Today I’ve listened to Gregory Alan Isakov a lot, and I read an upset political email from a VERY old and trusted professor. Both concern self- and social-reflection. What makes us happy individually? What makes us happy as a society? Does personal happiness matter? Is the greater good more important? WHAT IS THE GREATER GOOD? In what do WE find worth? What do WE believe in? What do we feel we can TRULY do to actualize our beliefs? Who do we trust? Why do we trust them? Is there an honest reason for ground-level social division? If so, what is it exactly? When is the right time to make a demand? How should it present? Could we even possibly agree upon the substance of that demand? Why do we care? What would consensus look like? Is it possible? Who do I want to become, and can I do it? What is redemption? How does forgiveness feel, appear, smell? What makes me enjoy living? Do I care what others enjoy about life? What happens after life on Earth? Do I consider that in the choices I make today?
There are so many big questions.
Sometimes I am far more interested in the little questions, like: Should I add more onions to that chicken Mexican casserole I just made? Do I actually give a damn if my socks match? How did I kill yet another coveted, 10-foot phone cord? Why does this pencil always break? Will liquid seaweed work for cacti, too? How many quarters do I have? Will it storm again tonight? Is there any reason to have this big TV in my living room when I never turn it on? How much will gas cost next week? Do I want to know? Do I even want to wake up and find out? On and on.
The number of questions we could, potentially, ask ourselves every day are many. A constant loop, nearly uncontrollable.
The answers, though … we have greater control over that, I think. We may not always like our innermost, our most rational and intelligent, answers, but they are definitely manageable. In that we can reflect, dig deep. Assuming we are willing to listen.