Peace Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll and a
Piece of Apple Pie
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;…William Wordsworth
I watched a news report on AI, (Artificial Intelligence) the other day and ran for a bag of Oreos.
I always assumed artificial intelligence was how one described Congress, but apparently it isn’t. It’s actually really smart so boy was I off by miles.
Since I’m determined to reverse the tone for this piece and turn it into a happier read, I’m struggling to find a way to help myself and others achieve a sense of peace and acceptance over those things in life over which we have no control.
I’m no expert on how to live a great life, but I imagine there are some obvious problems we might tackle head on before the robot armies attack.
We need to reject those decisions that are made when we are, so to speak, out of the room and into which we have no input.
This whole AI and robot thing is kind of scarier than I thought it would be even when HAL took over the ship in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I always thought robots would be fun and helpful like my favorite of all time, Beep Beep Rosie. Boy could she swing a vacuum cleaner.
How do we cope and why is it important we must?
Well on a human level and to add some humor to this discussion, we need to cope because otherwise I’ll be five hundred pounds and the bakeries will run out of cookies and the pizza joints cheese.
I don’t give a damn about calories at all when I can justify eating day or night to mask fear.
Yes, I know I’m only adding to my problems, but one isn’t as bad as the other so I’ll keep eating for now.
Some people exhibit an innate ability to “deal” with crap life throws at us.
I’m not talking only about death, but the numerous other awful challenges we face as humans each day.
Somehow it seems life had more balance when we were younger. Although it’s true we lived through our share of craziness and horror. Viet Nam, the Chicago ’68 convention, cities burning, Kent State, riots, new Coke, Yoko Ono and polyester; yet life seemed more balanced.
There were more parties, more laughter, more gatherings with family and friends back before the gloomy times.
When bad left, good came until our next go round with the dark forces.
Yet today it seems we must actively seek out ways to restore the balance. That negativity is winning the day.
Finding joy is like seeking out a truffle in the midst of a thousand pigs, when it used to seem more plentiful and easily available. Is it the times and is joy more elusive today?
So how do we restore order to the universe without bothering Yoda?
How do we awaken and dismiss the bad news, the insanity and have a good day despite turmoil?
I ask friends and it seems the answers are the same. Stop watching the news, find a new hobby, visit your grandchildren, volunteer, stop watching the news, visit your grandchildren, see a concert, take a trip and yes, see the grandchildren.
But we all know our children and grandkids have their own lives. We need to find a way to fill our days with more joy, less time to dredge up memories and ways to feel happy and upbeat.
Are you a lousy painter? Good, take up painting. Ever think about pottery? Why not? Make a vase to keep some beautiful flowers in and grow them yourself. If it’s lopsided who cares? Say it was intentional.
Swim, play bridge, canasta, maj jong, and go to classes at your local library.
I would love to apply for my dream job of shusher in the Sistine Chapel, where you only have to work every twenty minutes, but I doubt they’ll let a Jewish woman do that job.
We need to laugh more, be together more, have more tea parties, those little sandwiches and cakes are the best thing the British ever invented.
More than anything we need to love.
Life is a challenge today, at least as I see it. It’s a concerted effort to find harmony through tranquil endeavors.
To eliminate stress by avoiding stressful situations and a desire to restore peace, love and rock n roll to the world.
We could plan a Woodstock for the Baby Boomers and hear any bands still alive play? We could pass out hearing aids, or take them off, and paint old VW vans. We’d wear flowers in our thinning hair and talk about how Gerry Rubin died a Republican and Abbie Hoffman killed himself. And Tom Hayden suffered a worse fate… he married Jane Fonda.
I guess it doesn’t matter how we achieve Nirvana as long as we do. And perhaps it’s not the achieving that will do the trick, but the actual seeking we need.
William Wordswoth wrote… “the world is too much with us”…I have never agreed more.
Now we must decide what life we want for ourselves. What world we wish to exist within. We have allowed others to choose for us and create a universe we’d rather not accept. They bully us into living within the walls of their insane reality. Even an artificial one.
Sure we all love our computers, and there are new technologies that are super cool, but this AI and robot thing, I don’t know…
We need to make the universe a better place ourselves, because I’m here to tell you the people we’re allowing to run this world are doing a piss poor job.
Gut the house and rebuild and I guarantee future generations will thank us. Send AI marching into oblivion and honor humanity and its gifts.
Excuse me, I have an apple pie in the oven and I’m churning the ice cream to go with it. Let’s see AI roll out the perfect pie crust.
NormaZager.com 