every time i read sonja's work, i wish that substack had a feature where i could like and emoji react to every single little section of your writing! ♡♡♡♡♡
i am so glad you followed the alive thread!! my brain is often doing similar thing at 2 am. anything other than, ya know, resting.
I also love paradoxes. like the zen koans - they're there to make you consider "reality" and (not that i'm a zen master or anything) help you realize you don't know nearly as much as you think you know (i think) haha! omg. so much fun.
I'm glad you're in the 2am club with me hehehe.. I'll be so tired at like 11pm and then suddenly the midnight-2am ALERTNESS clocks in for her night shift ahaha. Maybe it's a writer thing? Or just a human thing? I'm not familiar with the zen koans, though I've heard the term before! Gonna look into that asap! <33
yeah i have talked to some other writers who also get the whispers of the muse late at night. I think maybe it's an openness to being inspired by the magic thing? It's like she likes it when it's quieter - easier to hear her. also night just feels different, right? the witching hour and all that?
Oh what fun, what fun! Loved all of this thoroughly. I posit poets are particularly poised to ponder perplexing paradoxes.
I think if you assume that no energy is ever lost (which seems to be true), an infinite universe with a constant density of stars (on average) would not only fill the sky with stars, it would be infinitely bright and infinitely hot, since the intensity of light drops off as the inverse square of the distance (only because it's spreading out, not truly lessening) but the volume of stars goes as the cubic. So the amount of light hitting the earth would always dwarf the amount of light dissipated elsewhere. More light and energy than we'd know what to do with (an infinite amount). So you'd be cooked long before you could crane your neck in awe. (I still really enjoyed Savannah Brown's poem though; thanks for sharing!) This infinite amount of energy/light/heat feels like a paradox itself, since what would particles vibrating at an infinite rate even look like?? It could be my reasoning is faulty here...
Sometimes I feel like all the Big Questions are deeply synonyms and rephrasings of the same Fundamental Unknowable. Free will, why we're here, how to solve these paradoxes, etc... I think they all tickle and point towards the Source or God or Reason We're Here or whatever insufficient human string of words you want to use. I have a feeling we wouldn't exist at all if not for paradoxes. We are paradoxes incarnate.
No matter how deep we dig into the fundamental nature of reality, we can always ask again, "Well what's THAT made of? How does THAT work?" and eventually our senses and sensors will fail to discern. Maybe this is something like "the paradox of science"? Eventually we have to just accept not knowing, just as you pointed out, or we kinda go insane.
Another fun one is the paradox of self-improvement, particularly when it comes to overcoming your ego and its painful tendencies. You end up wanting to remove the only thing that's capable of wanting. Seems like it can't really be done. The only way to rest is to...rest and believe that you already are exactly who you need to be.
Thank you so much for ur comment!! I rly loved "cooked long before you could crane your neck in awe" ahahaha. So happy that you enjoyed Savannah's poem, too.. her newest collection is truly spectacular!
We are paradoxes incarnate.. it's true and also makes me think about how boring it would be if we DID have all the answers. Like there's a big chunk of humanity out there actively trying to solve everything and get every answer, which in some ways is good but also i think it's nice to curl up in the unknown!! it's cozy in there when u surrender!
Tonight I'll be resting believing I'm already exactly who I need to be 🥲🥲 thank you for your insights on this you're the best
You have an incredible mind and spirit and I'm so glad you're sharing them with us via your poetry, prose, visual art, and other creations! And I'm so honored to have you as a subscriber.
I love your mind, I love dissecting all possibilities. I usually end up staring at the sky wondering if it's even possible that I exist, am I existing right now, what is thinking, what am I... I love philosophy. Which is funny because when I took it at 18 in college I did NOT enjoy these ponderings. Now these ponderings make up my very being.
