There is no neatly packaged response I'm afraid, no snappy one liner that fits the bill or does it justice. Yet one is always being demanded.
Having spent many an hour lost in introspection, I can find numerous reasons why I believe I am driven to complete this task. However, if one steps back for a moment, away from being the centre of the Universe, you realise there is a larger game afoot. The question is not so much why I do what I do, but why we all do what we do. Ultimately our personal reasons seem to be lacking. They don’t justify the scale and magnitude of the motivation and drive expressed. In fact, most the time they make no sense at all.
The most commonly found or popular analogies to questions like, why a mountain was climbed, is ‘because it was there’ or ‘because we can’. Or William Herbert's; "If you need to ask the question, perhaps you will not understand the answer". True, most do not think for long before asking the question, it's just a matter of fact they have not thought in any depth on this subject before asking. Ultimately, with a little contemplation we all know the reasons why. Or at least, if not truly grasping the literal meaning, we feel it. The answer has emotional connotations because it's rooted deeply with in us. These examples are but a small part of a much larger facet of man. What I refer to as the odyssey of man.
Outside the humdrum daily activity of simply staying alive and raising offspring, there is a distinct collective pursuit, expressed by individuals in many different ways. From the cradle to the grave man is tormented by his beckoning horizons, never to rest. Be it the ‘M’ theory, the unification of quantum mechanics and relativity, a theory of economics, a rover touching down on the Martian surface, running the fastest mile, or the top of the highest mountain, it is the relentless conquest of our frontiers. It is, I believe, one of our most noble facets, that has dragged us kicking and screaming from the primitive savannah to the surface of other worlds. The greatest achievements we have made have been in pursuit of frontiers that lie tantalizingly just beyond our reach. We will always stay ahead of the curve, as long as we remain wide eyed, filled with wonder and restlessness. As we chase the next horizon a cascade of knowledge inadvertently ushers forth. At some point we all partake in the human odyssey, be it the story telling that harbours dreams and inspire the next generation, or the personal conquest of a frontier.
Less we stumble backward, but for a moment.
A personal perspective...
One could argue that there is a whole manner of things that today blight humanity. As such, it’s only right that we need to carefully watch our feet as we stumble along our loosely defined path. However, from time to time one must raise an eyebrow to the horizon to keep a sense of direction. There is an overarching architecture of human discourse that drives the quagmire of detail we revel in. By watching our feet, lost in those details, and not paying attention to the big picture, we risk wondering in misguided circles. On this website, I wish only to divert your attention but for a moment. Lay the ground work for certain topics. To remind you of the scary big things we must confront collectively in order to move beyond our quagmires. But also to show solidarity with those who work tirelessly to keep the candlelight of reason burning.
There is no dark corner into which we should fear shining an inquisitive light. As a result, one day, with a little effort, individuals will find the strength to face the reality and inevitability of their demise in a mature fashion, from which point things should start falling into place respectively. Allowing us to rise from the shackles of this demon haunted world, and be more than we ever dreamed we could be. Which sorry individual would tell our children otherwise, or abandon them to false hopes and toxic illusions?
Karl
