Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Tunnel Theory, part 2


So what was I saying, really? Am I saying live randomly, try everything, repeat nothing, never do the same thing twice? Maybe be inspired by Eric Idle: “Once a philosopher, twice a pervert.”?

No. What I am saying is be aware of your tunnels, your routines, your paths through life, both physical and otherwise. See the patterns you create, among friends, digitally, on the street, wherever, and control them. If you do this by breaking them, changing them slightly, or merely observing them closer and thus becoming more aware of them, that is a step in the right direction.

Look at Ellie (in Swedish). She broke her routines this morning and took a detour on the way to work. It seems like she had a very good morning. Good for her.

Joel E (is that American Joel or Swedish Joel? I would guess American) commented on part 1:
“Routines are good: they give life stability, safety. Just don't let them control you.”

Very true. Chaos is not good. The point isn’t to go all Dice Man (interesting theory, POS – that is, piece of shit – book) and let chance guide you through life. Just don’t let routine rule you. Fight routine. Fight boredom. Break out of your tunnels.

What then, have I done to break out of my tunnels? Quite a bit over the years, but recently not enough. That is the very nature of routine, that as soon as you’re out of one another begins creeping up on you. My project for the next few weeks is to go someplace random, with my laptop, and write. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.

3 comments:

mistlur said...

vill du verkligen lämna trygghetszonen kan du ta fram papper och penna och skriva för hand. :O

beardonaut said...

Oooh. The great unknown. The final frontier. Men icke. Penna och papper = kramp i handen. Håller pennan som en...jag vet inte vad.

Anonymous said...

It was Swedish Joel (i.e. me) =)
From here on, I'll sign it in full.

Anyway, interesting conclusions, looking forward to more discussions regarding tunnels.