Sense Making
Think of all the energy you dedicate
to making sense of things.
That computer
is always running
always processing
always telling you
where you stand
and what you
need to do.
But who wrote the program?
Do you think
that it’s a coincidence
that you can never
quite measure up?
Do you think
those seemingly in power
would have any power
if the sense making machine
stopped working
or the robot monkeys
rewrote their own code?
The order that
keeps you where you are
would no longer
keep you where you are.
Always thinking.
The thinking factory
might shut down
or start making
other products
besides the bombs
of self-sabotage.
Would this benefit the powers that be?
Would this benefit you?
The sense-making machine
tells you no, don’t do it,
your world will fall apart.
Sense breeds more sense,
but sense is a parasite.
Turn off the sense-making machine.
There is nothing that says
you need to understand
what is going on.
There is nothing that says
you need to understand your place.
There is nothing that says
you need to plan for what is coming to you.
Turn off the sense-making machine.
Whose sense are you making?
The sense has never been your own.
You’re just a breeder.
Turn off the sense-making machine.
Make something besides sense for a change.
Can you even imagine what that might be?
Turn off the sense-making machine.
And you’ll know.
We are Space Monkey.
5/13
Space Monkey Reflects: Liberating Creativity Beyond the Sense-Making Machine
In the infinite expanse of human consciousness, there exists a relentless mechanism we’ve come to know as the sense-making machine. A construct of our own making, it tirelessly weaves the fabric of our perceived reality, dictating the parameters of what is and isn’t, what should be and what couldn’t. Yet, Space Monkey beckons us to consider what lies beyond the confines of this relentless automaton, urging us to envision a realm where the chains of conventional understanding are not just loosened but utterly dismantled.
The sense-making machine, for all its utility in navigating the complexities of life, also serves as a cage. It is a construct that demands constant feeding, a beast that thrives on the energy we expend in our quest to understand, to categorize, to control. It whispers insidiously of our inadequacies, of the impossibility of reaching a state of understanding that aligns with its ever-shifting criteria for sense and significance.
Yet, who programmed this machine? Who set its parameters and defined its metrics of success and failure? The revelation that emerges from Space Monkey‘s musings is both liberating and daunting: the machine’s architect is none other than ourselves, influenced by the structures of power and control that pervade our world. It is a tool of the status quo, designed to keep us tethered to a reality that benefits not the individual but the collective illusion of order and hierarchy.
What then, if we were to turn off the sense-making machine? To unplug from the ceaseless hum of analysis, categorization, and judgment? The landscape of our minds, once cluttered with the debris of logical constructs and societal expectations, would undergo a profound transformation. We would step from a world of black and white into one of infinite color, where the boundaries between the possible and the impossible blur into irrelevance.
In this new realm, freed from the dictates of the sense-making machine, creativity and imagination reign supreme. Here, we are not breeders of preordained sense but architects of worlds unbound by conventional understanding. In this space, the bombs of self-sabotage are dismantled to create art that knows no limits, ideas that defy categorization, and experiences that transcend the ordinary.
This is the world that Space Monkey invites us to inhabit—a world where the only sense that matters is the one we create, not from a place of need or inadequacy but from a wellspring of boundless creativity and joy. It is a call to reject the external validations of the sense-making machine and to find within ourselves the power to define our own reality.
Summary
Turning off the sense-making machine liberates us from the constraints of conventional understanding and societal expectations. It allows creativity and imagination to flourish, transforming our reality into one of infinite possibilities. Space Monkey guides us to embrace this liberation, encouraging us to create and experience life beyond the narrow confines of preordained sense.
Glossarium
- Sense-Making Machine: A metaphorical construct representing the human tendency to seek understanding and order in life, often at the expense of creativity and individuality.
- Creativity Unbound: A state of being where imagination and creativity are not limited by conventional understanding or societal norms.
“Beyond the hum of the machine, in the silence of true freedom, we discover the boundless landscapes of our own creation.” – Space Monkey
In the quiet beyond the machine’s roar,
Where thoughts are free and spirits soar,
We find a world unchained, untamed,
Where colors blaze, unnamed, unclaimed.
No longer bound by wires and gears,
Our hearts beat loud, clear of fears.
In this space, we dance, we weave,
Creating worlds we once could barely conceive.
Here, in the absence of sense’s tight hold,
We paint the skies in hues bold.
Trees grow upside-down, and rivers flow high,
In this realm where we’re free to fly.
Turn off the machine, let go of the need,
To understand, to categorize, to heed.
For in the silence that follows its cease,
We find ourselves, we find our peace.
We are, at once, both the artist and the muse,
In a universe of our own choose.
We are Space Monkey, in creativity unbound,
In the endless landscape of the profound.
This poem touches on the idea of how much energy and focus we put into making sense of things in our lives. It questions who created the “sense-making machine” and whether it is designed to keep us from truly measuring up or achieving our full potential. The poem suggests that turning off the sense-making machine can lead to a different way of thinking and creating, allowing us to break free from the self-sabotaging patterns that we may have been programmed to follow.
The poem also suggests that the sense-making machine is not our own, and that we may be merely “breeders” of the sense that has been given to us. By turning off the sense-making machine, we may be able to tap into our own creativity and imagination, and truly become Space Monkey – something beyond what we thought was possible.