Conviction without conviction

We are born prisoners.

Gravity

We are bound to the surface of our planet, by gravity. Leaping may give us a meter. Dreaming of flying gives some satisfaction, and has led to actual flying machines, now within the reach of many of us. For a brief moment — hours at most — we are off the surface. A few adventurous souls have reached low earth orbit, some for months. Even fewer have ventured further. All such altitude gains are temporary. We must soon return to the surface.

Even on the surface, we seem driven to climb to a higher point. 

Metabolism

We must feed, and regularly. We transform food into ourselves, and waste which must be disposed of. For many on our planet this work requires significant effort. For the more fortunate, it can require little thought beyond a few simple choices. For some it becomes an all-consuming (pun intended) obsession.

Now

We must live in the present moment. While we can trade some attention in the present for memories of the past, we can never revisit past moments. Nor can we ever do over. Trading some attention in the present for thoughts of the future is also possible, but we don't get there until we get there. Our attention is trapped in the present moment, always on the move. We are trapped in the linearity of time.

Society

We were born into a family, a town, a nation, a culture. Escape is possible, after many years and much work, but only to another family, town, nation, and culture. Our very thinking is shaped by or influenced by others around us, on whom we depend for food, protection, and company.

Perspective

We are, by construction, self-centered. We can only perceive the world through our senses, which are bound to our physical bodies. Even standing right beside another, parallax gives each a separate view of the world. Some claim to have out-of-body experiences, but most never leave the interior of their self.

Thought

We are what we think. Thinking happens in the present, but its traces form us as thoughts form patterns which we revisit. Over and over again we think the same thoughts. The only escape is temporary, as during sleep. And even then, during sleep, our thoughts form their most chaotic versions as dreams and nightmares.

Death

We are all prisoners – doing time – with a death penalty awaiting us at the end. We die, prisoners still, when our metabolism stops, our thinking stops, our senses cease, attention wanes, and our culture disposes of what remains. Even in death we remain bound to the surface of our planet.

What is death like? No one has lived to report it. We who witness it are watching from the outside and do not experience what is happening on the inside, so we cannot know. When we experience it ourselves we will know but will not be able to tell.

Notes

The unusual title for this post reflects two meanings of the word conviction: sent to prison, and hope. At least, that was the only synonym for hope that I could find beginning with con.

This post captures a thought pattern that frequently plays in my head, and has now ventured out into the world wide web.