Comedian, writer and former mayor of Reykjavík JÓN GNARR, writes a weekly column for the weekend issue of Fréttablaðið, Iceland's most read newspaper and we publish an English version here at Iceland Insider.
I have all my life been trying to understand this life. I have spent a lot of time on it. I have read books, watched documentaries, talked to other people and, of course, tried different things.
I have thought about things like God, coincidences, spiritual worlds, purpose, and the laws and rhythm of the universe. I have thought about philosophy and ethics. What is justice? I have mulled over art and creation, love and the power and force of positive thinking. What is death? I have puzzled over evil and selfishness, and why some people are good and giving while others seem to want to take everything they can get and not give anything back.
I have studied and played with personality and the self. Who am I? Is there something that can be called “I”, or is the individual “I” perhaps composed of many different selves working together? Is there such a thing as the human spirit? What differentiates us, if anything, from other animals and beings on Earth? Do sheep have a soul? Do dogs have a sense of humor, or can cats feel ashamed? And why has it anything to do with knowledge? Is knowing the difference between right and wrong an innate quality, or just a learnt subject? What is time? Is eternity endless time, or a condition without time? What is intuition, and do women generally have more of it than men? What is freedom and what is responsibility, and what is the connection between the two?
Many Things Are the Opposite of What We Think
I have realized that there are natural laws at work in the world. The Earth has gravity, and to each and every action there is always a reaction. There are rather simple and clear laws of physics at work founding the reality that we perceive. I also know that it is not necessarily the whole reality.
I know there are things around us which we don’t perceive. We don’t see all colors and we don’t hear all sounds. And there are other dimensions we don’t perceive at all or only in a limited way. Is time, for example, an independent dimension? I have realized that many things are quite the opposite of what we think. I sometimes get eczema. I have sensitive skin like many red-haired and blue-eyed people. You might assume that this is because the immune system is damaged or not quite active enough. But it is quite the opposite. Basically, my immune system is hyperactive. It is doing such a good job that it causes me discomfort. And is this, perhaps, the situation in many other cases?
Indisposition Is a State of Mind
But there are also a bit more complicated and common laws. These are laws that are often expressed in sayings and we keep in our minds, and they deal with our way of life and culture. They are not universal, but almost. If you eat too much and move too little, you get fat. Most things that are good and make you feel well have less value than all the things that are not good and make you feel bad. It is, for example, better to toil in the gym than to lie on the couch.
Indisposition is a state of mind. Those who row out to sea catch fish. Those who don’t row out to sea don’t catch any fish and, therefore, they don’t get anything to eat. And success requires effort and hard work. Luck is greatly overrated. And counter to what we generally think, mistakes are not bad but a natural part of success and creative work.
Discoveries and masterpieces are more often than not something based on a misunderstanding. And this also applies to interactions. What you give away probably comes back in some way. Imperfection is a natural part of the perfection of life, and our destiny seems in so many ways to be determined by chance. This is not, however, universal. Everything is relative and embodies its opposite. Abnormal behavior is often just a normal reaction to abnormal situations.
Essentially, life seems to be chaos. The Earth rotates around itself at a speed of 1,765 km per hour and it revolves at a speed of 100,000 km around the sun, in a solar system that revolves around the Milky Way at 800,000 km per hour. And this is happening in a universe that is expanding at a terrifying speed and was probably created in an explosion. This is probably the most interesting news this week. Thank you for reading this, and I wish you and your people a good journey.
Comedian, writer and former mayor of Reykjavík JÓN GNARR, writes a weekly column for the weekend issue of Fréttablaðið, Iceland's most read newspaper and we publish an English version here at Iceland Insider.
I have all my life been trying to understand this life. I have spent a lot of time on it. I have read books, watched documentaries, talked to other people and, of course, tried different things.
I have thought about things like God, coincidences, spiritual worlds, purpose, and the laws and rhythm of the universe. I have thought about philosophy and ethics. What is justice? I have mulled over art and creation, love and the power and force of positive thinking. What is death? I have puzzled over evil and selfishness, and why some people are good and giving while others seem to want to take everything they can get and not give anything back.
I have studied and played with personality and the self. Who am I? Is there something that can be called “I”, or is the individual “I” perhaps composed of many different selves working together? Is there such a thing as the human spirit? What differentiates us, if anything, from other animals and beings on Earth? Do sheep have a soul? Do dogs have a sense of humor, or can cats feel ashamed? And why has it anything to do with knowledge? Is knowing the difference between right and wrong an innate quality, or just a learnt subject? What is time? Is eternity endless time, or a condition without time? What is intuition, and do women generally have more of it than men? What is freedom and what is responsibility, and what is the connection between the two?
Many Things Are the Opposite of What We Think
I have realized that there are natural laws at work in the world. The Earth has gravity, and to each and every action there is always a reaction. There are rather simple and clear laws of physics at work founding the reality that we perceive. I also know that it is not necessarily the whole reality.
I know there are things around us which we don’t perceive. We don’t see all colors and we don’t hear all sounds. And there are other dimensions we don’t perceive at all or only in a limited way. Is time, for example, an independent dimension? I have realized that many things are quite the opposite of what we think. I sometimes get eczema. I have sensitive skin like many red-haired and blue-eyed people. You might assume that this is because the immune system is damaged or not quite active enough. But it is quite the opposite. Basically, my immune system is hyperactive. It is doing such a good job that it causes me discomfort. And is this, perhaps, the situation in many other cases?
Indisposition Is a State of Mind
But there are also a bit more complicated and common laws. These are laws that are often expressed in sayings and we keep in our minds, and they deal with our way of life and culture. They are not universal, but almost. If you eat too much and move too little, you get fat. Most things that are good and make you feel well have less value than all the things that are not good and make you feel bad. It is, for example, better to toil in the gym than to lie on the couch.
Indisposition is a state of mind. Those who row out to sea catch fish. Those who don’t row out to sea don’t catch any fish and, therefore, they don’t get anything to eat. And success requires effort and hard work. Luck is greatly overrated. And counter to what we generally think, mistakes are not bad but a natural part of success and creative work.
Discoveries and masterpieces are more often than not something based on a misunderstanding. And this also applies to interactions. What you give away probably comes back in some way. Imperfection is a natural part of the perfection of life, and our destiny seems in so many ways to be determined by chance. This is not, however, universal. Everything is relative and embodies its opposite. Abnormal behavior is often just a normal reaction to abnormal situations.
Essentially, life seems to be chaos. The Earth rotates around itself at a speed of 1,765 km per hour and it revolves at a speed of 100,000 km around the sun, in a solar system that revolves around the Milky Way at 800,000 km per hour. And this is happening in a universe that is expanding at a terrifying speed and was probably created in an explosion. This is probably the most interesting news this week. Thank you for reading this, and I wish you and your people a good journey.
