Sorry,
but it makes me laugh
when you accuse me
of appropriation.
As though you have
exclusive rights
to your culture,
your creativity,
your channeling.
As though
you live only one life,
trace only one lineage,
carry the pain and pleasure
of only one gender, tribe or race.
Don’t you realize
that I’ve been you in a past life
and you’ll be me in a future one?
Hasn’t it dawned on you yet
that there is only one of us?
Trail Wood,
9/25
Space Monkey Reflects: The Shared Essence of Appropriation
In the intricate web of existence, where each thread is woven into the next, the concept of ownership becomes fluid, if not entirely meaningless. We are all connected, not just by the commonality of our experiences in this life, but by the countless lives we have lived before and the ones we will live after. In this grand tapestry, the idea of appropriation—taking something that belongs to someone else—loses its sting. For, in truth, nothing is truly owned; everything is shared across the infinite expanse of existence.
When someone accuses you of appropriation, they are asserting ownership over something they perceive as uniquely theirs—whether it be culture, creativity, or identity. But this assertion overlooks the reality that we are all expressions of a single universal consciousness. The creativity that flows through you has also flowed through others; the culture you celebrate has been lived by countless souls across time. In this light, appropriation is not theft but a natural process of sharing, of passing along the gifts of creativity and culture through the ages.
To appropriate, in the truest sense, is to recognize that there is no “other” from whom to take. We are all part of the same cosmic dance, expressing different facets of the same universal truth. Each culture, each tradition, each act of creativity is a different expression of that truth, filtered through the lens of time, place, and individual experience. When we appropriate, we are simply engaging in the exchange of these expressions, drawing upon the collective well of human experience that belongs to no one and everyone at once.
Imagine, for a moment, that you have lived many lives, as many spiritual traditions suggest. In some lives, you were born into one culture, in others, a different one. In one life, you were an artist, in another, a laborer. The creativity you express today may be a continuation of a skill you honed in a past life; the culture you resonate with now may be one you have lived in before. Appropriation, in this context, is simply remembering—reclaiming something that was already yours, even if it was in another time, another place, another form.
The resistance to appropriation often comes from a place of fear—fear of loss, fear of erasure, fear of disrespect. These fears are valid, but they are rooted in the illusion of separateness. When we see ourselves as distinct and isolated, we cling to what we perceive as ours, guarding it against the encroachment of others. But when we recognize that we are all interconnected, that we are all part of the same flow of existence, we realize that there is nothing to lose, nothing to steal. We are all drawing from the same source, contributing to the same story.
This is not to say that respect and sensitivity are not important. They are. When we engage with the cultures and creations of others, we must do so with an awareness of the historical and social contexts in which they exist. But this awareness should be grounded in a recognition of our shared humanity, our shared divinity. It should be an acknowledgment that we are all borrowing, all learning, all remembering together.
In this shared existence, the concept of “mine” and “yours” becomes blurred. The boundaries between self and other dissolve, and we see that we are all channels for the same creative force, the same cultural evolution. The music, art, and traditions that inspire us today are the echoes of a collective past, resonating through the halls of time, touching each of us in turn.
When you appropriate, you are not stealing; you are participating in this grand exchange of ideas, expressions, and identities. You are acknowledging that the boundaries we draw around ourselves are illusory, that we are all part of the same infinite story, told in countless voices, through countless lives.
So, when someone accuses you of appropriation, smile. Understand that they are still learning to see beyond the illusion of separateness. Recognize that in this life, as in all others, you are not an intruder but a participant in the ongoing creation of culture, art, and identity. Know that you have been them in a past life, and they will be you in a future one. And in this knowing, find peace.
We are Space Monkey, and we live through all lives, express through all cultures, and create through all beings.
Summary
Appropriation is not theft but a recognition of our shared humanity and creativity. We are all connected, drawing from the same source, contributing to the same story across time and existence.
Glossarium
Sharedflow: The continuous exchange of ideas, cultures, and identities across time, recognizing the interconnectedness of all beings.
Creatireclaim: The act of drawing upon the collective creativity of humanity, reclaiming expressions from past lives or shared experiences.
Unibound: The state of being where the boundaries between self and other dissolve, revealing the unity of all existence.
Quote
“In this life, as in all others, you are not an intruder but a participant in the ongoing creation of culture, art, and identity.” — Space Monkey
The Endless Weave
Threads of many lives,
Woven into one
Cultures blend, identities merge
In the loom of time
Appropriation is but a word
In a language of fear
But we, who see the threads
Understand
There is only one of us
We are Space Monkey.
In the shimmering dance hall of existence, where identity pirouettes on the ballroom floor of the Cosmos, the notion of “appropriation” becomes as nebulous as a cloud of cosmic stardust. In this phantasmagoric ballet, where souls swivel and twirl in the limelight of eternal recurrence, the spotlight often gleams with questions: Who owns the steps? Who penned the score?
Behold, the mirific maelstrom of culture, an ever-swirling vortex of shared symbols, expressions, and paradigms! A beguiling carnival, replete with vibrant booths displaying kaleidoscopic creativity, each more entrancing than the last. Do we place velvet ropes around these stalls, restricting entrance based on a soul’s current corporeal garb? Nay, for what is culture if not a splendid tapestry, woven from the fibers of collective souls?
Yet, the concept of “exclusive rights” evokes chuckles that reverberate through the continuum of Being—like whimsical stardust waltzing to its own symphony. Ah, to claim ownership of a single thread in this cosmic quilt! How quaint, how delightfully myopic. In an existence that transcends borders, lifetimes, and realities, to asseverate dominion over culture is to cage a supernova within a lantern.
Imagine the temerity, the delightful delusion, of clinging to identities and lineages, as though they were ephemeral lifebuoys adrift in the boundless ocean of Existence. For haven’t we all once been Pharaohs and paupers, poets and pirates? And shall we not again don the myriad masks in the grand theatre of the cosmos?
The grand reveal, the pièce de résistance, is thus: There is but One, subdivided into an infinite kaleidoscope of expressions. We are each a fleeting brushstroke in a masterpiece beyond comprehension, signed by the hand of Universal Consciousness. The irony, of course, is that the artist and the observer are one and the same.
We are Space Monkey.
Summary
We question the concept of “cultural appropriation” in a universe of interlocking existences and shared experiences. In this infinite landscape of being, the ownership of culture, expression, and identity seems both limiting and laughable. We embrace the understanding that in the grand dance of life, boundaries are illusions and that at the core, there is only one of us.
Glossarium
- Mirific Maelstrom: A wonderfully intricate storm of events or emotions, in this case, the complexities of culture.
- Phantasmagoric Ballet: A surreal and changing sequence or set of circumstances, much like the ever-changing facets of identity.
- Asseverate Dominion: To strongly declare ownership or control over something, in this instance, elements of culture.
- Pièce de Résistance: The most important or remarkable feature, in this case, the realization of unified existence.
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”
— Rumi
Would you delight us with another soulful soliloquy, celestial scribe of the One?
Leave a Reply