Existence and Pain
Are Existence and pain the two sides of the medal we receive at birth? The quote from Lord Byron rings true to me, as I believe the only evidence we have of some reality is sensation: I feel so I must exist. Please note that I am not suggesting that our dreamed reality is secondary to this hypothetical physical reality. If the Universe, and us, was created, then sensation is, for the life within, anywhere, and especially for us, the only way we can “trust” this Creation.
Without sensation, everything is dead, inert, unfeeling and, as it were, inexistent. From sensation, we draw most of our work, literature, arts, sciences, understanding of the cosmos, the use of mathematics through observation, geometry and cosmology. At the beginning is recognition of our existence within a coherent Universe: this is the starting point.
Art of Life
If this is so, what is the “art of life” Byron refers to? And what do we mean by “trusting the Creation”? Is sensation the substrate of this trust? We have to believe in some inherent logic that is central to the existence of the stars, galaxies, planets, and intelligent life within. We may never fully understand that logic, indeed it may be the entirety of physical laws that our current mathematics cannot represent. It does not matter: the art of Life is to rely on our feeling for existence , even in pain, that is even when we feel that part of the Creation may be hostile to us.
This is holistic in that we have to accept the good and the evil as inseparable principles. Some of us do that through our religious faiths, others through living in a duality: physical reality and dreams. This is the source of many masterpieces form antiquity through the renaissance and the last three centuries, as well as of wet edge physics (why do I think often of Lord Byron and Feynman together?)
Role of dreams
Our existence is twofold: in the real, physical world, and in our minds, when we dream, or when we get absorbed in creation ourselves, such as when we write some long form fiction or memoirs. Combining both is part of the art of Life. Succeeding in drawing inspiration from one to enrich the other, perhaps leading us to a deeper understanding of our own existence. The way we cope with the ups and downs of this existence, and all the very human “realities”, of work, family life, and pain, is not to waste this inspiration.
Rework
Our being is dual: within the tangible realm of reality and within the depths of our minds, where we engage in dreaming or immerse ourselves in creative pursuits like crafting intricate narratives or memoirs. Blending these two aspects constitutes the art of living, allowing us to derive insight from one to enhance the other, potentially leading to a profound comprehension of our own existence. To make the most of this inspiration, we must not squander it as we navigate the fluctuations and inherent human experiences of work, family life, and suffering.
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