different worlds

I haven't posted in ages. I couldn't find the time and motivation to share my thoughts here. It will probably occur increasingly rarely. I was expecting this...

But now, triggered by something I said in my guild chat, I decided to put this thought out here.

I have an acquaintance. A friend... I wish there was an equivalent for the word "kolega" in English. He trains at the same dojo as me. However, he refrains from our activities and he doesn't really grasp Aikido.

From my many talks with him, I have come to realize that he presents a certain worldview that I observe - in a way you would observe a wild animal out of its natural habitat.
His obsessions are partying, liberal amounts of alcohol and fucking girls. I am not exaggerating when I say this. He is indulgent, he lives from party to party. He is obsessed with building an image of manly strength. He always carries arms with him - a baton, perhaps a knife. He smokes cigarettes, of course, and prepares his own wine.
When I tried to explain to him how I felt about these things, he wouldn't understand. I frequently felt that we operate in completely different worlds. I am an alien being to him, with strange ideas such as having a steady girlfriend (I don't have one, but I digress), not partying every week and being careful with drugs (alcohol and pot).
About the first one - he genuinely asked me this: "Seriously? You want to be with a chick for long?" I was like, well, yes, I do - and he found this answer somehow dismaying.

He is living proof to me that it is, indeed, possible to meet someone who is completely alien to your world in every way. He reminds me that this bewilderment is mutual. I am somewhat surprised that he actually tolerates me despite how different I am. This is a good side of his. I could've met someone like this who would have simply rejected me entirely.

organic

Have any of you ever stopped for a while to contemplate this:

Have you looked at, say... a pet animal, a tree, a house plant - and realized that what you have before your eyes is a little factory, a little machine that locates and obtains all the required materials to build itself?

Any plant, from grass to enormous trees, starts from a little seed, somewhere between a small grain and a coconut, generally something you can hold in your hands. Some start from microscopic spores or zygotes. This also goes for mushrooms.
Any animal starts, similarly, from a small zygote.

And from the very beginning, the first cell of the organism begins executing a program coded in its DNA which tells it what nutrients should be absorbed and what form should they take.
Through complex algorhytms and reactions, the organism obtains everything it needs from its environment, be it a mother's womb or soil or organic matter, creates appropriate tools to process matter and operate in a material world.

As you gaze at the organism - be it plant, animal, mushroom or even a human being - do you ever realize that you are staring at an achievement of technology, a miracle of life?

It's worth stepping aside from the beaten path of mundane thoughts and mundane lives to contemplate such things, even if for just a while. Yet there are so many people completely uncapable of that. They just tread onward, unable to stop and gaze in wonder.

feast of sorrow

the heads of a nation roll
upon this hallowed ground
to find solace among peers
and while another sun rises
above their carcasses
the vultures gather
swoop down
and tear into the tragedy
feasting on the bitter tears
exposing the delicious sorrow
everyone turns to watch
and their hearts are stolen
by a callous pathos
that grows towards insanity

This shit is getting way out of hand. We all know what happened in Smolensk (assuming that we are living human beings). Now they want to bury our President and his wife among Polish national HEROES in the Wawel castle's necropolis in Cracow.

Lech Kaczynski, however, was by no means a hero. He was the President, he died in a tragic accident on his way to pay tribute to the victims of Katyn mass murders. Apparently, though, that makes him worthy of joining the ranks of dead heroes and ancient kings. Why? Because of what I just listed, which apparently is enough to qualify.

By the way, something curious for the Poles reading this:
The prophecy of a girl who had annoying dreams of the future.
Note the date. We've got April and the nation is mourning...

shell

Humanity has built several shells based on spirituality, trying to fit it into a form that works for them, a layer of interpretation, ideology and institution based around a pure essence of spirituality.

When that shell becomes a dead husk inside, when the inner spirituality dwindles and dies, leaving only the institution and ideology - that discarded husk may become an incredibly dangerous weapon or a powerful tool of manipulation.

haze

everything I create
is mere dust in my hands
spilling out on the floor
everything I build
becomes ghostly shapes of hazy mist
my presence is but a quiet, grating noise
and I'm just sitting there
while the works of my hands
collapse and fade into wind
nothing more but whispers
ripples in the sea
torn apart by a subtle breeze
and I cannot do anything but watch

soon, this all will be nothing

crack

we were doing fine
we were all together once
I still remember
these warm, sunny days
the flowing water
woods full of young life
the brilliant fire by which we sat
but now
there's a crack on the glass
a faultline on the ground
and I am afraid
of the flood that might come
of the hammer that'll break this down
break us all apart
tear us all apart

neural frenzy

mind on fire, neural overcharge
a frenzy, storm of electricity
impulses firing rapidly
faster, faster
hurrying towards nothing
running away from nothing
speeding through nothing
unexplicable rush
friction of thought
spark of calculation

An actual state I'm encountering right now. Happens to me occasionally - quite remarkable and fairly helpful in WoW raiding situations.