I’m always in duality when someone asks me that: on the one hand there is this always cheerful being who never sees the problems, and so also does not worry about them. But because he’s so laid-back, he always leaves the talking to the other guy. He is the one that sees the outside world just as good as the first one, but he believes that is his reality….

Sometimes, I move towards the happy guy, but at that moment the outside world is no longer anything I really worry about. That’s the moment that same outside world decides I’m in danger of escaping their grip, and so they tighten it. This usually means I get thrown right back in the arms of the second guy, who will do his utmost to convince me this messed up 3D world is mine too. Surely that is the safest route to go, because then the outside world doesn’t pull anymore, but is just a general nuisance.

But it does not satisfy, not by a long shot! Because the views determine the beliefs, but the both of them are mixed up, and so are their beliefs: number one believes in his infinite potential, while number two dwells in the belief that anyone out there is no doubt better equipped to do any job better than him.  Number one knows the impossible is his to demand, no doubt about it. Number two grabs onto any straw to determine if it will be true, but comes up emptyhanded because the hints he observes are too cryptic to begin with.

And the bigger problem is, number one knows about number two and his antics, but is absolutely not determined to do anything about him. Free will you know, if he wants to, he can….   And number two knows just as much as number one, but for some reason feigns ignorance. No doubt he feels that the higher knowledge has no place in his lowly world.

And thus they plod along, each taking the lead at various times, both not really sure what to do with the other one. You can’t live with him, and you can’t live without him, both will probably agree. And it could have been worse: instead of just these two, I could just as easily have splintered my self into a million pieces. Just imagine what that would do to the level of chatter in my mind….

The  solution to all this? Let me bring to mind a little dialogue from a Hollywood Blockbuster called Demolition Man. For those of you who don’t know it, it is about a cop (Stallone) who gets thawed after having been frozen for forty years, to capture one of his past busts, a truly deranged criminal called Simon Phoenix. It seems future law enforcement was just no longer capable of dealing with raw 1980 violence anymore. This came from the end of the movie, when the charismatic leader of the futuristic civilisation has been slain, and the underground movement are face to face with the now leaderless surface dwellers:

John Spartan:
Whoa, Whoa. I’ll tell you what gonna do:

John Spartan:
[to Chief Earle] Why don’t you get a little dirty?

John Spartan:
[to Edgar] You a lot cleaner.

John Spartan:
And somewhere in the middle… I don’t know. You’ll figure it out.

Alfredo Garcia:
Fuckin’ A!

John Spartan:
[impressed] Well put. 

Most likely, my number one and number two need a similar twist of mind. I bet that is my task here, getting those two to work together.  And if you haven’t seen Demolition Man yet, go check it out. It is a really well thought out view of future society, with a  lot of humor in it.

 

Love your fragments,

Dre’