gorgeous read. Like the inner workings of a fine jeweled watch, it was a joy to observe.
I hope you know that your readers are not just witnesses, we are fellow travelers. You are not alone on this journey, you are one of our shaman/scribes, prodding and provoking while meticulously keeping record of our social/spiritual tumult in real time. All of our masks are coming off, whether we’re ready or not.
Really moving post. You hooked me and kept me along for the ride. If you haven't read Plato's "Republic", specifically the passage about the Cave, you should at least gloss the Cliff Notes (with you, research is a holy endeavor, I know, but I don't want to distract you from your main task!!) In the cave, there are levels of awareness or consciousness - most of us sit deep in the cave, watching shadow puppets projected on the wall. As you move up toward the mouth of the cave into the light, you come into enlightenment - you realize that the images that people project and define for us for what they are - manipulated shadows of reality. And yes, it makes you want to run right back down and sit down and watch the puppet show! Reality is blinding, unrelenting. Or, as Gloria Steinem is credited as saying, "The truth will set you free - but first, it will piss you off."
Yup, you stare into the fire long enough and shapes emerge, things shift, energies reorganize. Thank God! And just maybe there's nowhere to get to and everything to experience. Sharing your experience is a gift and capitalism doesn't reward most artists well. Spilling your truth fills others with grace as well, meaning beyond money. Thank you
'Xplisset' could be thought of as a vehicle toward the truth, rather than a costume, medical equipment, or a lie. I'm here because your writing-- wrestling with truth, fear, ugliness, hope and all the rest--lights the way for those of us who can't handle the truth either, and need to be careful about how we try to get there. Your ability to filter through the noise to find the signal (and survive the trip) while simultaneously staring at the moon and seeing the patterns, and then writing about it all-- a rare gift! Keep gazing at the stars!
This may be my favorite of all your pieces I have read.
I am thinking about my own sons. About how our social and cultural institutions and mores attempt to mold humans.
About how my father, brothers, and then my sons gravitated toward some of those same institutional structures. And toward what those structures left out. How what was not there became the empty space into which the boys marched, while the molding firmly shaped them.
Hiya Ex! I subscribe to you for the language. But I do hope you become woke enough to know that Homo sapiens come only in two sexes, male xy and female xx, no matter how we choose to present ourselves. This is very important to women in language and in law!
Uh, not quite. There are many varieties that are not proclaimed, nor common. Call it the lottery genes. Some will have XXY genes, others might have YYX genes that do not correspond to XX or XY genes. Simplicity was never all- inclusive, but we need to be openminded enough to accept the variations
Xavier, thank you for this
gorgeous read. Like the inner workings of a fine jeweled watch, it was a joy to observe.
I hope you know that your readers are not just witnesses, we are fellow travelers. You are not alone on this journey, you are one of our shaman/scribes, prodding and provoking while meticulously keeping record of our social/spiritual tumult in real time. All of our masks are coming off, whether we’re ready or not.
What a great article, Xavier. You have an exceptional way of writing that makes me sit up and re-read what you have posted.
Really moving post. You hooked me and kept me along for the ride. If you haven't read Plato's "Republic", specifically the passage about the Cave, you should at least gloss the Cliff Notes (with you, research is a holy endeavor, I know, but I don't want to distract you from your main task!!) In the cave, there are levels of awareness or consciousness - most of us sit deep in the cave, watching shadow puppets projected on the wall. As you move up toward the mouth of the cave into the light, you come into enlightenment - you realize that the images that people project and define for us for what they are - manipulated shadows of reality. And yes, it makes you want to run right back down and sit down and watch the puppet show! Reality is blinding, unrelenting. Or, as Gloria Steinem is credited as saying, "The truth will set you free - but first, it will piss you off."
Yup, you stare into the fire long enough and shapes emerge, things shift, energies reorganize. Thank God! And just maybe there's nowhere to get to and everything to experience. Sharing your experience is a gift and capitalism doesn't reward most artists well. Spilling your truth fills others with grace as well, meaning beyond money. Thank you
Being alive is a performance of it's own. Woke as woke can be.
Amazing exegesis. ❤️
'Xplisset' could be thought of as a vehicle toward the truth, rather than a costume, medical equipment, or a lie. I'm here because your writing-- wrestling with truth, fear, ugliness, hope and all the rest--lights the way for those of us who can't handle the truth either, and need to be careful about how we try to get there. Your ability to filter through the noise to find the signal (and survive the trip) while simultaneously staring at the moon and seeing the patterns, and then writing about it all-- a rare gift! Keep gazing at the stars!
Bless you for staring into the void and writing about it. Keep on!
This may be my favorite of all your pieces I have read.
I am thinking about my own sons. About how our social and cultural institutions and mores attempt to mold humans.
About how my father, brothers, and then my sons gravitated toward some of those same institutional structures. And toward what those structures left out. How what was not there became the empty space into which the boys marched, while the molding firmly shaped them.
This is sticking to my soul. Thank you.
Hiya Ex! I subscribe to you for the language. But I do hope you become woke enough to know that Homo sapiens come only in two sexes, male xy and female xx, no matter how we choose to present ourselves. This is very important to women in language and in law!
Uh, not quite. There are many varieties that are not proclaimed, nor common. Call it the lottery genes. Some will have XXY genes, others might have YYX genes that do not correspond to XX or XY genes. Simplicity was never all- inclusive, but we need to be openminded enough to accept the variations
These are DSD s. Read Colin Wright for the science. You can find him on Substack.