Monkey Man

Freewill is something that is contested by a few (Sam Harris being one of them). I understand the arguments for predeterminism, but I can't take that argument for the whole truth. It's said that man was made in the image of god; what does that mean? I believe it means that man can create. If man can create then man has agency, and in that agency is where the freewill comes in. Most of the time man behaves on autopilot. We eat, poop, eat and screw. We pull our hand off a hot cook top, we cringe in cold water, we bleed and then the blood coagulates (hopefully). When man responds to the inner monkey is when that man isn't really guiding his life journey. There are many levels to being; Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs explains this. We have a survival mode, and that mode is primal.

I may spend too much time thinking myself in circles. It probably isn't useful. It may be more useful to act, and do it with abandon. I can always learn from the mistake afterwards or not. There is no real reason for me to draw or write these jumbled thoughts. One could argue in favor of predeterminism that all of my cosmic being has a path; this path is in connection of all other things; these things were set off from a chain reaction; this chain reaction is not understood by us; we are puppets with self awareness being set into motion by this mysterious force. That is my interpretation of this theory. I think that there is some merit in that we respond to our flesh in this reality. I also think that people do crazy things that go against this same idea. Why would Hemingway write, For Who the Bell Tolls? It must be because everything in the universe conspired, off this great chain reaction, to make this man believe he was creating a stunning piece of literature. Michelangelo's hand was set into effect by the same chain reaction to paint The Sistine Chapel. I am forced right now to find words and pictures to talk about this thing that we are even contemplating... Yes, the chain reaction robs us of agency. We only think we have it, or so predeterminism would suggest.

The very fact that I am sitting in this cafe right now, writing these words when I could be watching Youtube or Pornhub, suggests some level of participation. We are made in the image of god; we create, we decide, but we can't write or draw over reality. So, we may not get to assume God's role. We do get to play the game. We do get to make decisions. When we get away from the monkey mind then we can take on more choices. Sometimes though all we need is to respond to our inner monkey. We can't force our creator mind to rewrite all of what is. We participate and create; we respond to the flesh and the spirit. These choices tap into the thing that makes us say, "I am."