The "upside down" world.
I came across a world map tonight as I was perusing the internet. It was "upside down." By that I mean that south was north and north was south. It shocked me. And then it shocked me that it shocked me. Why should I be surprised? My initial reaction was to say Hey! That map is upside down! But, wait a minute. What the hell is "upside down" anyway on a big ball planet suspended in space? And in the interest of including everyone here (hey, I'm a nice guy, what can I say) this novel way of thinking about things even works for the flat-earthers out there. So, let's look into this.
My life has, at different times and in varying measures, been composed basically of things I have been told to think. The messages have been repeated--even without words--endlessly since my birth. Fire is hot. Ice is cold. USA is good. Saddam is bad. Christianity is right. Buddhism is wrong. North is up. South is down. AC/DC worships satan. Things of this nature. But I want to look at things as a baby would. What the hell is "up" and "down," anyway. What the hell is this government I am supposed to pay money to? Why do bees fly? What are butterflies?
Looking at the map above, I encourage you to think of Australia as a kind of "New America." No longer "down under," but sitting proudly up there at the top, surrounded luxuriously by the vast and sprawling space of the Indian and Pacific oceans. I don't say this because I am some big fan of America, but if you think of it this way, you can see how, if you had been raised seeing Australia "at the top," then that would just be "normal" and right for you. If this were the "normal" map, folks in America would be saying Be careful when you go UP NORTH there to Florida! Gets COLD up north! Folks in Brazil would be traveling down to Mexico. Santa would live "down south." This is not hard to imagine.
Letting your mind blur to see something new.
THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT IS A FICTIONAL ALPHABET. BUT TAKE ON A BABY'S MIND AND LOOK AT THE "REAL ALPHABET." IF YOU CAN LET YOUR MIND "BLUR" AND JUST SEE THINGS WITH NO PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF THIS "NORMAL ALPHABET," THE ABCs WILL BEGIN TO LOOK JUST LIKE LINES AND DOODLES ON A PAGE. ALMOST LIKE PICTOGRAMS. YOU CAN FORGET, AND SEE THINGS ANEW, AND AFRESH. IT'S SIMILAR TO SAYING A FAMILIAR WORD OVER AND OVER ALOUD UNTIL IT LOSES ALL MEANING TO YOUR MIND.
So what's the point?
As babies, children, and beginners, the world is "blurry" and full of possibilities. As we grow older we are programmed by society. Culture. The state. That said, we gain some powers along the way. Powers of interpretation. Shrewdness. Wisdom. Do you know what I think it means to be "born again," as it is called in the religious traditions? I think maybe it just means to regain this "child's mind" while at once retaining the shrewd and serpent-like wisdom and experience-based perspective of adulthood. You'll be unstoppable.
Peace, Love, and Voluntaryism.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)