Conversations For Transformation: Essays Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

Conversations For Transformation

Essays By Laurence Platt

Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

And More




Resurgence

Muir Beach, California, USA

September 16, 2010



This essay, Resurgence, is the companion piece to Always Something On My Mind.

It was conceived at the same time as


Sometimes there's nothing going on.

I'm not talking about times when there's nothing going on in the world. There's always something going on in the world. In the world, there's always something going on because everything's moving. No, I'm talking about times when there's nothing going on in your experience, when things are calm, when it's clear, when it's a high noon  of the spirit, when things are balanced and in equilibrium. Times like these when there's nothing going on seem to last forever.

There are other times when the water's murky, when you're reactivated - in the common vernacular, when you're "plugged in". There's something to deal with  (or at least there seems to be), something to get out of the way, something to put behind you before the clarity and the calm come back. These are the times when you're upset. In the middle of an upset it can also seem as if an upset is real enough to last forever. And there's always  something to be upset about. That's why, if you tell the truth about it, you're perpetually getting upset then getting off it, then getting upset again then getting off it again, then getting upset again then getting off it again over and over and over again and again and again forever.

One way of accounting for this is Life is a series of upsets each followed by an interim of equilibrium followed by an upset followed by an interim of equilibrium followed by an upset followed by an interim of equilibrium over and over and over again and again and again forever. Another way of accounting for this is Life is a series of interims of equilibrium each followed by an upset followed by an interim of equilibrium followed by an upset followed by an interim of equilibrium followed by an upset over and over and over again and again and again forever.

<aside>

There's also a third  way of accounting for this: you're upset all  the time. You're always  reactivated. You're always reacting. You're never not  reacting.

But that's a subject for another conversation on another occasion.

<un-aside>

In this conversation, I'd like to inquire into the nature of a series of upsets each followed by an interim of equilibrium - which is really the same as an inquiry into the nature of a series of interims of equilibrium each followed by an upset. An upset, it could be said, occurs out of the blue, interfering with and upsetting equilibrium. It's an unwelcome, unexpected, demanding house guest overstaying his welcome until you distinguish it, resolve it, and disappear it.

You could also say it's not  true an upset appears out of the blue. You could say what's true is it's predictable  ie it's predictably triggered. Yes indeed, it may be true  an upset is predictably triggered. But that's not how an upset shows up. The way an upset shows up is out of the blue, unwelcome, and unexpected.

After the upset's gone, equilibrium reigns supreme but only until it's disturbed by another upset appearing just as unwelcome, just as unexpected on a later occasion. This new upset must be handled differently because it's not set off by the same trigger. After this one disappears, more will surely appear later - each one different, each triggered differently, each unpredictable, each unwelcome, each unexpected.

So that's the one way of looking at it: a series of unrelated upsets each disturbing a previous interim of equilibrium, each appearing suddenly, always surprisingly, always unannounced, always unpredictable, always unwelcome, always unexpected, always requiring attention until it's resolved. After it's resolved and before the next one shows up, there's an interim in which equilibrium reigns.

Another way of looking at it is there isn't a series  of upsets disturbing the equilibrium from time to time. There's only one.

What seems like the appearance of a new upset is really the resurgence  of the only reactivation there is. It's not a series of discontiguous reactivations. There's only one. It resurges then goes dormant then resurges then goes dormant then resurges then goes dormant over and over and over again and again and again forever. It's the only one reactivation there is. It's nature isn't a series of upsets which come and go, which appear then disappear, and between each coming and going of which there are separated, disconnected interims of equilibrium. There's only one. It resurges then goes dormant over and over and over again and again and again forever.

I assert this  is its nature. This is the nature of what we're observing. It's very nature is resurgence.



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