I’ve been wondering what to do with this substack, ever since I decided I needed to get my house in order. There has been no shortage of things to rail against, what with the collapse of FTX and the treatment of SBF - here is your transhuman, globalist future.
The Covidians are in full-on gaslight mode, “we got some things wrong the first round, but at least the vaccines are safe and effective, but future pandemics, the vaccines, lock downs, masks, tracing, testing, nudging, shaming and character assassination will be even more intelligent!” The science of new law enforcement is in keeping with the normalization of pedophilia, because nothing says public safety, diversity, inclusion and equity quite like high fashion kiddie porn and flooding main street with child rapists (I keep wanting to tell the LGBTQ community, you need to get out in front of this or those of us who love you may not be able to protect you from the backlash.) But then, apparently, free speech is the number one!!! threat to one party rule democracy, so shut yer mouth white supremacist (or whatever color of “fascist” you might be.)
I think I am (mostly) done railing against the ways in which society is losing it’s mind and going full authoritarian. It’s too easy, everybody is doing it and it’s a trap. John Michael Greer reminded us recently, as he often does, to fight evil directly is often to embolden and strengthen it; what am I doing to create the world I envision, a healthier world for everybody? Did you know Yeats, besides being one of the greatest poets of the English language, was one of the foremost occultists of his time? He was engaged with his fellow occultists in “using magical ritual to rekindle the Irish spirit, invoke the gods of old Irish paganism, and bring about a cultural and political resurgence in Ireland that would make the country’s independence a foregone conclusion.” Magic is a key to creativity. If there is something missing in the medical freedom movement, for instance, I would say it is magic and creativity. America is in need of a “cultural and political resurgence.”
Yeats had his own distinctive understanding of occultism, which was powerfully shaped not only by his own experience as a poet and dramatist, but also by his friendship with William Morris—the colossus of the Victorian art world, a man whose creative talents covered so broad a range that it’s easier to list the things he wasn’t good at than the ones he was—and by scores of other creative people: writers, poets, painters, actors, and the list goes on. He understood, perhaps more fully than anyone else before or since, the shifting borderlands where occultism overlaps with the creative arts, and where both of them spill over into the realm of archetypal patterns that shape the collective consciousness of a culture.
What am I up to in that regard? Well, I’m not sure how creative or magical it is, but I picked up the pallets that are going to be the dock through the cattails to the spring fed pond at the 80.
They are 4’x6’, I am going to screw two together to make 12’ lengths carried by two 55gal barrels, then loosely link the 12’ sections so the dock is not too rigid and inflexible. It will be easier to build the dock in place in the winter, with the pond frozen. Next spring I will get in the pond, cut out the woody roots of the lily pads, of a roughly 30’ x 30’ area around the end of the dock, stir up the sediment, using a trash pump to pump the water and solids to a low spot next to the pond. The solids will stay there and the water will flow back into the pond (in theory). I might plant some potatoes etc veggies in the pond sediment, if I can.
My dad thinks I’m nuts. I’m not claiming I’m “normal”. What, I ask, are you doing with your life at the end of the world as we have known it? There isn’t a public beach for 15 miles in any direction from the 80. I intend on doing a lot of manual labor there, the next several years. I am thinking of the dock as a capital improvement, a lot of fun and the means of a refreshing swim as needed.
I found a used guitar. Nothing special, a decent starter guitar. I also found Marty Schwartz on youtube. Super helpful, a great teacher. I highly recommend.
This is me about a week or so in. Marty says give it 5 minutes a day for two months, at least. I’m averaging more like an hour a day. Maybe I will be a prodigy after my fingers stop hurting.
I’m singing a lot more too, mostly while I am out hiking with the dog. Working on breath control, remembering the words, learning new songs, especially ones I think I might be able to learn on guitar eventually.
Much of what our civilization is about is limiting creativity, the creativity of us so-called unwashed masses. Most education in America is about obedience, not creativity, definitely not creativity (it used to be about obedience, now it seems like it is about ideology and social justice, aka being non-binary while silencing all the bad people.)
We need creativity, widespread, grass roots, unique, positive, honest, healthy creativity in abundance right now, going forward, expanding. I encourage you to believe you are capable of achieving what you want. I will keep you posted on my progress.
William, I was thinking earlier this evening that yours is the Substack I most eagerly anticipate because you seem to be resisting the doom and looking to how you can *improve* your life and others'. The doom echo chamber is getting old for me, and your vow to learn three songs - to improve the world through work and effort and creativity - is inspiring. I have a banjo and a guitar and a decent singing voice, and you've inspired me to work around my arthritis (I'm 52) and see if I can't do the same, even at my advanced age, lol. You are absolutely correct that we are discouraged to be creative, lest we realize our true potential. Keep it up.
Can't wait to see pics of the dock in progress!