{"id":182,"date":"2023-06-13T00:34:55","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T04:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/?p=182"},"modified":"2023-11-13T10:19:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T15:19:10","slug":"ep-1-radical-acts-of-quietude-solo-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/?p=182","title":{"rendered":"Ep. 1: Radical Acts of Quietude (solo show)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Available on\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/ca\/podcast\/the-hopscotch-chronicles\/id1693298668?i=1000617618890\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/4HCEgacZZIFVvRAJTmD9GA?si=u0WGTlHfSz2hfQqxS03q7g\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/49F5Gxn4Vvw\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube<\/a> and your favourite podcast application. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Radical Acts of Quietude - The Hopscotch Chronicles :: Ep.1\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/49F5Gxn4Vvw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TRANSCRIPT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ever heard of Nigel Saunders? Let me guess that you haven\u2019t.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, the guy runs a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TheBonsaiZone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Youtube channel<\/a>&nbsp;about making bonsai trees, a niche subject if there ever was one. Many times a week, the scruffy haired giant posts videos of himself working on his trees while wording out his thought process on his quest for miniaturization. Every branch he cuts, he tells you why. He\u2019ll tell you when he\u2019s hesitant, too. \u201cIf I cut this branch, that other one will get more sunlight but maybe it grows too vertically. So maybe that\u2019s the one I should cut. Hard decision!\u201d is the kind of thing you might hear him say. Personally, I relate to his content because some years ago, I did try my hand at bonsai making. Although I\u2019m pretty much done with arboreal serial murdering (!), I still religiously watch the man often called the Bob Ross of tree dwarfing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, this post isn\u2019t about bonsai making per se. In fact, I\u2019ve been triggered to write it because,\u00a0as you might already know, I recently\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Domi_Vallee\" target=\"_blank\">created a Twitter account<\/a>. As I\u2019m not entirely new to the platform (I did occasionally visit some years ago), I wasn\u2019t really surprised by the tone and feel of the place. Plus, as unhinged as this platform can be, it is where a lot of the cool kids exchange and debate ideas, but this time, something immediately jumped to my face. As always, maybe now more than ever in fact, so-called rebels and counter-culture figures wage a war of words, which is, when stepping back, the normal way of doing things. Whether they realize it or not, most thought leaders are essentially behaving as perfect apostles of\u00a0<em>thinkism<\/em>, that is, people who actively enact the belief that thinking, and maybe thinking only, is salutary to mankind. That said, I\u2019m reminded of the cool kids of teenage years, the supposed outsiders who saw their binge drinking as rebellious acts\u2026even if the most conformist, clean cut jocks partied just as hard. Different package and vibe, but same action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To this day I believe that, maybe sadly, the truest of true rebels have often been the most silent. The solitary, the recluse, those&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Ones_Who_Walk_Away_from_Omelas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">who walk away from Omelas<\/a>. The one\u2019s who walk the line that can\u2019t be talked. They probably wouldn\u2019t think of themselves as rebels either. It\u2019s generally the ones who just do their thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what does Nigel Saunders and bonsai making have to do with the twittersphere? Or, what does social media share with anything requiring focus, connectedness? On the surface, basically nothing. What is way more striking is that the commonly observed differences in their usage can be summarized using one word:&nbsp;<em>apprehension<\/em>, as in, \u201cthe grasp\u201d. More precisely, the grasp of time, or rather, of \u201ctimeness\u201d. Temporally speaking, tweets are rooted (no pun intended) in an immeasurable, ADHD inducing, torrent of ephemeral thoughts and events. \u201cCentered actions\u201d, be it pottery, cooking, origami, meditation, yoga, and of course bonsai making, are exclusive acts. The focus they require pushes away most of our shared reality, thus \u2015&nbsp;<em>forcibly and artificially<\/em>&nbsp;\u2015 