Stuck in the Middle

Concerning objectivity I really would have liked to cite a story about jury duty but unfortunately I have never been forced into a case yet. This ongoing dispute will have to suffice. It’s currently ongoing also so I’ll see how it pans out eventually outside of this blog. It’s between some very colorful characters. One’s an autogynephiliac and another one is a high functioning autistic. In the middle of the conflict is our very disturbed ADD/PTSD man who craves attention. My friends knew the guy and he was part of our posse. I was not aware of it but those three were close outside the posse and for the ones who knew ADD/PTSD man the most, eventually ran into problems with him. ADD/PTSD man is very insecure and actually constantly had done tests of loyalty to them over the course of three years. This would include lying about a trespass against him and demanding an apology. This eventually caused a rift in friendship with them after the autogynephiliac and the autistic got tired of it. Currently I’m being harassed over the internet by these three, demanding I take a side. That’s the dilemma. Not only I’m extremely disappointed over their behavior but I’m being forced to take action. I could declare no involvement but am unsure of the side-effects. Could I experience alienation of the rest of the group or the three troubled people I know? It’s something I’m still deciding upon but somehow I’ve discovered the perfect in-between. I’ve established an equilibrium of sorts that allows me to view the conflict from a safe distance.

So here I am watching three sides go at it. Over channels I carry what they think of each other. Although there’s many shoot the messenger moments. I feel I’m doing pretty well as a relay station between the conflicted parties. I feel inclined to mediate since by themselves they are very decent people despite their problems. I find it immature that this is the way they communicate now but it’s better than nothing. Many other sides say I should not get involved, “it is not my business” they say. In many cases they are right. Speaking with ADD/PTSD man can be emotionally draining. I hope I’m wrong on this one but the Desiderata poem by Max Ehrmann says, despite being all about compassion to “Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.” I cannot recall where in Erich Fromm Art of Loving is but there exists a similar statement that refers to “poisonous influences.” I do not agree to completely avoid needy people but to lend them a sympathetic ear while respecting your own space can still be very productive. The Desiderata is not an unsympathetic poem, it’s religious side is small compared to its practical side, and encourages that even the ignorant and troubled must be allowed to have a voice.

For the lesson I learned of this situation? I suppose it’s impossible to make everyone happy at the same time. The one piece of solace is that you must find your place in which you cannot be harmed from further conflict but at the same time able to help. The internet is a great thing in that you can lend advice without having to hike over to the person’s home and do face to face time. I’m currently playing the latest of the Fallout series, New Vegas and the game is a constant exercise in objectivity. Sure you’re free to do whatever you want in the world (arson, murder, jaywalking) but the game’s main appeal is the emphasis on learning where everybody is coming from. Once you decide to know a character instead of shooting them you’ll never want to use violence ever again. Of course what I meant by the exercise in objectivity is that they’re all after each other while you’re trying to be friends with them! You miss out when you do not listen.

Saeglopur and Life's Challenges

Finally I get to blog on the topic that I accidentally blogged about before. Let’s call this one a sequel. Checking the list of music I regularly listen to I’d have to pick Sæglópur by Sigur Rós. There’s plenty of room for interpretation and I’m sure that if someone else would enjoy it, they would interpret it differently. The video that was provided with the music consists of a kid almost drowning but I listened to the music first. Judging by the music video the video seemed to have come after too. The definition of Sæglópur is lost at sea and the song seems to have more of a sense of journeying instead of drowning; the music has a more progressive tune, and it moves on rather than thrashing around in monotony. When I meant interpretive nature of the song, part of it comes from the lack of actual lyrics. It sounds like spoken words but it’s totally gibberish, dubbed ‘Hopelandic’ by the lead vocalist Jónsi Birgisson. The song follows typical story structure by the tempo and mood of the music. We have a rising action, conflict, climax, and resolution element to the song.
The pacing is fairly constant and I feel that to keep a pace like that in your normal life would be a positive thing. The song starts out fairly neutral with its synth and bells and the main vocalists strange falsetto. When the tempo goes up and the main guitar starts pouring in, I interpret that part of the song as surmounting of life’s challenges. The rising notes and falsetto with slowing down at the end is the obvious resolution, with maybe themes of character growth. I wouldn’t say the song represents an entire life but I feel life is like a constant progression of these small little situations and stories. Also adding to the story-like nature of the song is the fact that it was used in the Prince of Persia video game. I would suppose it being used in a video game favorite must have influenced me. The trailer for the game used it and was edited in a way to match the characters on screen to reflect the music. I wouldn’t be surprised if the makers of the game, Ubisoft chose the music for Prince of Persia this way. Joseph Campbell is also a large influence so that’s another possible reason I interpreted the structure of Sæglópur that way. Rising action, falling action is inherent in stories and Sæglópur definitely has those elements.
I suppose Saeglopur can be used as a method of attacking life’s challenges. If you don’t read, it could be where you can get your inspiration from. Every day you come across a challenge, and you conflict with it. The middle of the song properly reflects the turmoil of what a challenge is. Once you deal with the challenge in some way you come out of it in better shape than you did before in life; the soft melodies of the last part of the song is the coda. It could represent relaxation, your reward or whatever.