Thank you for this & I'd love more in the future!! <3
Amy!! I love your mind too 🥲 it's so dear to me to have found others, like you, who genuinely enjoy dwelling in the unanswerable questions! the existential thoughts are like our baseline.. our heartspace. I bet you'd love the philosophy class now ahaha, omg that would be so so funnnnn to take, even if just to inform the future poems
This is so fun!!! My first thought with the last paradox about the night sky was, what is it like for beings that have more/less light receptors and cones and whatnot than we human bugs?? What if for some beings it is a swirling light sky with twinkles here and there, like the atmosphere put on a heavily bedazzled bodysuit and is struttin their stuff all over us and we just don’t know it... sparkles for thought✨
ooooh i am feasting on these sparkles for thought! i bet for certain animals it's an entirely different colour spectrum than we see, sometimes black and white maybe even other textures.. i often wish I could experience the world as various different animals but keep my same spirit/soul so that I can remember the experience haha. Like to know what it feels like to have the vision of an eagle, the nose of a dog, etc, just for a day or two!!
So fun! The wormhole poster image is one fav - and a great word (wormhole). I love paradox (and oxymoron too - tautologies of all kinds). . . there are a few paradoxes I know but I forget what they're called (so I don't really know them, right). And there's Foucault's Pendulum too. Will come back to this to dive deeper into the options.
i figured you'd like the wormhole poster, hehehe it's very you! wormhole is such a good word.. just realized there are emojis for it too look..
🪱🕳️
hehehehehe. I had to google the definition of tautologies, that's a fun one. thank you!! MAke sure you cast your vote in the paradox polls (new and improved)!
every time i read sonja's work, i wish that substack had a feature where i could like and emoji react to every single little section of your writing! ♡♡♡♡♡
The sweetest thing to say!!! So grateful for you 🥲🥲
Oh my god im obsessed with this i love how your mind works
Amanda!! You are so sweet and I'm giddy that we resonate in the way that we do <3
I'm here all of this!
You are the best! 🤣
omg thank youuuuu!!!
This was so fun! I loved your poem at the end. Spectacular
Thank you so much for reading it, Alix!! Yay! I’m so happy you liked it 🥰🥰
i am so glad you followed the alive thread!! my brain is often doing similar thing at 2 am. anything other than, ya know, resting.
I also love paradoxes. like the zen koans - they're there to make you consider "reality" and (not that i'm a zen master or anything) help you realize you don't know nearly as much as you think you know (i think) haha! omg. so much fun.
I'm glad you're in the 2am club with me hehehe.. I'll be so tired at like 11pm and then suddenly the midnight-2am ALERTNESS clocks in for her night shift ahaha. Maybe it's a writer thing? Or just a human thing? I'm not familiar with the zen koans, though I've heard the term before! Gonna look into that asap! <33
yeah i have talked to some other writers who also get the whispers of the muse late at night. I think maybe it's an openness to being inspired by the magic thing? It's like she likes it when it's quieter - easier to hear her. also night just feels different, right? the witching hour and all that?
easier to hear her, yessss!!! this could be a poem 💖
Oh what fun, what fun! Loved all of this thoroughly. I posit poets are particularly poised to ponder perplexing paradoxes.
I think if you assume that no energy is ever lost (which seems to be true), an infinite universe with a constant density of stars (on average) would not only fill the sky with stars, it would be infinitely bright and infinitely hot, since the intensity of light drops off as the inverse square of the distance (only because it's spreading out, not truly lessening) but the volume of stars goes as the cubic. So the amount of light hitting the earth would always dwarf the amount of light dissipated elsewhere. More light and energy than we'd know what to do with (an infinite amount). So you'd be cooked long before you could crane your neck in awe. (I still really enjoyed Savannah Brown's poem though; thanks for sharing!) This infinite amount of energy/light/heat feels like a paradox itself, since what would particles vibrating at an infinite rate even look like?? It could be my reasoning is faulty here...
Sometimes I feel like all the Big Questions are deeply synonyms and rephrasings of the same Fundamental Unknowable. Free will, why we're here, how to solve these paradoxes, etc... I think they all tickle and point towards the Source or God or Reason We're Here or whatever insufficient human string of words you want to use. I have a feeling we wouldn't exist at all if not for paradoxes. We are paradoxes incarnate.
