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August 27, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Dan
Sick article. The quote from “On Health” is as insightful as ever; this points out that On Lives is becoming a beacon of knowledge that can safely cross-reference itself without the old stuff seeming dated.
I found the concept of a child’s world ceasing to exist simply someone says it “can’t be,” mindblowing. What is it that pulls us from the optimistic and imaginative world of a child into joyless adulthood? Is it the gaining of experience and actual exposure to harsh realities, or simply environmental conditioning and deciding to do what’s expected?
I think my motivation to “grow up” and do things like go to college and get a job was because of adults and professors systematically trying to scare the fuck out of me. I don’t consider getting along in the world to be remarkably difficult, but it’s always been presented as something to be feared.
I’m not saying we should all live in the imagined world of a child, but like you said, children have many positive qualities that seem to get phased out in adulthood for no good reason, such as saying hi to strangers without a sense of guilt or self-consciousness.
August 28, 2009 at 9:39 am
onlives
On Lives is really shaping up if I say so myself. It’s funny how many topics intersect but I guess that is the point. I feel like On Lives would make a great novel length book or even great practice for one, because it is constantly referring back to itself while pushing forward. There is always this looking back and springing forward feel in stories that I enjoy and it is exciting to see the site developing.
Yeah. I find the childhood points to be mind blowing as well. Especially on the subway, when little kids say hello, the whole car seems to light up. People act more jovial and smile and laugh. The innocent quality of a child’s hello, how it’s always unconditional and how they can say it to virtually anyone, is amazing.
But even then, I feel it is a nice occurrence but somewhat unrealistic, like I know more about life than this kid, and that people shouldn’t go around talking to strangers, like it is just not right. But lately, I believe there is a lot to learn from these interactions. It’s weird. It’s like it’s hard to let go of something in my mind, that despite seeing that there are better ways of going about something, I’m stuck with how I think.
That scare factor is definitely a big part of growing up. Also, people hate seeing other people idle, and most people hate being idle themselves. It’s almost like what’s the point of life if you have nothing to do? We could get into a whole thread here about happiness and artistic endeavors, but perhaps we should save it for another time. There are a lot of different ways of viewing the world and a lot of different ways of living in it. Some of those qualities that we lose as adults need to be revived because even though that child’s world may be imagined, it has the potential to be real, and real for us again.
October 12, 2009 at 1:08 pm
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