but at its placement on the wall and how it fits in with everything surrounding it. I've always heard it said that you should look at the big picture, but sometime I think that I take it too far. I worry about the fate of humanity billions of years from now, but in all likelihood I'll only live for another sixty or seventy of those years, if that. Humans won't even be human anymore, a billion years from now. Homo sapiens only evolved a couple hundred thousand years ago. If the descendants of the human species survive to the end of earth and beyond, they'll almost certainly become another species entirely, and they'll have forgotten all the details of what the human race has done.
And now, if there is a permanent connection to all of these other worlds, it's even harder to predict the course of life in the future of Earth.
So what matters, and what doesn't? What can you take for granted, if anything? Should you live your own life to the fullest, or slave away for benefit the future of your species. Should you try to change the world, or the universe, or is it enough just to change the lives of a few people who care about you?
As far as I have observed, most people don't think quite as far into time and space as I do, and it certainly isn't a common trend to decide that you can and should remake the entire universe to your liking, even if it would help to ensure the survival of everything you care about.
I say things sometimes that are so very philosophical, so distant that I contradict normality. I feel quite wise when I say it, of course, but half the time I look back and wonder what in all the worlds had gotten into my head.
Earth has gummi technology now. Isn't that fantastic? Think of what it's done for our space program! How many decades or centuries would it have taken to develop anything remotely equal to this?
Of course it could be misused, just like anything else. Humans seem to have a lot of trouble learning from the past, despite how often that very thing is encouraged. The aftermath of H-day changed Earth, but people are fundamentally the same. There will be more war, there will be massive destruction and loss of life. Any technology we have at the time will be put to use in some way.
But Earth's humans must advance, because it is either evolution or extinction. It was wrong of me to ever suggest that humanity should be denied such a fantastic boost forward, and looking back I really don't know how I could have been that blind.
I know, that's all over, but this isn't an apology. It's just an example of perspective.
Another one; my 22nd birthday is coming up in two months. I'd really love to visit my family on Earth on that particular date, just like I've been considering a trip to Destiny Islands around June 20th when it will have been an entire year after Xemnas and I stood on that beach and shared a silly old legend that was supposed to bind our destinies together forever. Funny, that a while ago I was denouncing the custom of keeping time by Earth standards when half of us don't live on Earth anymore.
This entire train of thought came about when I was strolling around Radiant Garden to get some air, looking up at the stars, feeling like I'd been here forever, when it suddenly came back to me that I've seen Earth while orbiting it from space - something I used to think would be the most spectacular experience in a lifetime and one that i would never have. What's more, I'm standing on another world. I've visited quite a few. I've even spoken with the consciousness of Earth herself. Talking to a planet, imagine...
But of course you all have. Everyone who was there for the end of the War of Hearts, also called the War of Dreams. You've all flown about the multiverse regularly. It's a perfectly normal activity for us, like driving to the next city. Hardly special after you've done it enough... unless you change your perspective.
I hadn't realized it, really, but I haven't been putting much thought into my life before H-day. I dwell on the past a lot, certainly more than is healthy, but only on the last two years. I recall what it felt like to be a Nobody, and the few hazy, chaotic, random memories I have of being a Heartless. I think about the World That Never Was, walking the damp city streets and the sterile silvery halls of the castle. I wonder about Organization XIII, what all the members were like and how much they've changed now, or in what ways they've stayed the same. Memories of your past define you almost as much as the actions you make now. A part of Eric is still Axel. Braig definitely still has some Xigbar in him, or maybe there was just more of Braig left in Xigbar than he cared to admit. Ienzo's run away from it all, moved on to a completely new life, but he wouldn't be living that life if he hadn't been Zexion. Isa's a bit easier to trust, but he still intimidates me as much as Saix ever did. Oddly enough, he's harder to talk to, but I guess that's just because I enjoy arguing and Saix was great for thoughtful yet vaguely aggressive debates, but I have nothing to argue about with Isa.
Roxas is as Roxasy as a Roxas can get, given the addition of his very own heart, and Namine is Namine is sweet little Namine.
And as for myself, I probably hold onto my Nobody's identity more than the others, besides those last two. I still introduce myself as Song half the time, and maybe it is because I dwell so much on the time following H-day, while rarely bothering to look farther back, when life didn't involve frequent trips between worlds and random battles with alien monsters. So I tend to look at my surroundings from the perspective of someone who only became what she was after the destruction of her world, who had her most fantastic dreams drift within centimeters of her reaching fingertips, only to watch them fall back into the realm of impossibility. From those eyes, how can the daily wonders of our amazingly gifted lives look any better than a life on Earth would now if none of this had ever happened?
