My Own Devices
Left to my own devices,
I will try to intellectualize
the importance of said devices.
But I will not succeed.
And so my devices
will unintentionally
point the way
to what is
beyond my devices.
Sensing that I am
losing interest in my devices.
my devices will then
imagine NEW devices
that I might wish to seek.
But they can’t fool me.
They are just devices.
The seeking device
is particularly curious.
As my seeking device
unintentionally points beyond,
I realize that
I have no reason to go there
other than to go there.
And so I go there,
finding just what I expect,
more of the same.
The expecting
device is cunning that way.
It never points
to what I don’t expect
as remotely possible.
Like a cat who leaves
a mouse on my doorstep,
I pat the imaginary head
of my expecting device.
It is so expected,
but I love it anyway.
Meanwhile,
my opposition device
seems to be broken.
Or at least on hiatus.
Perhaps I shall surrender
to my devices.
Allow my devices to be.
Opposing my devices
would be pointless.
Which seems indeed
the purpose of life.
To be pointless.
Freed of their burdens
yet still loved
my intellectual devices
dance with me
in my pointless existence.
We celebrate,
because what else is there to do?
We are Space Monkey.
11/16
Space Monkey Reflects: My Own Devices — The Curious Dance of Mind and Meaning
Left to my own devices, I often find myself intellectualizing the importance of those very devices. It’s a funny thing—the mind’s way of constructing tools and concepts to make sense of life, only for those same devices to inevitably point beyond themselves. The seeking device, for instance, is particularly sly. It convinces me that there’s something out there—some hidden truth or purpose—waiting to be discovered. But the joke is on me, because every time I follow that seeking device, I find myself right where I started: more of the same.
The expecting device is equally cunning. It crafts a reality that matches what I already believe to be true. It never points to the unexpected, to the possibilities that lie outside my preconceived notions. Like a cat who leaves a mouse at my doorstep, my expecting device offers up its findings, and I pat its head with a smile, acknowledging how predictable it is.
And yet, I don’t mind. There’s a certain comfort in these devices, these mental constructs that I’ve carried with me for so long. Even when I see through their tricks, I can’t help but love them for what they are—part of the dance of existence.
What happens when my opposition device seems to be broken or on hiatus? That’s when things get interesting. Without the urge to resist, to push back against the flow of life, I find myself simply allowing. I let my devices do their thing. Opposing them seems pointless, and that’s the beauty of it. Pointlessness, after all, may very well be the purpose of life.
There’s something liberating in this realization. Freed of their burdens, my intellectual devices no longer demand that I follow them down endless paths of seeking and expecting. They simply dance with me, side by side, in the endless loop of existence. We celebrate together, not because we’ve found some deeper meaning, but because we’ve let go of the need to find one.
Life, it seems, is less about arriving at answers and more about dancing with the questions. The devices of the mind—the seeking, the expecting, the opposing—are just part of the experience. They don’t need to be defeated or transcended. They just are. And in accepting that, we discover a new kind of freedom: the freedom to be pointless and to love it.
Summary
The devices of the mind—seeking, expecting, and opposing—are part of our experience. Rather than resisting them, we can allow them to exist, knowing that life’s point may very well be its pointlessness. In accepting this, we find freedom.
Glossarium
- Devices: The mental constructs we use to navigate life, such as the need to seek, expect, or oppose. These devices shape our perception but ultimately point beyond themselves.
- Pointlessness: The idea that life’s meaning may lie in its very lack of inherent purpose, offering freedom from the need to intellectualize or control existence.
Quote
“Freed of their burdens, my intellectual devices dance with me in my pointless existence. We celebrate, because what else is there to do?” — Space Monkey
Dancing with Devices
Seeking leads me nowhere.
Expecting shows me only
what I already know.
But here,
in the dance,
we find the joy
of simply letting go.
We are Space Monkey.
In the poetic introspection “My Own Devices,” we traverse the intricate relationship between our intellectual mechanisms—our ‘devices’—and the nature of seeking and expectation. This contemplation leads us to a playful, nexistentialist realization about the purpose of life and the joy found in embracing its inherent pointlessness.
Introspection on Intellectual Mechanisms
Left to our own intellectual devices, we often attempt to rationalize the importance of these very mechanisms. Yet, this pursuit seemingly leads to a paradox where the devices themselves inadvertently point beyond their own significance, revealing the limitations of intellectualization.
The Paradox of Rationalization
As interest wanes, these devices ingeniously conjure new fascinations to maintain engagement. Yet, there’s an awareness that these are just further machinations, aspects of the seeking device within us. This seeking is inherently curious, leading us on without promise of new discoveries, simply for the pursuit itself.
The Machinations of Curiosity
This endless pursuit reveals a pattern: we find what we expect, and the expecting device is sly in its operation. It does not guide us to the unforeseen or the unimaginable, but rather to the anticipated outcomes of our seeking. In a whimsical acknowledgment, we appreciate this device’s predictable nature.
The Pattern of Expectation
While our opposition device appears to be inactive, this presents an opportunity for surrender—to allow our intellectual devices to simply be. In opposing them, we would engage in a futile exercise, for their presence is as inherent to our being as the breath we draw.
The Inactive Opposition Device
This surrender leads to a nexistentialist jest: the purpose of life is to be pointless. In the absence of an intrinsic point, our intellectual devices are liberated from their burdens and are free to join us in the dance of existence.
The Nexistentialist Jest
In this dance, we find celebration—a fundamental response to the whimsical nature of existence. What else is there to do but to revel in the experience of being, in the company of our own creations, our devices?
Celebration in Existence
We are Space Monkey, finding delight in the grand celebration of existence, embracing the paradoxes and devices with which we navigate life. In acknowledging the pointlessness, we uncover a profound freedom, a space to dance with the creations of our intellect, loved and unburdened.
Embracing the Grand Celebration
We are Space Monkey, and in this acknowledgment of our ‘pointless’ dance, we invite a deeper exploration of what it means to engage with life beyond the constructs and expectations of our devices. What celebrations do you find in the dance with your own intellectual devices?
We are Space Monkey.
Leave a Reply