May you live in interesting times.

So, apparently, that is not a Chinese curse.

According to the good people over at Quote Investigor – yes, people actively investigate quotes, humans are like that – well, according to QI, a British man named Austen (of all names) who was part of the British diplomatic corps in China way back in the early 1900s, well, he started using “interesting times” and then it snowballed into a whole thing.

Now, “May you live in interesting times” is known as a symbol of ancient Chinese wisdom.

Strangely, that same man who started the whole business, Austen Chamberlain, was the brother of one Neville Chamberlain of infamous Appeasement fame. Which, given our current times, is a little uncanny…

 

In any case, Times have become far too Interesting.

News is best avoided.
But must be watched since, God knows, threat-levels are high.
You just might miss a world-changing global event.
Except, there are too many world-changing global events at present, so really, why not make a hot beverage and read a good book instead?

It feels like the planet is getting a bit too much again, but in actual fact it is the species that is, once again, very exhausting, enervating, and absolutely enraging.

Humans are an entire planetary condition, as it seems, but that is not actually new. Humans have been humans for at least six millennia and it’s been a very bumpy ride.
(1 star, do not recommend)

A cynic might say: this is just the same old hand-basket, we’re all going straight to The Bad Place.
An optimist will probably hope for the best.
Everyone else simply goes to bed at the end of the day and then checks if the planet is still there in the morning. Because, at this point, Aliens just might attempt First Contact next Tuesday.

There really is little one can say at the moment save, please: keep on writing.
Keep on trying.

If anything will save this demented group project we all can’t get out of, then it’s probably imagination, creativity, and all the tools we have to create empathy and so, hopefully, engender peace.

Why, you ask. Why even bother?
Well, when homo sapiens aren’t being aggravatingly unpleasant, then the planet is actually a nice place to be. Problem is, the mammalian bipeds can’t ever seem to agree on what “nice” is…

And thus, the group project continues and there is no time-out, no recess. We are sadly – or luckily, depending on how you see it – all in this together.

So, for all our sakes:
Don’t give up.
Keep on writing.

~ VR

 

^{Featured Image: Timur Kozmenko}