Illusions

I have long been way off the edge of our society in a philosophical, (anti-)religious, and anti-capitalism sort of way. Now I am physically located just off the edge as well, living in a small sailboat that is normally under way or anchored off shore. Though the actual distance may be just a couple of hundred feet; the mental image is of me being "here" and most of the rest of the world being "over there". There are a bunch of us "here", a whole tribe of gypsy boaters that wander north and south to escape the hurricanes of summer and the Nor'easteners of winter (either of which can easily disassemble a boat and leave the gypsy homeless). My world is different in another sense as well, it never stops moving. Even when at a quiet anchorage moving around the boat causes the boat to move; the wind and tide will swing the boat, and wakes from other boats will rock the boat. After a few days of this, when I do step back on land, the motion continues. My inner ear isn't sure how to interpret a floor that stays level or a wall that remains vertical so imaginary motion gets added to make things seem "normal."

Living on a small sailboat also means living outside a lot. The steering station is in the cockpit and there is usually someone nearby that station when underway, even with the wind vane helm engaged. At anchor we are often out on deck for meals, reading, and (when far enough south) swimming. Our human ancestors lived outside as well, concluding that the earth was the center of all things by watching the stars, moon, and sun wheel overhead; an illusion that persisted right up to modern times. In spite of all their advances even the Greeks were mystified by these asters planetai (wandering stars). It has only been in the last few hundreds of years that the illusion gave way to understanding; everything in the cosmos moves at nearly unimaginable speeds all the time, including earth.

Knowing that, for me anyway, chases away the illusion. In my normally moving world the earth is not standing still, it is rolling through the universe at a breakneck pace taking all of us along for the ride. Being stationary with the world around us appearing unchanged, that is the illusion. One that rarely colors my world view anymore.

Because of that some ideas are even less attractive then they once where. It is impossible for me envision a god unchanging, the same "yesterday, today, and forever". I can say the words, write the sentence, but can't add it up to having any meaning. In much the same way I can't understand the lure of conservative ideology. Nothing can stay the same, especially human society. Trying to keep it the same is beyond the realm of possibility. The best we can do is try to keep the changes in line with what we are learning to be truth. All human kind is one species; we are all the same "tribe". This planet is the only place on which we can (currently anyway) survive for more than a few minutes. (A very few people live on the space station for months, but only with constant resupply from earth.)

To me religion and conservatism have, as their foundation, the illusion that the earth is fixed.