BEWARE THE AUTHOR PHILOSOPHERS
(Though you can learn other things from authors like how to stay sane while doing a really weird job…)
The primary purpose of entertainment is to entertain, but sometimes, especially in science fiction and fantasy, an author can’t resist waxing philosophically.
It’s a dangerous condition filled with aphorisms and sagely nodding heads.
Fortunately, there’s only one science-fiction author who has worked their way into a full-blown religion: L. Ron Hubbard with his Scientology, so we all know how good of an idea THAT is.
But even those authors who know they’re writing fiction can’t resist the perfect saying to be excerpted and printed on Etsy in a beautiful decorative frame.
ADVICE I ONCE LOVED
Here is some of the advice I have taken from various famous fictional accounts of life that have not stood the test of time.
First, a caveat: I love these properties. They are great works of art and deeply meaningful to me. Why else would I take the words of their creators as gospel? My ringtone is still R2-D2. This is not me trying to tear down another’s work, just trying to take it the slightest bit less seriously.
DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY FROM STAR WARS.
In this secular world, Stars Wars is already a myth and the Jedi are almost a religion. As a philosophy for living, it leaves a little something to be desired. Watching Yoda train Luke is one of the most amazing moments of cinema. But his advice at that moment? Do or do not; there is no try.
What perfectionistic gobbledygook!
All there is is try!
This is a probabilistic universe! Anything we attempt has only a probability of success. We have to do it a bunch of times to increase that probability. That’s a fancy way of saying we have to try things over and over again and mostly fail at them.
If you are not mostly failing, you probably aren’t trying that much and aren’t very far out of your comfort zone.
Nobody can just do or do not unless it’s something they’ve done 1000 times. You do or do not brush your teeth. You cannot do or do not anything that matters; all you can do is try.
FORGET REGRETS OR LIFE IS YOURS TO MISS FROM RENT.
This isn’t speculative fiction, but for me personally, this was probably the second most important piece of advice I ever took that is deeply, deeply wrong.
The characters are coping with AIDS, which in the 90s usually meant a decreased life expectancy in the best-case scenario.
It’s a deeply moving song, but the longer I’ve lived and screwed things up, the less sense these words have made.
Sometimes, there is an experience so bad that the only thing you’re left with is regret.
All you can say at the end of it is that, hopefully, you won’t do that knuckleheaded thing again. There is absolutely no other upside.
Staying in dead relationships, taking the wrong job over and over again, letting people treat you poorly, and trusting healthcare workers who are incompetent or downright malicious. All of these are examples of what happens when you beat yourself up for regretting things.
FEAR IS THE MINDKILLER FROM DUNE
The litany against fear was created by Dune author Frank Herbert for a religious/secret society/warrior concubines in his epic Dune series. (It was the 70s.) It is an awesome and amazing book, and this litany against fear has become a real-life mantra for many people. And it can be really amazing to try and control your fear and do things anyway.
The problem, and this is true in the book itself as well as in real life, is that some of those situations are actually life-threatening and obeying your fear is the best thing you can do. One of my favorite non-fiction books by Gavin De Becker is the Gift of Fear.
Fear is adaptive.
Acting out of fear can save your life. If you successfully squash your instincts like this, you can get into really dangerous situations and then stay because fear is the mind-killer, when sometimes what you fear is an actual killer.
BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO FROM THE MATRIX
This was another very inspiring moment that does not bear up in the face of catastrophe. Anyone with a chronic illness or disability can tell you there is a lot about life you cannot choose, and it just doesn’t help to pretend you can.
In fact, it can get really ugly when you think you have to choose what you are experiencing (instead of getting angry or resentful or grieving). Then you’re trying to change your attitude while coping with disaster while trying to convince yourself you somehow chose this.
Like all of these, there is a time and a place. There was a time when I was absolutely debilitated and making a small choice felt really good.
But it can so easily turn into blaming yourself.
OUR BEAUTIFUL ASPIRATIONAL CULTURE
All of these in some way or another reflect our need to wish for things. We strive to do better, most of us, most of the time. And that is an amazing thing and has been responsible for a lot of our accomplishments.
But there is a shadow to that: if you only attempt the things you know you can do, you won’t attempt very much. If you don’t regret the mistakes you make, you might be more likely to make them again. If you don’t fear things, you’ll take poor risks. If you don’t acknowledge that not everything in life is a choice, you can be absolutely cruel when you’re dealt a bad hand.
So here’s to our strange mix of art, entertainment, philosophy, religion, and folk wisdom.
May we always find what we were looking for in the pages of a good book. And at the right moment, may we remember it’s only a book.