Dystopia begins in our mind, regardless of our environment.

When I was young, for a few years in a row, a chunk of my extended family would take a canoe trip down a small Connecticut river. A bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles piling into canoes for a day and having a bunch of laughs. On these trips I learned a fundamental aspect of steering a vehicle. It is impossible to steer a vehicle if it is moving the same speed as the stratum that it is in or on.

If an aeroplane was moving with the air and not through it, it would crash to the earth. It is the motion through the air that creates lift, so it must either move faster than the air or go against it. The same is true in water. If a canoe was drifting in the current, moving with the water, it is impossible to steer. Thus, when entering rapids it is necessary to paddle harder in order to gain speed through the water so the canoe can be steered more effectively. (And, just in case you were wondering, the same is true for cars on the road. If a car were traveling at the same speed as the rotating earth in relation to space, it would simply sit there like a rock.)

The reason this is in my head is that I am pondering the effects of modern media in our lives. All the vitriol and all the dross, all the complaining and manufacturing of anxiety has a purpose. It is to make people’s minds move faster than they need to so that they are easier to steer. If people were left alone to live their daily lives in their communities, their minds would move much slower, still fast enough to navigate their worlds effectively, but only for their own daily needs. Politicians and corporations need to add extra speed to the minds of people to steer them against the natural rhythm and balance of their daily lives.

As above, so below.

Wealth can be considered in a myriad of different forms. Money, health, intelligence, and looks are a few examples. But, no one form is more valuable than overall balance. The environment values overall balance more than any one successful trait or attribute. This is why we build communities; to share our strengths and compensate for our weaknesses.

To build successful communities, we must manage our minds to be in alignment with our actual environment, not the constant agitation that is being thrown at us in the virtual world. A steady and well managed mind is more important than being well informed. (Especially in a world where truth is so elusive.)

We create the social/political world around us through our behavior. A person with a well managed mind can maintain their civility and self esteem while navigating the currents of our political existence, and craft the world in the direction they desire. (Maciolekism: The Evolution of Our Perception)

As empires rise and fall, survivors are able to maintain balance within their rapidly changing environments. Their actual and real environment,.. not what they see on TV.