No matter how deep we dig into the fundamental nature of reality, we can always ask again, "Well what's THAT made of? How does THAT work?" and eventually our senses and sensors will fail to discern. Maybe this is something like "the paradox of science"? Eventually we have to just accept not knowing, just as you pointed out, or we kinda go insane.
Another fun one is the paradox of self-improvement, particularly when it comes to overcoming your ego and its painful tendencies. You end up wanting to remove the only thing that's capable of wanting. Seems like it can't really be done. The only way to rest is to...rest and believe that you already are exactly who you need to be.
Thank you so much for ur comment!! I rly loved "cooked long before you could crane your neck in awe" ahahaha. So happy that you enjoyed Savannah's poem, too.. her newest collection is truly spectacular!
We are paradoxes incarnate.. it's true and also makes me think about how boring it would be if we DID have all the answers. Like there's a big chunk of humanity out there actively trying to solve everything and get every answer, which in some ways is good but also i think it's nice to curl up in the unknown!! it's cozy in there when u surrender!
Tonight I'll be resting believing I'm already exactly who I need to be 🥲🥲 thank you for your insights on this you're the best
You have an incredible mind and spirit and I'm so glad you're sharing them with us via your poetry, prose, visual art, and other creations! And I'm so honored to have you as a subscriber.
🥹🥹🥹🥹💗💗💗💗
I love your mind, I love dissecting all possibilities. I usually end up staring at the sky wondering if it's even possible that I exist, am I existing right now, what is thinking, what am I... I love philosophy. Which is funny because when I took it at 18 in college I did NOT enjoy these ponderings. Now these ponderings make up my very being.
Thank you for this & I'd love more in the future!! <3
Amy!! I love your mind too 🥲 it's so dear to me to have found others, like you, who genuinely enjoy dwelling in the unanswerable questions! the existential thoughts are like our baseline.. our heartspace. I bet you'd love the philosophy class now ahaha, omg that would be so so funnnnn to take, even if just to inform the future poems
<3 <3 <3 ugh yeah, I'd def love it now - give me a J & a philosophy class, and I'd be giddy.
when i read ur comment this song immediately started playing in my head LOL had to share https://open.spotify.com/track/7BfW1eoDh27W69nxsmRicb?si=eaaee601a99041c6
ahahhahaaha I loveee me some Bob!!!
This is so fun!!! My first thought with the last paradox about the night sky was, what is it like for beings that have more/less light receptors and cones and whatnot than we human bugs?? What if for some beings it is a swirling light sky with twinkles here and there, like the atmosphere put on a heavily bedazzled bodysuit and is struttin their stuff all over us and we just don’t know it... sparkles for thought✨
ooooh i am feasting on these sparkles for thought! i bet for certain animals it's an entirely different colour spectrum than we see, sometimes black and white maybe even other textures.. i often wish I could experience the world as various different animals but keep my same spirit/soul so that I can remember the experience haha. Like to know what it feels like to have the vision of an eagle, the nose of a dog, etc, just for a day or two!!
this is a genius idea for an article and i love paradoxes lol so it was a fun read 😂
Aw, I appreciate that so much! Thank you for taking the time to read it! Grateful to be among my people here on Substack heheh <3
So fun! The wormhole poster image is one fav - and a great word (wormhole). I love paradox (and oxymoron too - tautologies of all kinds). . . there are a few paradoxes I know but I forget what they're called (so I don't really know them, right). And there's Foucault's Pendulum too. Will come back to this to dive deeper into the options.
i figured you'd like the wormhole poster, hehehe it's very you! wormhole is such a good word.. just realized there are emojis for it too look..
🪱🕳️
hehehehehe. I had to google the definition of tautologies, that's a fun one. thank you!! MAke sure you cast your vote in the paradox polls (new and improved)!
Oh I love me a paradox
it's fun in the way that a puzzle which can't be solved is fun!! ahahaha
my brain hurts in a good way
ahahahah same tbh