keeping the intellect from wandering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Woah! Now at this point, maybe you\u2019re a bit confused. Usually, in this kind of essay, people glorify an idea over the other, generally advocating for the most \u201ccalm\u201d of the two. I mean, I got the beard and the \u201cmystic\u201d label after all. I&nbsp;<em>should<\/em>&nbsp;be pushing the belief that anything considered meditative is in essence superior to social media ramblings, right? Allow me to go all zen-like on your ass:&nbsp;<em>is lightning ultimately superior to the breeze<\/em>? I mean, really think\/feel about it\u2026 archetypally, animistically even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two spirits, two colours. Fast flow, slow flow. In time, around time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still remains the very title of this essay, namely&nbsp;<em>Radical Acts of Quietude<\/em>. It does implicitly relate the idea of mindful, calm actions to at least a form of rebellion. All right, let\u2019s get into it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally speaking, rebels aim to change things. They (re)act counter-culturally. They fight for the wind to turn, for the mutation of the status quo rather than its eradication. Depending on where the dominant pole is, they go for either conservatism or progressivism, for more chaos or more order. And also generally \u2015 if their quarrels didn\u2019t drive them madly paranoid \u2015 they get soft and comfortable when things end up going their way. This might in fact explain this weird tendency for the noisiest protestors to eventually end up in expensive suits, asphyxiated by a heavy mortgage, a move often attributed to so-called maturity. That said, are rebels truly fighting for change, for an absolute revolution? Or rather to muzzle and shut down the enemy, whether this foe is a person, an organization or, most likely, an idea? At the end of this type of war, nothing has changed. Opposition and alliances breed enmity, and the snake keeps biting its own tail. Real change maybe, but no&nbsp;<em>true<\/em>&nbsp;change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026 and Twitter grows, as do bonsai trees. Databases overflow with the sap of our schizophrenia, and&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Penjing\" target=\"_blank\">penjings<\/a>&nbsp;don\u2019t give a tweet\u2019s ass. So what would a&nbsp;<em>true<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>total<\/em>revolution look like? How can rebels selflessly rebel,&nbsp;<em>without<\/em>&nbsp;keeping humanity spiralling endlessly in the wallows of duality, of binarity? Wouldn\u2019t stepping out of this mechanicalness represent actual progress? It is, after all, something we haven\u2019t yet experienced as a species:&nbsp;<em>mass jungian individuation<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But let\u2019s get back to my explanation of the title, and try to frame it in the simplest way. To understand what that quiet rebellion is all about, we have to define the term \u201crevolution\u201d. Quite simply \u2015 or I\u2019ll admit, a bit simplistically \u2015 it means transformation towards something new. It implies also change that is profound, fundamental even. And so, what change could be so deep for humanity as a subtraction from dualism, and therefore, from&nbsp;<em>timeness<\/em>? Note that I didn\u2019t say \u201cduality\u201d, nor am I speaking of \u201cpeace on Earth\u201d. What could be as radical as being free from our maniacal obsession for control? Of our hatred of death?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me put it this way: at this point, the greatest act of rebellion one can undertake is to step into timelessness, not because it\u2019s the \u201cright\u201d thing to do, but because it\u2019s the&nbsp;<em>new<\/em>&nbsp;thing to do. Pushing this even further, not \u201cnew\u201d because it hasn\u2019t been attempted before, but rather, because by stepping into timelessness, one also enters&nbsp;<em>newness<\/em>. You know\u2026 that old expression \u201cbeginner\u2019s mind\u201d. This is what we haven\u2019t&nbsp;<em>collectively<\/em>&nbsp;experienced. Damn\u2026 it feels like we haven\u2019t even tried!