{∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}} : Rage Against the Meat Grinder

Holden,

Thank you for your patience in reading my scribblings.

I am fond of babies only from far away. I am not so sociable as to take care of even one of them. I read that psychologists say we must be biologically programmed to love them. They say that humans seek to nurture and protect infants even if we have never seen a baby before.

I have read only very basic things about the Gnostics. In Gnosticism we have the duality of spirit and matter. The world and the flesh are evil and they are in opposition to God. The final purpose in life, in their view, is liberation from matter. The Gnostics believe that the spirit is in bondage to the flesh in this life. Wine and meat are forbidden, and marriage is a licensed fornication. In their view, Jehovah is not the true god but a demiurge. Jehovah is perverse, jealous, and evil. This world soaked in crime and blood is the work of Jehovah.

Sex is mechanical. We are in heat 24/7/365. We only think of copulating. The older we get the more we think of sex.
I see a father and his son selling fruits in the street. Does he ever think of his son´s future? I think not. What is the father going to tell him about wearing a face mask for at least 2 or 3 years? We are zombies following our programming. We are the property of those who made our minds and bodies. 

I read a little about the Desert Fathers. For them solitude was not merely an escape from distractions; it was a teaching presence. There are many stories about these hermits and one of them is the following:

“An abbot, head of two hundred monks, had a great reputation in the world and Christ decided to visit him. He approached the porter in the guise of an old and poor man and asked for an audience. The abbot was in conversation when the porter approached him and said he was too busy to see the old man. So Christ waited patiently at the door. At about five o’clock in the afternoon, a rich man arrived and the porter hastened to announce him. The abbot came to the door to greet him and Christ humbly approached saying: ‘I wish to speak with you, Father Abbot.’ But the abbot did not even reply, but pushed the old man aside and ushered in the rich man to a welcoming feast.
After the meal, the abbot escorted his visitor to the gate and said his farewell then turned and went back inside, forgetting the patient old man who stood there waiting to speak with him.
As night fell, Christ showed himself to the porter and said: ‘Say to the abbot: “If you want worldly glory, then because of your past good deeds and the way you have lived I will send to you visitors from the four corners of the earth to flatter and be flattered by you. But as for the riches of my kingdom, you shall not taste them.”

Stay well.