Skip to main content

No one knows what it's all about

We are all in a rat race, whose beginning we do not comprehend, and whose end we cannot fathom. Therefore, in typical human fashion, we have invented systems that keep us sane, as we try to figure out what it's all about. We invented religions, economic systems, socio-cultural systems, political systems and so on, all to make meaning out of our lonely and short existence. But all this has fallen short of fulfilling us.

We know we are on a journey, but don't know a journey to where. We do not know how we will know once we get there. Is it possible that the destination is behind us, but we have not recognized it? "Preposterous," we think to ourselves. Aren't we higher beings able to shape our own paths? Would we not know where our paths are headed?

History does not agree. Every system that has been built seems to have been the ultimate one. Political & economic systems have struggled to lay claim to the title of the "best" and most "sustainable" of them all. Communism was once seen as the system to beat. Now capitalism is the system that drives our world. Ahead of us, I do not know what...

But capitalism and communism are not ends in themselves; they speak to a higher goal. We still struggle with that goal. Should providing financial success be the primary goal of such an overarching system? Should we not strive for something higher, like happiness and satisfaction? Is passing of our genes to the next generation the primary purpose of our relationships? Is there a higher goal that we are missing?

All these questions are tiring to think about. It all seems like folly and vanity. Our just over 200,000 year existence seems to pale in magnitude to the billions of years the universe has existed. What does this mean? Are we trivial and irrelevant in comparison, or are we the epitome of the existence of the universe? Can we relax knowing that we do not matter in the grand scheme of things, or should we shudder that the universe regards us so highly, so mediocre a species?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

They told us to wait

They said we should wait. The wazees were deliberating. They were discussing "important" issues of national security and interest. So, we walked out. We stood by the door. It was raining hard, and we strained to stand as close to the wall as possible, to avoid getting drenched. Inside, the air was exuberant. The wazees were laughing heartily as they imbibed to their fill with nyama choma and Tusker baridi . My stomach was grumbling. I looked around at my friend. She was shivering. "She's going to catch a cold if we don't get somewhere warm soon," I thought to myself. I could stay here and wait to see the wazees and tell them why we had come. Or I could save my skin and call it a day (or night). I chose the former. I motioned to Wanjiku to follow me. She seemed shocked. We had come so far, having walked in the wind and rain for two hours. She was heavy with child, and due any day now. We passed the Toyota VXs that had transported the wazees to
Post a Comment
Read more

Analyzing a carry trade proposal: Short USD, go long on bitcoin

I recently completed an assignment for an International Economics Policy class which entailed designing a carry trade. A carry trade is a financial transaction that involves borrowing (short) in a low interest currency, and lending (go long) in a high interest (yield) currency. For instance from Bloomberg 's rates for bonds, this would involve borrowing in Swiss francs (rate is -0.15 percent) and lend in New Zealand dollars (rate is 2.83 percent). All else remaining equal, the carry trade would yield a rate differential of 2.83+0.15 = 2.98 percent. Note: this is an unusual case where the interest rate we are borrowing from is negative; usually, this would involve subtracting the first interest rate from the second. For instance, borrowing in Japanese yen (0.04 percent) and lending in Kiwi dollars (at 2.83 percent) would yield 2.79 percent as profit. My carry trade in this case involves borrowing in USD at a rate of 2.33 percent, and buying bitcoins. But, what, you may ask, is the
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything is God

Nothing is too small for God Nothing is too big God is everything God is not mocked God does not mock God is Do not despise anything Do not think yourself too big for anything Do not think yourself too small for anything For you are God A true expression of what God is A child of God A part of God Therefore there's nothing to fear Whatever action you take Wherever you go Whatever you choose Whomever you choose That you have chosen And nothing else could have happened There's no other place you could have been Here you are Right here is where you are And nowhere else And yet everywhere else And therefore, nothing to fear Nothing at all
1 comment
Read more