Helppouden oikeutus ja harha

On mielestäni aiheellista pohtia helppouden merkitystä, olemusta ja miten helpolla luulemme pääsevämme ja miksi. Ongelmien kohtaaminen tuntuu väistämättömältä jossakin kohtaa etenkin kun ongelmia on väistelty tarpeeksi kauan. Perustelemme usein tekemiämme valintoja niiden helppoudella, käytännöllisyydellä, sujuvuudella, mutkattomuudella, vaivattomuudella ja että pystymme tekemään mahdollisismman montaa asiaa monen asioista joita joudumme tekemään on oltava helppoja, vietävä vähän aikaa, tilaa, kadottava silmistä kun se ei enää ole akuutti ja tarpeellinen. Monien arjen ongelmien on oltava valmiiksi ratkaistuja jotta voimme elää melko monimutkaisessa modernissa maailmassa joka yhä kompleksisoituu kiihtyvällä vauhdilla. Ymmärrän esimerkiksi lauseen, jotta jäisi elämälle aikaa, niin että elämä ei saa olla monimutkaista eikä vaikeaa esimerkiksi siivoamisen ja ruuanlaiton takia ja nuo tärkeimmät asiat kuten ihmissuhteet, harrastukset yms. aktiviteetti ovat monelle varsinaista elämää, muu ylimääräinen on taakanomaista suorittamista. Ei ole ihme että työ tuntuu raskaalta. On paradoksaalista elää sitten kun, löytää helppous ostamalla, unohtamalla, kieltämällä elämän olemassaolo omassa mielessä tietyissä asioissa. Poisheittäminen ratkaisee roskan ongelman. Pohtiminen kuinka asioita voisi tehdä toisin ja paremmin on jätetty auktoriteettien ja myyntimiesten harteille, joiden ansiosta elämämme on helpompaa ehkä liian helppoa.

Harhauttava hokeman tyyppinen kehäpäätelmä on löytää elämälle aikaa, vapaa-aikaa jolloin elämä on silloin helppoa, silloin voi elää kun elämiselle on aikaa, jonka johdosta moni yksityiskohta ja nyanssi jää huomaamatta tai katoaa kokonaan aistiemme ulottumattomiin kun erittelemme ajan erikseen elämälle, tuolle ajalle kun voimme tehdä miellyttäviä asioita ilman pakkoa vapaina. Lisäaskeleet jäävät ottamatta koska halumme helppouteen ja keveyteen, liika helppous johtaa umpioitumiseen ja kaavoihin kangistumiseen, uuden löytäminen, mitä sille tapahtuu? Helppo elämä kangistaa ruumiin ja mielen, tietysti jos helppous on tekemättömyyttä, minnekään pyrkimättömyytä, apatiaa. Toimeen ryhtymisen vaivalloisuuden voivottelu ja henkinen laiskuus ovat helppoon elämään tottuneen tunnusmerkkejä. Kun on tähän mennessä päässyt helpolla niin miksei vastaisuudessakin. Äänessä on syyllistävä tatsi. Kuinka helpolla oletamme pääsevämme kuitenkin vaikuttaa siltä että monessa kohtaa mennään riman ali ihan vaan koska voimme emmekä vaivaudu ottamaan selvää tai tekemää asioille oma-aloitteisesti mitään.

Kuka sitten pääsee helpolla ja kuinka helppoutta mitataan? Riippuu varmaan siitä mikä nähdään vaikeana ja millainen ponnistus on vaivalloista vaatien ponnistelua, aikaa, paneutumista, energiaa, kiinnostusta ja intohimoa. Asioiden eteenpäin vieminen vaatii asioista kiinnostumista, jotta jaksaa ponnistella vaikeankin tehtävän parissa pitkän aikaa kysyy kykyä keskittyä, uteliaisuutta, heittäytymistä, uhrautumista, venymistä, henkistä ja fyysistä. Kysyy kanttia tehdä jotakin johon kukaan muu ei usko kuin sinä itse, jonka tiimoilta saa kuulla tekevänsä jotakin täysin turhaa ja vähemmälläkin pääsisi. Joten miten vähällä on päästävä elämässä mietin, koska vähällä pääseminen kuulostaa todella kummalliselta elämän asenteelta. Mihin yksi ihminen pystyy ja kuinka pitkälle yhden ihmisen ponnistus jaksaa? Mille asioille omistaudumme elämässä kertoo kuinka paljon helppoon elämään uskomme ja haluammeko helpolla päästä. Onko helppous sitä että elää vain itselleen, omille tarpeilleen ja niitä täyttääkseen? Se voisi olla yksi ihmisen elämän helppouden määritelmä. Moni ongelma eliminoituu taustahälyksi kun ympäristö ei kiinnosta. On ilmeisesti helppo olla kiinnostumatta ihmiskunnan ongelmista kun ne eivät ole heti oman oven takana. On helppo olla välittämättä jonkun toisen elämästä ja mieluiten niin. On helppo olla tunteeton ja olla kuin herran kukkarossa, ainakin niin voisi luulla. Tunteettomuuden osoitus on vahvuuden merkki ja vahvalle vaikeatkin asiat ovat helppoja. Ne voi sivuuttaa merkityksettöminä, pieninä olemattomina asioina joiden kanssa heikot painivat.

