The Big Picture

Wow. So, yeah.

Faith.

I suppose my 'Technorati as the temple' and 'Blogging as a religion' 'trying to find the meaning of life somewhere in the mess of it all and in my own language' post was really trying to say what Hugh eloquently says:

The market for something to believe in is infinite.

Yep. That's it...but not how it attaches itself to marketing (although, yes, us marketers have one heckuva time trying to figure out how to fill that void for you as superficially as we can - and, dammit, doesn't it feel good for a while?).

Yeah, mostly I have faith, but ocassionally, I go through periods of gloomy doubt: "What does it all mean?" "Why am I here?" "Why am I never satisfied with the status quo?" And no Technorati nor any other Web 2.0 company is going to answer those questions for me. So, maybe Technorati (and everything else I treasure) is more like an addiction that feeds into my desire for meaning and connection and temporarily quietens my mind.

Which, I suppose is how I view most organized religion.

So, Chris's 2+2=4 is absolutely bang on.

Yes, that's right...faith.

Okay, so there is no product or company or project or organization or anything tangible that is going to fill that void...for anyone for long. Are you familiar with Plato's Allegory of the Cave? (coles notes: guy realizes the cave - where humankind is shackled asa prisoners - is only a reflection of reality and that he's been a prisoner all of his life...would like to free others to this reality, but isn't too successful. Think The Matrix, but deeper and sans Keanu) This allegory is probably one of my favourite lessons from my 'Early Philosophers' lectures and I carry it with me always. I'm hardly free of the cave, myself, but being tormented by questions of existence and seeing the world around me as bizarre is being partway there.

I see this "reality" we've constructed around ourselves and what drives people to "achieve success" in it as being quite curious...but, alas, it is the way the world works, isn't it? If I want to keep a roof over my head and my son fed, I must ascribe to it. The other option? Living off the land in some sort of colony of fellow social misfits? I don't think that's the answer.

So, here we are and it is 2006 and the world seems to be shifting. Individuals have stronger voices than ever and the 'powerless' are becoming more and more empowered. The tools we are building right now are just that...tools...to enable more of this trend. And faith, yes, faith is what drives me further down this path. For all I know, this IS reality and my brainful of curious doubt is seriously defective.

Ack. Well, I'm not going to answer these questions in this lifetime, but I'm certainly not going to let them drive me off of the deep end, either. I'll keep the faith (there is that word again) that my gut instinct won't lead me astray and that someday I will be part of something that changes the world for the better. [Fate led me to you, right?]

Yeah. Faith. It's what gets me up in the morning and keeps me alive. Without that...well... no....I won't answer that...and...I hope I'll never have to...

technorati tags: powerofus, faith, thebigpicture, chrismessina, allegoryofthecave, philosophy, toodeep