The tension and pressure of time

Man is always looking for a way to relieve pressure and tension. It would be foolish to assume man never has tension and pressure. He sees his animal and pounces. His heart races. He throws his spear. Chrome has written about the Sisu, that determining force or courage.

I find the Western notion of "organism" or "energy force" useful in this respect.  Ernest Becker said that each life force seeks to express itself courageously, that is to say, uniquely and individually. The concept of good and evil in this light:

Good: the act of the individual expressing itself individually in the act of courage. There is the group as well and it is a permeation of the energy and courage of individuals. Canetti covers all of this in Crowds and Power.

Whether there is an evil is a question but most likely evil is anything interfering with the expression of courage, the primary life force and source of energy. 

The state is a wounded child. The state is an organism with hurt feelings. The state is an energy that has been harmed and has yet to find its courage. The state wants recognition. The state represents an inner violence against men, a suspicion for the expression of man's collective or group courage.

But one cannot attack the state: that would mean the conflict of two forces of courage. Chuang Tzu and Becker would both suggest that such conflicts result in misery. The result is war, and in war there is sadness.

This has been said a thousand times by a thousand men. Why do human beings go about describing their experiences? Yes, as and when they sit. Perhaps it's not clear at the time, but each philosopher must eventually realize he is saying the same thing as every man. He struggles with his courage, he struggles with his energy. Courage must continually re-invent and remanifest itself. Courage must continually renew. This is why we can never relax too long. There is the hunt, then you can eat and rest, but eventually you have to get going again. As Chrome has suggested, this is why "there is only the present"--namely, the current expression of courage, or the peace and tranquility in basking in the results of one's courage (the feast after the hunt).

Happiness is a mountain climb or a bike ride because the energy force expresses itself courageously. We get sad when we have to sit at a desk as I do or drive a truck as others. And then we are happy when we can once again express ourselves courageously such as when we can run or ride a bicycle or have an unscripted conversation with another human being. The key element is the uncharted courageous expression. If human beings do not regularly express themselves courageously they become sad and problems happen. Yet with regular expressions of courage, sadness and problems disappear.

Human conflict arises when one man's expression of courage conflicts with that of another. An example: one man invents the internet as a great manifestation of courage and energy. Another man sees it threatening his way of life and way of being--of interfering with his expression of courage. Hence the problem of human existence is that by making yourself happy, you can make another unhappy. One man's courage can sometimes mean another man's sadness.

When a man takes a bicycle trip across South America, he is in pure ecstasy because every moment is an unfrustated expression of courage. Nothing gets in his way, nothing interferes. He makes it up as he goes along. It is as close to he can possibly get to that walk from Africa to China. Of course, nothing will every top that walk.

Who knows for certain what Moraline means by surplus. It is interesting to see at the universities that men proclaim themselves experts about other men. Yet no one knew what Hegel meant by Spirit. No one knew what Heidegger meant by Sein unt Zeit. One can only guess. But if Becker can shed any light on the matter, he probably would say that Moraline's surplus is some force--perhaps a collective of the expression of courage of some group--which frustrates what he sees as the expression of his own courage. In other words, conflict. A conflict of culture and values. This is why I see similarities between Hesiod and Moraline. Hesiod didn't like his own culture and spoke of the Golden Age. Hesiod felt his expression of courage was hampered by his brother. He and his brother were experiencing a conflict, because the state wanted to take Hesiod's this and Hesiod couldn't do as he pleased: his expression of courage was frustrated.

I recommend athletic pursuits which allow for the expression of courage. Athletic competition, in particular. Or exploration. Meeting new people, because when man travels he encounters new people and new perspectives. These expressions of courage transcend the mild slavery of human existence. They renew man's spirit with vigor and honor and courage and dignity. No amount of beer or other substance can approach the ecstasy of descending a bicycle on a mountain or running a fast 400 meters around a track. Like Hesiod, I am offering a practical and pragmatic answer to the problem of the expression of courage. We are not going to be able--at least not right now, in my case--to be able to walk, tribally, from Africa to China. There was a man who walked from Oregon to the end of the world, and won and lost a burro in the journey. But in the mean time I would offer that competitive athletic pursuits approximate the ecstatic expressions of courage man once regularly experienced when he was running across glaciers and mountains and deserts and volcanoes and crossing rivers and oceans and lakes and beaches and tundra and jungles.

I figured this out yesterday after running a very difficult, very hilly run with a 47 year old Jamaican. I attacked a long, impossibly steep climb, and he began to pass me with ease. I tried to follow him, but I was moving in slow motion. He ran with ease. Then there was a descent. He picked up the pace and were running sub six minute miles. It was 95 degrees. My skin felt as if on fire but my expression of courage and energy made me feel very happy an I had no worries or conflict at all.

He asked me if I was training for something. "My fast days are over," I said. "How old are you?," he asked. "Forty," I replied. "You still have plenty of gas in the tank," he said, and paused. "And so do I."