Greetings, my friends! It is an honour to make your acquaintance once more. I’ve missed you, missed THIS. Missed sitting down, just saying, “go”, and seeing what happens. Which is precisely what is occurring now, so, ready and set!
A friend and I were recently discussing matters of deep universal concern. Literally not figuratively. We were jiving on The Big Bang, its immediate aftermath, and much more interestingly, the events preceding. I’ll go on record first as being relatively anti-religion, as one who was essentially bullied by such organizations through some pretty formative years often are. I favour the expression, “religion is for people who want to go to heaven, spirituality is for those who have already seen hell.” I have no need of hypocrites espousing arbitrary rules or sentencing everlasting suffering. If there is a god, spirit of the universe, whatever you want to call it, if it is not a “being” of love, of compassion, of understanding, of tolerance, then their existence is irrelevant because I’ll have nothing to do with them anyway. [This is what happens when you sit down without a plan!] Anyway… the Blaikie Theory of Cyclical Cosmos is as follows… It is widely agreed upon that our universe is expanding and not only that but expanding at an accelerating rate. First of all, that’s super neat. Second and more obviously, where or what the heck is it expanding into? Clearly, I’ve no idea but what a fantastic notion! Does the universe’s edge give a shit about our cosmically petty human wars and trials? Of course not. Like many I’ve felt borderline paralyzed for quite some time. Trapped in the “minutiae” of the human experience and disregarding all else to my extreme detriment. Like a few months ago when I was rambling on about dinosaurs, looking at things from a decidedly macro perspective helps alleviate the utter powerlessness of my existence. Let’s be honest, things feel “sometimes” like we’re teetering on the edge of a precipice, like an old cartoon, our vehicle tips back and forth, not yet spilling us to our doom. There is so much fear, anger, so very much hate. And I’m certainly guilty. Because I AM angry, to be honest, I’m fucking livid. The “bad guys” are seemingly winning and there’s nothing I can do. But I can write, I can help others wherever possible, I can continue to volunteer my time and offer my love. THAT is within my power and that is exactly why we’re here today. [Hoooly that got away from me even more so this time… this paragraph is an abomination of grammatical axioms.] Weren’t we talking about a delusional, made-up theory of the cosmos? So, yes, expanding and accelerating as such. What if, at some point, on a trillions of years’ timeline, the acceleration reverses, the expansion halts and suddenly the opposite is true. The universe shrinking, on and on and until eventually it condenses unimaginably only to uncontrollably reverse again, replicating our Big Bang event. I like cycles. Find comfort in beginnings and endings, (unlike this godforsaken paragraph), so that slots nicely into my psyche. Surely any physicist could refute such mad ravings near instantaneously but I do enjoy a good thought experiment.
If anyone is still here, our poem today is a special one. The first of its kind for me and I crafted a few similarly now. I turn on a treasured piece of music, typically classical or just instrumental, and feel. I ran away from feelings for the vast majority of my life. Hell, I ran away from pretty much everything. One would think my theoretical VO2 max would be far greater. Anyway, I let the feeling feel and put down whatever comes to mind and it’s quite surprising the types of emotions that may arise, the types of words which flow forth. It’s also deeply relaxing and as a fringe benefit also happens to be pretty fun. So, if you haven’t heard Mr. Zimmer’s masterpiece which is “Time” from “Inception”, give it a listen first or afterwards. It is exquisite, delectable, I’d practically lick my fingers if this metaphor made sense, and I wasn’t mildly germophobic, even within analogies, good to know. Enjoy!
“Inception”, Jan. 21, 2025.
In a moment life’s music swells
Triumph and impending glory
Some hidden joy, clandestine succour
Or stitched across universal fabric
Frozen images coalesce accordingly
Thrumming, building, volcanic
Clasping hands bridge divides
Rising tide propelling upwards
Intended to be loved, to be love
Reaching out, reaching down
No need of petty rivalries
Bitter tribalism withers
Entrenched hatred weeded
Together there is strength, belonging, joy
Together there is hope.
I’m not sure why I keep using the word succour. I understand one is born every minute but still. Also, that expression has been around forever, where is the “sucker-inflation”? Should it not be every second or millisecond now? It’s the “even a broken {analog} clock is right twice a day” all over again. I find it interesting for no reason the evolution of an adage. We outgrow, we restructure, we carry on. Maybe many MANY moons from now someone will read, “no time like the present”, as they prep their time-machine. It’ll never happen but I couldn’t think of a different example. That unholy paragraph leached all I had. A good Leach though. Like in X-Men.
That is all for me, dear friends. I pray this message finds it way, in whatever form, to those who need to hear it most. If you’re struggling, lost, if you’re hopeless… what you certainly are not is alone. My email is in the bio. Admittedly, my “specialty” is addiction and cynicism but I’m happy to field messages of any stripe. Want to write in, tell me to kill myself for disrespecting your God/ religion or failing to mention whichever demographic(s) to which you wish me to appeal, honestly, go ahead, you won’t be the first. I hope you feel better after doing so, perhaps we can talk afterwards and find common ground. As for me, today I will strive not to hate, to show anger (righteous or not, more likely self-righteous if we’re still being honest) it’s proper place, to show love, kindness and understanding to as many as possible. In short, as they say, to be the person my dog already thinks I am. I’ll never make it that far but for me life is about progress not perfection. The journey over the destination. That which binds, eschewing the rank division so insidiously thrust upon us. Life is about love and all that entails. And one particular tail is of utmost importance personally. Be well. You ARE worthy.
Happy Trails and Waggy Tales,
-Alex Blaikie
And how freaking perfect is it that our titular “Time” comes on as I put the final proofreading to bed. Sometimes it feels like I am exactly where I am supposed to be at the precise moment. And that sure feels good.
Dread Poets Sobriety 
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