What Happened Next, Apparently


image by amira_a from flickr, via pixhere, cc by 2.0

What apparently happened was that among the eight humans who had seemingly gathered on the beach to watch the sunset, it was suddenly realized that there was no one. That nothing was real, or unreal. That there was only everything — everything apparently happening.

At first, nothing was said about this. There was just looking in awe at everything, that had always been there but never seen. This was not an awkward silence, as there was no one left to be awkward.

There was much smiling, but not by anyone, or towards anyone or anything in particular, since there was nothing particular to smile at.

No one remarked about how astonishing it was that everything could not have been seen before when it was now so obvious, because there was no one to remark about it, and never had been. Everything had seemingly changed, but it was actually quite ordinary, and nothing had actually changed at all. Just some illusions had disappeared.

The behaviour of the humans did not seem to change at all. As before, the eight humans did what they were conditioned to do, the only things they could have done given the circumstances of the moment, or so it appeared. A careful observer might have detected more (or fewer) far-away looks, less urgency, less anxiety, but the two couples still acted like couples, and the others still acted very much as they seemed to have before, even though there was no longer anyone purporting to inhabit these humans’ bodies.

There was no inclination to start a movement to tell people how awesome it was to see everything, and how tragic it was that, being people, they could never hope to see it. There was no need to do anything. It was just suddenly obvious, but not worth talking about, and besides, there was no one to talk about it, or talk about it with.

None of this happened for a reason. There was nothing special about these particular eight humans, or where they were, or what they were doing, or had been doing in past, when it was realized there was no one. It just happened, apparently. Nothing remarkable at all.

When nothing is real, anything is possible.

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3 Responses to What Happened Next, Apparently

  1. David Beckemeier says:

    Hey ‘Dave’,

    Want to thank ‘you’ for sharing ‘Jim Newman’, ‘I’ have really enjoyed ‘his’ talks. And ‘they’ have helped ‘me’ get clear about something. Yes,’I’ seem stuck in the prison of self, seems hopeless to get out. So making efforts to be mindful(‘I’ actually hate that term) are really to just walk in a better way as a self. To not be seemingly lost in the sometimes raging river of ‘my’ thoughts. And ‘I’ believe there is no ‘should’ about this, just more enjoyable.
    So yes, while everything may already be whole, ‘I’ recognize there is Quality. ‘I’ would say ‘anyone’ who says otherwise will verify ‘they’ know that is bullshit by placing ‘their’ hand on a red hot burner.

  2. Jonathan Williams says:

    Peace.
    I wish I could be different.
    No, that’s not true.
    Theory of evil?
    Las Vegas? Burma? Yemen? Chicago? Syria?
    My inner rage?
    Too much data noise.
    The most profound stupidity ever uttered: It is what it is.
    Anyhow, Thanks my friend.
    Peace.

  3. Jonathan Williams says:

    BTW, off-topic.
    I really appreciate that you have kept the title of this website unchanged through all your changes. (I’ve been lurking here for several years.)
    “How To Save the World” — could be a handbook by David the Annointed.

    I assume you are familiar with the Buddhist myth that when you Get It, experience is simply obvious, and that there is nothing to be saved or fixed or modified in the least. And as It–the Bodhisattva–“you” dream back into the world to playfully relieve the apparent suffering of “other” sentient beings.
    Anyway. Such I have read.

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