The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to GOD.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from GOD and nearer to the Dust.—T.S. Eliot
When you stop reading, you stop writing. When you stop writing, you stop thinking. When you stop thinking, you stop feeling. When you stop feeling, you stop believing. When you stop believing, you stop building. When you stop building, you stop bettering. When you stop bettering, you stop caring. When you stop caring, you stop living. When you stop living, you start scrolling. When you start scrolling, you start laying around. When you start laying around, you start zoning out. When you start zoning out, you start numbing down. When you start numbing down, you start giving up. When you start giving up, you start blending in. When you start blending in, you start fading out. When you start fading out, you start disappearing. And when you finally disappear, there’s really nothing left to say.
Per my about page, White Noise is a work of experimentation. I view it as a sort of thinking aloud, a stress testing of my nascent ideas. Through it, I hope to sharpen my opinions against the whetstone of other people’s feedback, commentary, and input.
If you want to discuss any of the ideas or musings mentioned above or have any books, papers, or links that you think would be interesting to share on a future edition of White Noise, please reach out to me by replying to this email or following me on Twitter X.
With sincere gratitude,
Tom
Powerful, thought provoking and impossible to ignore. Great post.