Helppous on hauskaa. Yleensä se on olemista ja leijailemista onnen tunteessa, stressittömyydessä, ongelmitta ja vaivoitta. Ehkä joku muu hoitaa ne vaikeat asiat tai ne katoavat niin ettei niitä tarvitse kohdata. Helppouden upottavuus, houkuttelevuus, viettelevyys ja luksus. On luksusta olla tekemättä mitään jos on tehnyt paljon töitä. Tekemättömyys tuntuu pitempi aikaisena raskaalta, aivan kuin ei olisi olemassa kun ei voi tai pysty tekemään mitään. Jostakin äärimmäisen helposta tulee vaikeaa ja painostavaa koska mielekäs tekeminen on vaihtelevan ja hyvän elämän perusta. Mielekkyys tekee asioista helpompia. Millaisten asioiden sitten tulisi olla ja haluamme olevan helppoja ja valmiiksi ajateltuja? Millainen vaara ja petos vaanii valmiiksi ajateltujen mallien, valmiiksi pureskeltujen asioiden maailmassa jossa itse tekeminen ja oma ajattelu ovat jotenkin liikaa, ja onko sellainen uhkakuva ja maailma käsillämme jossa elämä on tarkasti suunniteltu ja itsenäinen ajattelu on vaarallista, oman äänen kuuluville saaminen on riskaabelia ja pelko leimatuksi tulemisesta on vahva? Onko siis helpompaa olla hiljaa, myöntyä annettuihin malleihin, pelätä annettuja uhkakuvia ja katsoa mitä tapahtuu?

To measure something we do not know with something we know.

To be exact is difficult. It demands effort and knowing of facts, knowledge over the world, how it is. Such knowledge which is not measured with eyesight and thinking you know takes time to find out and look for. To know how the world and nature work is a very basic method of learning to see connections, links between happenings, reactions and outcomes, comparisons and dimensions. Why something happens as it does and how patterns evolve and appear in front of us, in us and without us. We often like to know how big something is and are astounded by vastness and miraculous infinite nature of what is, for instance heart of a blue whale, temperature of volcanic lava, suddenness and randomness of nature yet the very accuracy and beauty of it: distance to Mars and could it be inhabitable. We would like to know and do because we can. We are curious to the limits and beyond. Whether something could be done just because we can test it and try, experiment with any cost entails also the question of what should be left undone. Imagining diving inside a blue whale in its veins, imagining being eaten by a whale and ending up in its stomach and staying alive, getting out when it washes to the shore. What is unimaginable becomes reality, an adventure, survival. To think how many cars should be put in line to measure the Earth to know its circumference. To measure something which size we cannot comprehend unless we measure it with something we can see and comprehend in everyday life, size of ours.

Penalty of forever you will be branded.

Woman sexually is a target. She is a target as a mind and size of small that must be taught into fitting ideological mold, bound and told what to do. Bad women do not do what they are told to do, which also becomes a silent mode of knowing what is expected of you, so to do what is unexpected is always a victory. When woman is sexually active and shows this in public she is a beast, a whore, stupid enough to do otherwise than what is expected of her and an out of control freak mostly who is seen in negative light and must be punished. Penalty is shame and leaving outside the group of those who keep themselves within comprehensive and civil boundaries which are set to females. It is no wonder outspoken and loud woman is seen arrogant and rude. Dressing provocatively is always a sign of certain kind of looseness, bad taste and wildness that is not permitted behavior for proper women who obey rules. Those rules which are for women are to maintain order and follow religious mentalities, know religious penalties, divisions and fears. What happens to a woman who is disobedient, goes where she should not and does what she pleases following rules of her own mind disrespecting traditional place of woman, normative behavioral rules and regulations of what is good to do and what is not. Good is keeping the society unchanged.

Man is manly when he fucks around, woman is doomed. Man is doing his manly fun, woman is doing out of stupidity and irrationality, out of sheer irresponsibility and ignorance, coldness and because women are not to be trusted. And because she is diminished into carer of man understanding his flimsy ways, still he is not weak, she is. He has got back up which is the whole of manhood and men who do what they urge to do and are allowed. It is no wonder women are weaker in this context of violence and minimizing. They have a heavy burden to carry and wall of prohibitions in front. They are not to lift heavy weights but they do so without anyone noticing the burden lifted weighs a ton or two. One burden is a burden of history and tradition which loads have not moved that much even though we like to think we have made progress. It is difficult for many to look at their genitals or say their correct names out loud. When asked whether women can say vagina and think it is perfectly normal without shame result is many find it awkward. Yes why on earth say vagina aloud in this overly sexualized world. We don’t say it we go around it. Still sex is the most talked about topic, topic that raises scandals, emotions, storms because of daring to address the issue or doing something that breaks the rules of obedient society where nothing much changes other than the gadgets.

To hear puzzling comment how can someone do art about menstruation and hang the picture on her living room wall is still a comment of this day. We think this issue is somehow settled, women bleed and it is normal part of their physiological and anatomical activity. Women and girls do menstruate monthly and in many countries it is a shameful dirty happening not beautiful or normally acceptable. I was ashamed of menstruating when I was in my teens. It was intolerable and difficult to understand why my body without my consent wanted to do voluntary bleeding from my vagina and that place felt dirty, unspeakable, it hurt like hell for couple of days and my whole body felt achy for nothing. It was like my body bullied me into being something else than what I was used to and comfortable being, boyish. The transformation into woman was something I found difficult to accept because the whole process was agony, scary, out of control and I didn’t see any point of it happening. It happened without my permission showing my insides as I felt turning inside out. To choose to be of one gender and sex would have been an ideal, I thought, because being a woman seemed an endless list of sexualized patterns, rules and ways I didn’t want any part of. To be a woman was to be under authority and rule which seemed and still is tyranny.

To do what is expected of me has shown to be impossible. Expectations are minimizing and denying and prohibiting me to find out what I can do and be. This is not anybody else’s decision but mine. I do what I find satisfying and my goals are set by me.

Fantasy of perfection

To think something is mediocre is to think that it is not the extraordinary giving an experience we are after or wonderfully surprised by. Mediocre is something most people like to avoid belonging to, being called and having it. Why is mediocre the dull and average way of life, choosing a life and a mode on to which mainstream is build and is still so much loathed as something unwanted and boring but still liked and wanted? Those boring characteristics usually are repetitious and given from above to avoid thinking for yourself, to avoid conflict and find alternatives that might be somewhat different and contradicting to power relations, taste, traditions and common ways of thinking which feel safe, good and acceptable.

Mediocre is the acceptable something we fall for because it is something we all should be having, enjoying and doing and we like this bond. For instance owning certain electronic devices is seen normal and they belong to modern home which we all share. The fact that electronic tools making our lives easier are at reach for all is making the mediocre mode we now know as normal accessible in a way that we do not have to question these choices which we make to fit in to be connected. We want to be part of the world that lives via electricity and labor forces of far away lands. Cheapness is mediocre but it can be expensive. We do not question because we do not have to, our comfort is a state of peace of mind but also state of selfish demand to fulfill all needs which mediocre people want because they reach out for the perfect comfort and ease, but also perfect level of luxury with which to compete and compare. Mediocre is one kind of battle and competition between those who like material good and appreciate status this visible wealth bring.

My view on mediocre is also a view on the middle class. Middle class is finding its superiority in mediocre and through mediocre which contradictory thought and happening is to try and find the ultimate top on this made up mediocre level without acknowledging that there are other dimensions with capacity to outnumber and be dashingly better. Those other dimensions demand hard work to get to, so it is very mediocre not to try anything on a whim, anything that jeopardizes the balance for which mediocre people work for to maintain. Jealousy is a mediocre characteristic as is greed. To deny talent, quality of some other point of view, silence those who see and do differently, deny being wrong and doing wrong is very mediocre. It is inability to face and understand or even find one’s limits and limits of one’s way of life, it is inability to absorb change, be change and learn from mistakes. Mediocre is to bully and show contempt for those who manage to see outside the given model of what life should be. To seek perfection and originality is strangely the ideal for middle class and mediocre, how this search succeeds is subjective matter of opinion. Perfection can be wearing a perfect evening gown but where does it take us? Wearing perfection and making it? Measuring originality which there is much in the world seems to be hard enough task and somehow the easiest of choices are being made over and over again thinking they are the best there is. How originality is found, how we pay attention to it? Is it ugly, repulsive,unkind, disturbing, offensive, vulgar, cruel and demanding of something else than what we want to see? Usually yes. Mediocre is to think we can buy originality and perfection.