Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Comic Philosophy

In the sixties I was a voracious reader of comics, western’s, spy, love and cartoons – an escape from the teachers who tied to imprison my susceptible mind, and used to chastise me often. Sadly the genre is fast disappearing from the landscape of our youth today. Charlie Brown was Kool then, now in retrospect I realize that they were more than just uber cool comics or cartoons; apart from the sheer wit and wisdom, their content was remarkable for the insight and deep philosophy it contained. I never read any of my text books prescribed by the school.
In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.

People are always looking for answers. Religion used to be the most obvious place to go searching – and it still seems to be a fertile hunting ground for many people – although much of its allure has been replaced by the self-help section of the bookstore and ‘self improvement’ websites on the internet. We are hardwired to look for meaning ‘ it’s how we survive in a strange and potentially dangerous world.

If only we knew the answers, then we would be in control! But I think we all know there is no formula – the answers need to be constructed through life experience; they are not ‘out there’ to be discovered. Our desire to control the world is boundless, and our relentless search for answers, despite our never finding any, seems to be a clear symptom of this. In the end, we might find that we were asking the wrong questions, and that letting go – giving up the search – is the only way to find peace.- Charlie Brown-

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