Reframing : transmuting anxiety
Deep Irritation
I am in the bus, frustrated. I am in a river of AI upsurge. Only in a matter of time I am in the ocean, drowning in it. (oh you so negative)
I am (my mind is) calibrated towards an impending doom and I wonder which set of skills I could provide to the world and not die of hunger. Well, I could always fish and grow my own veggies.
But that is not the question I am asking here.
I went outside today because sitting down at home just felt too much. Job market uncertainty. Purpose undefined. Some fresh air and alone time would be good, I thought. So me again, in bookstore. The place where there are objects which are made of trees and ink — each contraption speaks a language of its own, holds a universe of its own. I think people call them books nowadays.
Just like a sorcerer looking for the right book of spells, my eyes were everywhere.
Found 3. Evaluated the most likely to read and finish. Bought it.
Great, I have successfully tried to make a meaning of my life through this purchase. Negative. My frustration was still there.
Only a cup of coffee or trying to buy a ridiculously expensive Apple product could fix me up for good. Yay. An Apple product to magically manifest discipline in your life out of thin Air. Pun intended.
The Real Magic
My friend calls me up and asks if he can join me (he knew where I was dragging my ass)
“Yes, of course. Come.”
He comes up, I start to narrate him this impending problem hovering over. We go over solutions — how maybe the creative field will be still be valid and more valuable as AI progresses — such things. Deep podcast stuffs, you know what I mean. And of course, I discussed with the same level of dread I had before.
We go by this river. I look at the river to see if there are any fish in it — expecting none.
Catfishes. Oh God. I feel a certain joy and excitement within me. I have never seen those species before in such river. I wanted to know if there were catfish in this island. It was like a blessing from the Devatas to behold this sight. The fisherman in me was happy. Fisherman local knowledge updated.
Now we were walking up this hill, our conversations took many turns. Were the turns synchronous with the turns of the pathway up the hill ? I did not observe that much — sorry.
Tired, sweating. At the top of the hill, I did not have energy for dread. I did not have enough psychic energy to think of my impending doom. I was breathing with ease. My brain was filled with the god-knows-juicy-ingredients-which-makes-you-relax.
The talks continued of course, no matter how tired we were.
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Clarity
It was clear to me. Exactly clear as that river where I could see little catfish going on about their business.
There was not a perfect answer to :
“Which skills should I invest in to counter AI ?”
“What should I do with my life?”
You can do plenty of theatrics to try and contain uncertainty in life. And you probably should to — most of it helps and it is possibly wise.
There is no perfect answer, but hints drop when you ask these questions. The next step, of course, is to pick and move forward.
Creation of the Way Forward
It is pretty dumb to adjust your perception filters in such a way where you think doom is inevitable. It could be true. Maybe it helps with survival. Maybe it makes you sound smart and your plans to counter the apocalypse sounds grand. Maybe it sweetens your Ego when you take the fight to the Them, The Government or the one who laughs at you.
I say don’t burn your brain cells in anxiety. Don’t stress test your brain when there is no actual danger right now. Instead, realize that you are mapping AI to the uncertainty of life itself.
There is nothing that will prepare you for the unknown.
See even that last sentence prior to this one speaks the negative.
What about bliss from the unknown ? What about beautiful love from the unknown ? Ever thought of those?
Actually I am right: nothing will prepare you for the unknown. Imagine Aliens come and they invite you to a spirit world where you can levitate and what not and you are full of bliss not known in Earth.
Or you just live a really fulfilled life — full of joy, unimaginable. Maybe you are not prepared for this. What if you get too joyful?
Nothing will prepare you for the unknown. That’s the sexy part of life. You don’t know.
So we realize we are fools, we move forward and we bow to the Great Unknown — The Great Devatas and let them guide. (And occasionally slip back into dread only to be slapped by them out of our current ignorance.)
I do not know the way forward.
All I know: to live in constant dread consciously is pretty stupid. You can be stupid. I judge.
P.S Thanks to one dropping me home :)