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so if my theory that&nbsp;<em>true<\/em>&nbsp;rebels don\u2019t adhere to and much less promote any form of ideologies, why should they embrace a particular practice or behaviour like spending quiet moments of focussed attention? Are all bonsai enthusiasts non-dualist radicals? Of course not, but some activities absolutely require becoming oblivious to the passing of time, even for short periods. Maybe you\u2019re thinking of dozens of activities demanding this quality of attention\u2026 and you\u2019d be absolutely right. True presence isn\u2019t split into specific categories of occupations: believe it or not, even scrolling through Twitter can be done in this expanded state of awareness! I mean\u2026 maybe it\u2019s Jedi master level stuff though. Still, often do people experience timelessness in quietude, especially on first occasions, and as our lives and thoughts and feelings spin faster and faster, those moments become exceptionally rare. Thus, to calmly subside in eternity is one of the most radical and revolutionary act one can make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ok but then, why using the example of bonsai making?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bunch of reasons. Firstly, I tend to talk about things I\u2019ve experienced. I could\u2019ve used occupations I\u2019ve never done like woodworking or building ships inside bottles, but the metaphors would have been much weaker. I did indeed spend countless hours sorting out root systems and defoliating maples. More specifically though, I used bonsai making because it doesn\u2019t only require to step out of time \u201clocally\u201d while doing the activity. It also has to be done&nbsp;<em>ultimately<\/em>, in a very paradoxical way: the bonsai artist has to develop a very long term vision for the tree, so long in fact that he or she might not be alive when the plans come to term. In fact, one tree can outlive tens of custodians this way, as some trees reach ages of many hundred years. They have to lay every decision and every cut on the structure of space\/time, while simultaneously completely let go of what will happen with the tree when they reach the end of their own road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I was writing the words \u201cmass jungian individuation\u201d, I heard critics accuse me of utopianism. Do you see now how it\u2019s not the case? Just like a bonsai artist working on a young tree, there\u2019s no way for us to know how humanity would strive in an individuated civilization. Therefore, there is no utopia to strive for, no criteria\u2026 only Nature to follow. A formless ideal, ever-changing in qualities, with an intangible core thats truer than true. And so the consequentially rebellious adept awakens not to find solutions or strategies for improvement, but to find out what has always been there, hidden in the egoic machine. And just like every single branch of a bonsai contributes to the tree\u2019s health, harmony and longevity, all of our individual developments shapes humanity, hopefully, towards the blooming of our divinity. Each grows selflessly, for posterity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ok moving on from this\u2026 grandiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, why this guy Nigel? I mean\u2026 I just like him! I like how he just\u00a0<em>does<\/em>\u00a0things. He\u2019s both serious and playful, not overly dramatic. Despite his decades of experience, he\u2019s always starting anew with each tree, experimenting, learning. Watching him is also taking a break from all the fighting, the politics, the tricks and lies, the only reminder of looming tragedies in his videos being the occasional police siren in the background to which he\u2019ll lightly comment \u201chere\u2019s the zombie apocalypse\u201d. Other than that, just the trees and the moment. The radical acts of quietude. Like I said, serious and playful: marks of a\u00a0<em>true<\/em> rebel, in my book. You can visit his YouTube channel by clicking\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TheBonsaiZone\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All this makes me wonder\u2026 how does Twitter look from a timeless standpoint?<br>Where and how does it stand against eternity?<br>What is the ontology of a tweet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are, after all, ideas kept small, like bonsais are. I guess. Kind of?&nbsp;<br>That said, I very much doubt there could ever be such a thing as an 800 year old tweet. They\u2026 tend not to age very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meh\u2026 words and trees\u2026&nbsp;<br>The lightning,&nbsp;<br>the soft warm breeze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Available on\u00a0Apple Podcasts,\u00a0Spotify,\u00a0YouTube and your favourite podcast application. TRANSCRIPT Ever heard of Nigel Saunders? Let me guess that you haven\u2019t.\u00a0 I mean, the guy runs a&nbsp;Youtube channel&nbsp;about making bonsai trees, a niche subject if there ever was one. Many times a week, the scruffy haired giant posts videos of himself working on his trees while [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hopscotch-chronicles-episode","category-solo-show"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=182"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/hopscotchchronicles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}