Security is mostly a superstition...

 It does not exist in nature, 

nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. 

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. 

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

Helen Keller 

Found that over on Brainyquote.com 

Looks like an interesting site.  I'm gonna have to spend sometime over there.

Reading the news from Boston yesterday and today....

My first reaction was too wonder just what it is the PTB are trying to distract from.

Yes cynical, I know.  But I always wonder when things like this happen is it real, or is it advantageous?

With the evidence mounting from 9/11 I'm almost ready to switch from my stance of 'I don't think they engineered it, but they did allow it to happen' to 'shit yeah, they did engineer it.'

Watching the spike in fear and anger around the bombings in Boston, it makes me wonder...

This is really gonna heat up the debate on gun control, can already see that coming.  'Home Land Security' could get a big bump from this.  At a time when we keep loosing liberty without even realizing this could be a killing blow to actual personal liberty.  An argument for more unregulated surveillance.  More cameras, more searches....

Without knowing who planted them, it's hard to say which group of people is going to be on the receiving end of a whole lotta hate.  Cuz someone will be.  Someone always is.

I'm sure the radical religious right will find some way of blaming gays and undocumented immigrants...

The initial out pouring of grief and condolences and support, is wonderful to see.

But it always gives way to an uglier side of human nature.

Which leads to musing on human nature...  

Which ricochets off in several directions....

And today I'm coming back to the question of safety.

And the illusion of safety the average American lives in.

In this country we actually think of death as a risk.  As something that can be avoided.

The facts of the matter are that everybody dies.  You are never really safe.

And all the cameras, searches, surveillance, and guns in the universe won't change that.

So, you insure that you have enough ammo to ward off a small army, to keep you safe and healthy....

But what about that misstep off the ladder?

Or the tornado?

Or the out of control bus?

Or the slip in the shower?

Or the infected tick?

The ways and means of our ends are as many and varied as we are.  You can't foresee every eventuality.  You can't assure the number of your days.

You are never safe.

Killing and bombing will never make you safe.

Sitting somewhere doing absolutely nothing will not make you safe.

Which explains the rate of anxiety disorders....

So how do we deal with this?

My approach is to lighten up and stop worrying about it.

I'm not advocating a wholesale abandonment of safety precautions here.  While you can never be totally safe, you can be safer, and there is the possibility of being unsafe, which should be avoided, if at all possible...

But, we are expected to plan for the future, invest for retirement, and never even consider the fact that we might not get there.  The illusional obsession of the Dark Ages was living this life for the next.  The illusional obsession of our age is living this life for later.

I think we need to start living our lives for this one, here and now.  For the moment.

And consider, each hour that you spend slaving away at your job, is a gamble that you make it to the next payday.  Each moment you don't spend with a loved one is a gamble that you'll get another.  Each time you put something off is a gamble that you'll have the opportunity to do it ever again.

I think it's time that we all agree to flip the saying 'time is money' to 'money is time', and get our priorities straight.  I think we all need to realize that another second of our lives is not guaranteed and start seriously thinking about how we want to 'spend' our time.

We need to stop obsessing about the length of years and be more aware of the quality of the many moments.  The world would be a lot better off if we all concentrated on Being, rather than on being safe.

My thoughts and good wishes are in Boston, with the victims and families.