It's all perspective. Do you admire the networks of galaxies with their uncountable stars and near-infinite planets, as they move through all of time and space, or do you study the beauty of veins in a single leaf from the shrub you walk past every day? Can you do both at the same time?
~
no subject
The things you describe (You talked to the spirit of Earth? Really?), like flying gummi ships, still seem so amazingly unachievable to me. I look up at the stars sometimes, and just can't believe that they're really whole other worlds.
In answer to your last question, I believe it's possible to do both. The infinity of time and space is fascinating, but a single leaf brings you much closer to home.
no subject
Funny how that all worked out.
The worlds granted a wish to each person who fought in the final battle. Mother Earth was sweet, and I felt horrible for having basically tried to destroy her. She - and Aqua and Terra and Ryune - helped me save Orpheus. You know, all that time, even at the very start, I wanted to save the Nobodies. The others were saved by the Dreaming, their hearts restored and everything, but I think he might have died if I hadn't wished him back. He wanted to, in a way. It's what he'd been prepared for all along.
I think that's why things were so difficult for him when he was allowed to live. I was afraid it would happen, too. I warned him, 'think about what you're going to do when you're free, or you won't even know where to start.'
Gah, sorry. Once I get started, I can type and type and type....
Anyway, you should come out here, even though it is dangerous. This is that impossible opportunity to see the universe. I wouldn't pass it up if I were in your place.
no subject
Wow, a wish? Amazing. I can understand why you want to save the Nobodies. I sometimes wonder what it could've possibly been like, to once more have a hearts to feel with after going without for so long. And you welcome to keep typing, it satisfies my hopelessly romantic mind.
I so want to see the worlds, but I'm still in high school. It's an important year for me, and I can't just up and leave. Plus, my family don't really know about all this, and even if they understood it, there's no way they'd let me go. I'm not really one to defy my parents - no matter how much I want to see the universe, my loyalty is to my family. Even if sometimes it's really difficult.
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Amusing fact: before I met him in person, I had almost no interest in Xemnas whatsoever. Certainly not a trace of romantic inclination. Demyx, Axel, even Vexen should have been more likely candidates if any Nobody was going to become the center of my affections.
But then, le coeur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connait point.
I suppose I can understand your reasons, even if they wouldn't have stopped me. Your loyalty is admirable.
no subject
Well, love will surprise you that way sometimes.
Thank you. I may end up changing my mind, though. If there ends up being an epic battle against the forces of darkness, for instance, I'll want to help. I'll need to help.
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I agree with Midnight - it's possible to do both. To say you can't is to deny beauty to either one of them. Both of them are extraordinarily wonderful, and even though some of us may never get to see it all, a lot of us have been able to see more than we ever imagined. We live a fantasy, but that doesn't mean it's not real and that we're not real.
It makes me both envy and pity Ryuu, Aaron, and possibly Josiah. They have the opportunity to see the long-term changes that resulted from the Trinity and the Refugees' actions...but at what cost? But even in the short span of life (and I hate to think of the end already), I want to marvel at the universe - every single last thing in it.
no subject
Given the choice without a consequence as severe as what Ryuu went through, i would choose immortality, or at least a greatly extended lifespan, and for that very reason. The stories of single lives rarely have entirely satisfactory conclusions. "There are no happy endings." But I think, over a long period of time, enough must change that stories are given closure, if on a rather distant level.
And the cogs that turn the wheels of time and change fascinate me.
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Many lives have happy endings. We let the grief of loss blind us to the rest of the issue. When one approaches their end on this level of existence, they can look back and think about the lives they've touched and enriched with their actions, the joys and tears they've shared with the people they love. That's worth more than money or any power on this earth.
In the end, if you looked back and saw that, wouldn't you feel that your life has a happy ending?
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It's just as nice as a happy ending. Nicer, perhaps, to go without much strife at all, but most lives instead tend to waver between happy and unfortunate. There may be happy moments in time, but if that shifting back and forth continues to the end, is it a happy ending?
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Oh, I've lost it. I don't have the energy to think tonight.
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But that's not what you're really asking. You're asking about perspective and viewpoint. I admit, I often have been taking the short view in life. But I have been working as of late to improve that. Because without the overall structure and perspective afforted by overall goals and direction, I'm just floating through life without the ability to direct the flow to get where I want to go.
And you always did have a problem letting go, Songbird. Some things are best left behind so Time can finally heal them.