Jack Madden

Abyss without vertigo

The atom of subjective value is the individual. Each individual is an engine for the entire process of internalizing reality, generating morality, and enacting change. A self-awareness of this power is itself a powerful force to reorganize the psyche. As a method of achieving this self-awareness, solitude can focus our attention on how narrow and disconnected the funnel of our body is in relation to our environment, the world, or the universe. Solitude can also bring us to the realization that the narrowness of our experiences are significantly finite as opposed to insignificant. 

Finding solitude is difficult both physically and mentally. Humans are constantly seeking connection which leaves little chance for a person to be caught incapable of distracting themselves with work, communication, social media, entertainment, religion, education, or nature. To be made of distractions is the greatest tragedy for it denies yourself and others your true self and prevents us from experiencing the unique actions and ideas only you are capable of sharing.

A self-awareness of this power is necessary for those who wish to enact a lasting change, a type of alteration that may register perceptibly by the future. With evolution as our core operating principle, the legacy we leave should be designed to create examples for individuals to follow, question, and learn from. The value of an example is not in the progress it seemingly contributes but by the usefulness of its artifact to teach a future generation. To do this authentically you must feel yourself as a distinct entity, trust yourself as a creator of change, and become the scientist of your own reality. To be stuck feeling incapable of distracting yourself so completely that you stop thinking about your own insignificance your only hope then is to imagine that you are not insignificant and that you may contribute to a change that rises above the noise on a cosmic scale.