From: sheila@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (sheila)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.poems
Subject: place, no place
Date: 16 Apr 92 18:41:08 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

it seems that i want to find no place. and it is hard to.
i think i will construct a letter to everyone that i can
think of to ask them about this because perhaps someone
can find an answer...although i doubt i will ever get a 
satifactory answer.

something from another conversation to me:
> > > Yeah, I remember it.  Seems like the new myth idea is a
> > > popular one in rap rignt now.

i saw some of these postings.
the one in which doug quarnstrom replied to sharon hopkins i found
very interesting, the one where they were talking about
"new myths".
i almost wanted to jump into the discussion even though
i havn't been following it close enough to feel that i have
much to add to it.
instead, i wrote a poem sorta letter that i sent to a friend.
the feelings were so big for me that i decided that
i wanted everyone to see because it was a big question for
me and maybe someone in the world would see it and be able
to answer it...about pain.

it is confusing to think about why we are alive. i see that
many peoples' goal is to remove pain from the world. in whatever
form...i mentioned natural disasters. the discussion in rap has
centered on many things: disillusionment, governments.

i think about this too, earlier i wanted to create a new government.
i even thought about creating a new religioun that would be good,
which would be hard for me because i have a tendency to think that
all religion is bad -- that is the fun of it though.
books like 
"the moon is a harsh mistress" heinlen
"the dispossessed" ursula k leguin
"walden two" b f skinner
a book i read in juniour high school by james p hogan --
"voyage from yesteryear"

and any book or story that had anythign to do with people
trying to create an ideal society -- especially science
fiction authors have always fasignated me. also the dystopian books and stories.

anyway, i think, "what if we were successful?"
and then i think, what sort of evolutionary purpose does pain serve
in society, and also in individuals?
if we remove pain then will we have an even bigger problem adapting?
so i think, and then i think:
"perhaps we need to be brilliant enough to be able to find another
catylyst besides pain"
what?
well, something that is something to go towards?
i do not know. it is our genetic makeup --
we are designed to spread our genes and to survive. so we fight
towards things.
perhaps if there is a next evolutionary step for us it will
be the ability to adapt without needing a catalyst like
natural disasters and pain.
see, think about it:
all through existance, random acts of pain -- natural disasters,
and we have evolved to use these. they make us stronger.
how do we become stronger without pain?
am i stating the question right?
perhaps someone has already thought through this before me and will 
have some directions on how to figure this out.

i have this almost crippling desire to design a better
world, a better government, better people -- but i think
about it and it all seems to be folly to me.
-- 
stark raving sane!   sheila@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu