Brad Moore At War

Aaaaand we’re back. And when I say “we”, I mean myself as the blogger and you(rself) as the reader of aforementioned blog. We have a vital relationship, you and I. And here we are… relating like lions and grass in the Great Circle of Life. Kinda makes you feel you like slaughtering some hyenas while Elton John sings adult contemporary music on the radio. What?

20/20 hindsight is something that is always counterbalanced by what Immanuel Kant called “dynamical community” in his principle of simultaneity. Now we just call it the “Butterfly Effect” because butterflies sound way more happy/fun and less like modern continental philosophy. Anyway, the idea is that either everything is connected or that nothing is connected. No halfway viewpoint between those two can make any coherent sense… and by the way: EVERYTHING is connected. This means that EVERYTHING matters, and that EVERYTHING effects everything else. That’s why we call it a “universe”.

Where I’m going with this is that it also means you can never ask “what if”. “What if” can never be a coherent question because you can’t change just one thing about the universe without also changing everything about the universe. Of course anyone is free to guess “what if” in casual conversation… but it’s impossible for that thought to amount to anything more than a whimsical daydream. Nobody can ever say what might have been or what still might be. An infinite number of stories are possible. Only one story is actual. Potentiality means nothing; actuality means everything. Does that make any sense?

The reason I’m waxing all philosophical is that I’m about to drop a bomb on you right here and now: I’m glad I didn’t end up going home for Christmas. That’s one side. The other side is that I’m sure I would have been glad about going home for Christmas if it all actually worked out like I had planned. And there, my dear friends and enemies, is where the proverbial rubber meets the even-more-proverbial road. (Umm… I’m actually not sure how the rubber is less proverbial. Please imagine me making a witty comment about potentiality and most-proverbial forks right about now.)

What I can tell you is that I’ve had the once-in-a-lifetime privilege to spend some amazing times with some amazing people. The last few weeks have seemed to last for ages… and I mean that all in absolutely the best way possible. None of it would have happened like that without the perfect storm of money, timing, airlines, and a literal perfect storm hitting Fiji within just a 24 hour window where I would get a full refund for my flight and yet not be able to book another one.

It all comes down to the fact that I don’t know how the last few weeks might have gone in the world of “what if” – but my real life has been unforgettable. So much so that I can’t even think of any moment in 2013 that has seemed completely real to me yet. It’s always a good sign when the life you wake up to is cooler than your dreams, you know?

I have a LOT of pictures to get up on here, but here’s some from the end of Ano Domini 2012: