Is there more to life than first it seems, more than merely the material? The concept of making connections matter, and this site, has to do with the simple question we often ask – ‘what’s it all about?’ Questioning the nature of existence, the nature of being, sums up the human condition on planet earth.
The meaning of life…that we are here at all is amazing! How did we come to be? What is spirit? That we may be so profoundly affected by our environment, shaped through childhood. How do we make sense of this world through art?
That we may be lucky enough to move through space and time that we can flex and dance, breathe and be, is nothing short of sublime.
This site plays with the implications of huge numbers. It explains how M©M, is a huge number by measuring it against the scale of other things we know. This scale compares numbers which in some sense define not only ourselves, but also our universe. Far greater than even these numbers of course is the infinite, which embraces our very existence.
The infinite, by making connections matter, can become finite at the point of creation, as spirit becomes real – spirit becoming matter through entering the conscious world – made manifest.
For me, perhaps the most important thing in life is the creative drive of life itself. This is the energy which, as well as love, eros, sex and procreation, is art in the widest sense, including music, dance, poetry – bringing ideas to life.
The process of interpreting our experience is also what making connections matter is about. The event, the experience of the person (the spirit if you like), becomes matter by becoming the links between neurons in the brain. Brain cells form pathways which interconnect. In long-term memory the connections which are made become fixed, perhaps for a lifetime. These are often associated with a particular thought or feeling – the moment, the accompanying sensations, sight, sound, touch, taste or smell, all retrievable on remembering.
making connections matter is also about, what might be called, the reverse of memory – inspiration – ideas arising from the spirit, sparking connections in the brain cells. Ideas which become real by drawing perhaps on multiple experiences, and through new associations, new links in the brain, becoming matter – being created.
All of the possible connections in our brains are but a tiny drop in the universe, much smaller even than M©M.
And we know our ability to grasp the infinite is flawed – we may even ‘blow our minds’ trying to comprehend it all. Perhaps we sometimes see glimpses of what is truly real, which is far greater than our day-to-day experience might have us believe. But sometimes even the simplest, plainest routine experiences, such as doing the washing-up, enable us to connect with something of the eternal.
Is there spirit over and beyond our experience in the world of big numbers, spirit within the infinite? Some would say (not least aboriginal tribes) that there are spirit guides which care for us, that there are real connections with the spirits of deceased relatives supporting us.
If what we know – our experience on this planet – is truly unique, then how magnificent, how awe inspiring – simply being present, being alive in every moment. It is making that connection with the eternal that really matters.
Take a look at some of the images (see ‘Images’ on the contents page) …for example The Blue Cedar, which is about the destruction of a beautiful grove of magnificent mature cedars in Dunorlan Park, Tunbridge Wells over the summer of 2003. Over a hundred of local residents signed a petition in a few days to try to prevent this destruction, unfortunately without success. But here again we were making connections matter, the shared concern connecting us.
If you would like to share your own theories of existence …send in your thoughts, your message tosteve@makingconnectionsmatter.org
(Edited messages will be posted on the site (under ‘Your messages…’).