History and the collection of minds that have helped shape its existence have always had a necessary and explosive relationship. This relationship is necessary because without the presence of both we have neither. The annals of History are empty without the unctuous, slanted or matter-of-fact recollections of those who’ve come before us. Likewise, humanity is also empty and hollow without the presence of something historical. Without the presence of something historical in our neurons or bloodstream or genes or memes, there is nothing to build on, no structure, no collective personality upon which to latch onto, no culture, and no record. There would simply be a collective blank-state. In the absence of history, we would look like slack-jawed, dim-witted, slobbering idiots who just came out of some kind of lobotomy salon near oblivion street. Zombies we would be, nothing more. Thank God history grants us the ability to function, even if this functionality borders on the catastrophic at times.
Alongside the ability to function, history also gives us—our society, our culture—a syndrome. As far as I know, this syndrome has not been rigidly labeled. It is present though, and it deals with the statement, “History is destined to repeat itself.” Anything that repeats itself is looping, and anything that is looping is destined to become either a) a problem or b) an itch that never goes away. “An itch that never goes away” is a tenable definition for the word “syndrome”. “An itchy historical process that never goes away” is a tenable definition for humanity’s plight here in space and time. I could go on with these definitions, but you get the picture: history is a looping mechanism.
So now we know two things: history is necessary for us, and history is a looping mechanism. It is necessary because without it we would not have the programs of survival embedded in us. It is a looping mechanism because it tries to emancipate itself or correct itself and move forward at the same time. The tension that exists between history’s evolutionary push and its self-judging pull creates a spinning effect. The spin is a loop and the loop is a spin, much like the sun is round and the round is sun. This ultimately means that history is a necessary annoyance shoved down our throats by forces greater than us. The “itch that never goes away” always causes us to scratch, and the necessity of being something always causes us to desire history more and more. We are obviously at liberty to see such a “necessary annoyance” as either a negative thing or a positive thing. Because I am non-biased and believe in the power of holism, I would like to analyze both at this time.
The negative:
Life as a “necessary annoyance” is a chronic syndrome that has no cure. We’re destined to repeat our mistakes and make more mistakes. Life is a nihilistic dream spawned by evolutionary programs that have no heart, no soul. These programs spew out endless, meaningless codes composed of noise and chaos. There is nothing inherently divine or sacred about them. They simply live for a brief span of time and then cease to exist forever. We too end up joining the meaningless codes that were spawned in the Big Bang’s chaotic belly. When we die, we obviously don’t realize that future generations still continue making mistakes.
The positive:
Life as a “necessary annoyance” is not a chronic syndrome that has no cure. Although we repeat mistakes during certain life cycles we transit through, we aren’t actually destined to repeat our mistakes forever. Life is not a nihilistic dream spawned by unconquerable evolutionary programs that are bereft of heart and soul. Heart and soul do exist. In actual reality, they inform the evolutionary programs we as a species may learn from.
I believe in holism, and I certainly feel that looking both ways before crossing a street is a noble idea, but I am going to have to side with the positive outlook when it comes to dealing with the necessity of history and its strange loops. The negative outlook can only lead to an impasse. The negative outlook can only hinder and hurt us in the long run. It makes everything look bleak and ugly. Conversely, the positive outlook is adaptive to change and is open to possibilities that have not been considered yet. It sees the syndrome as a passing phase or a lesson, as opposed to a cancerous growth that will never abate or dissipate. Incidentally, it may be the only viable option we can take if we hope to survive the trials and tribulations awaiting us.
Up until this time, I have been talking about history as an instructive force and as a meddlesome force that spins like a wild chariot wheel. In other words, I have been talking about history as though it is some Janus-faced being. In humorous terms, I even referred to history as a “necessary annoyance”. But this is not all I want to talk about. I also want to talk about how a man, woman, or even an entire collective mind can free itself of the looping mechanism of history. I want to talk about this because this emancipation from the historical spin-wash seems like the next logical step for us. This next momentous step would take us from a world where “history is destined to repeat itself” to a place where “history has liberated itself”. Now, how great would that be? Vastly great, yes? Yes!
Of course, this place of liberty and freedom would be impossible to pirouette into without the help of spontaneity. Without spontaneity, or the omnipresent will of universal spontaneous action, there is no raft that can carry us from the shore of “looping history” to the shore of “liberated history”. We would be stuck in the loops like small bits of debris in a tornado. We would be destined to always travel in and around the city of incurable habits. We would always be trapped inside the circle of self, woe, neurosis, malaise, death, disease, panic, frustration, anxiety, hate, malice, and time. We would find hell in our own loops, and then hell would become as commonplace as the air we breathe. This we don’t want. We don’t want the headaches. We don’t want the vertiginous thrust of the looping historical mind to haunt us forever. So, we want spontaneity to show us the way. We want the raft. We want the pure being on the other shore. We want the tool that overshadows and schools all other tools, the trick that ousts all other tricks.
Irrefutably, the raft, the spontaneous will, is found within us. There is no other place where it can be kept. No palace or oasis or abode or jacket houses it. The spontaneity is found within us. It is our core. It is most definitely the “why” of us. Question: “Why do I exist?” Answer: “Because spontaneity allows for it.” It is most definitely the “how” of us. Question: “How did I come to be?” Answer: “Spontaneous forces, spontaneous forces, and more spontaneous forces came together for a spontaneous rendezvous.” Everything can go back to spontaneity. It is the First Father and First Mother. It is Spirit’s first word. It is the nexus of understanding. Gnosis itself. True Knowledge itself is the realization of Spontaneous Being.
So, this is what I propose we do: we follow the positive outlook I explained earlier on, douse ourselves with the flammable oil of spontaneity, and light a match. This will free us from the historical and personal loops we get caught in. It will also free the loops of us, because surely they’re getting kind of tired of us. Wouldn’t you get tired of being spun around all day? I know I would. This is why it is best to let the loop and the one doing the spinning die.
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