Why fear beauty?
Category: Questions
Question
Why am I so bothered by postmodern denials of the body? We can postulate being ephemeral beings, but still recognize our form, our seat, our source. Its relevance. Both/and, not either/or. A truth not seeking to be, but just is. Regardless of what it says.
Question
Is acknowledging and accepting the end/decay of humanity——and having no intention or goal to continue/’save’ it and its inevitable/worsening environmental destruction—— inherently pessimistic? Could it be seen as optimistic/(even beautiful?) from a larger ecological/cosmic perspective? Could it be compared to a human accepting their own death nearing the end of life?
Question
What do environmental experts intuit/feel in this moment? What do they think we can learn from global quarantine?
(My friend Chelsea had an idea I find brilliant: After COVID, we could hold an annual twoish-week global quarantine as a reminder that we’re all on this planet together, we can help/impact each other from close/far, and we can minimize our destruction of the Earth. A reminder to slow consumption, input/output, and focus locally to prioritize health and slowing down.)
Question
If psychedelics can help terminally ill people accept/face death, rather than deny/resist against it, then can’t they also help humanity accept extinction, rather than deny/persist against it—without it being seen as pessimistic? Could psychedelic states show people that there is something bigger than them, and that fighting solely for the continuation of the human race——rather than giving in to the planet’s needs and other species’ best interests——is anthropocentric/misguided? Could they inform us of the best way to preserve what’s left of our planet rather than altering it continuously for our own preservation?
Question
What would psychedelic-assisted climate action actually look like and could psychedelics shift eco-consciousness as quickly as we need it, at this point of crisis/disaster?
Question
Can/should humanity seek to manifest its destiny beyond extinction with technology or will it, like a virus, inevitably be purged out?
Question
Is speaking/(writing) subjectively an inherently selfish act? Is it possible to speak for others in speaking for self? Or speak for those who came before (especially those silenced) by speaking now? Do women get challenged more for speaking subjectively than men?
Question
Aren’t we always feeling?
Question
Beyond civil disobedience, what would psychedelic use to influence power systems look like?