The Inside and Outside. (PART 1)

Some time ago, I posted on my blog an item I called “The Big and Small of it all.” In it, I examined the ideas of distance. The further from an object, or a feeling, or a belief, the more we regard it only on the simplest of terms. This is something that some called, “Looking at the big picture.”

But, the closer we came to an object, a feeling, a belief the more complicated and human it became. Close up, our convictions about things became more entangled, less trustworthy.

As an example, I used the issue of immigration, a big hot political potato right now and honestly, since our country was founded. How does one keep our borders safe from being overrun with illegals, sometimes undesirables, from other countries? Well, the big picture paints a series of simple, easy-to-follow answers: Build a great, big beautiful 30 foot wall. Or round up those without proper identification and simply bus them back to the other side of the border. Or perhaps line the Rio Grande River with razor wire. There, fixed it.

But then, closer up you see the build-a-big-wall would require billions, if not trillions of dollars to complete. And, if you look into history walls have a tendency to be foiled and eventually torn down. Razor wire in the river rips up bodies, young and old and animals with equal aplomb. And rounding up citizens, stuffing them into – oh – railcars dredges up images of Nazi Germany during WWII.

Well. Then. What is the answer? Easy. It’s not an easy answer. In fact, it’s complicated. It’s expensive. It’s a lot more than the big picture suggests. It’s next to impossible. It’s possible, but requires finesse. Something most politicians know nothing about.

So, now I have been considering the self, and how it relates to life we lead now on earth. As I realize my years here are greater behind that ahead, and that time – that precious commodity of the aged – gives one the ability to look at things with (I hope) greater insight than younger days. Therefore, I present the idea of the inside and the outside, or perhaps “The Thick and Thin of it all.” (Nah, sounds like a diet program). The idea of the self on the inside, and what we present on the outside.

Well, we all have a face, That we hide away forever, And we take them out and show ourselves, When everyone has gone… (Billy Joel)

 When a baby is born, he / she is blank slate. That’s not completely true. Already a baby born into the world is endowed with their parent’s DNA and combination of mom and dad. And by, familiar, grandma and gramps, and all those before. On our first day, we are pre-dispositioned for certain types of disease. In my case, both my mom and dad had heart issues. This resulted in two heart attacks for me thus far. As a result, my son exercises regularly, and lifts weights. God, bless him.

Are we pre-disposed for certain personality traits as well? Oh boy. That brings us into that age-old argument “Nature vs. Nurture.” We won’t dwell too much into this, other than to say that I believe in many cases, our children are positioned into having certain personality’s traits by way of their families, and that begins on day one.

Though there is scant scientific proof, all one needs to do is look into the musicians and their progenies in many cases. Hank Williams / Hank Williams Jr.  

Inside equals The Soul?

The inside of self is what I like to think of as the soul. The sticky stuff that institutes all we are, the important parts, anyway.

The inside is: Is this person forward, and outgoing? How they treat other people, regardless of differences. Do they believe in something bigger in the universe (God, or some other force that guides us)? Do they like animals? Are they quick to anger? Do they manage conflict well? Are they easily lead astray by others? Are they moved by small things? And a million other pieces that fit together to form our humanity.

I use the example of my compulsion to fix stuff. From what I understand, I am a third-generation “fixer.” My dad was a fixer. He was mostly into electronics; televisions, radios and record players. But, he also worked on cars, roofs, and boats. He built things; dog house, a-frame playhouse, tree house, basketball hoop. As a result, I became interested in electronics too. This neatly dovetailed into both my lives in computers and music production.

But, it’s music. Music is the thing that drives my inner person, more than anything else. Where this came from, I do not know. Neither my parents, nor known grandparents were musicians. It’s possible that drive came from other places outside. Whatever it came from, music is the center.