I am re-reading one of my favorite fiction books, Reamde by Neal Stephenson.
The book is slower than it was the first time. I saw only about 5% of it for the first time... But who I am and what I can see have changed subtly... I have two distinctions that I didn't have when I first read it. I'll share those two distinctions.
There are two characters in the book that manifest those two distinctions, Zula and Sokolov.
Honoring the timeless, what will never change... is one of the distinctions, and spending no, or only little time thinking of themselves.
Now, why these characters in a novel are worth reading is this: the normal person is not like them. They are someone to model after.
Without models, you and humanity are stuck in the ugliness we live in. If you can't see the ugliness, then please leave now... You are part of the ugliness. Continue reading "The timeless is invisible to you… your actions are for the immediate and cheap"