Musings Report #33 8-17-13 What's the Point?
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What's the Point?
One eternal theme of literature and film is the awakening of insight into what is truly important: the success and status the protagonist sought is revealed as superficial and meaningless while all that was taken for granted is revealed as profoundly meaningful.
One of my favorite depictions of this process of discovery is Satyajit Ray's film The World of Apu, the closing chapter in the justly renowned Apu trilogy.
The protagonist Apu wants to be a novelist (modern-day equivalents include filmmaker, composer, rock star) and so he focuses his attention and energy on writing the book that will fulfill his dream of recognition and success. In his day-to-day life, he and his bride rise above their poverty to find a domestic bliss that is the backdrop for his quest for literary glory. Alas, his young wife dies in childbirth, and all that he took for granted evaporates: emotionally devastated to the point of imbalance, Apu abandons his infant and takes his manuscript to a hilltop, where he scatters the pages to the wind. He has lost everything of true value and his pursuit of recognition and success is revealed as meaningless. Eventually he rights himself and returns to take care of his child.
There are many other fictional examples of this awakening.
This boils down to a simple question of every goal, plan and project: What's the point?
If the goal is to make more money, what's the point of that additional money? What will it actually accomplish or improve in our lives? If the goal is more success, what's the point of that recognition? To satisfy an inner yearning for external acknowledgement of our value? the world is replete with successful people who never achieve the sense of being valued because external recognition does not teach us how to value ourselves.
If the goal is to "take a stand" or "make a point," what's the point of making a point? To prove the superiority of our argument or values? To win recognition of our ethical superiority?
Asking "what's the point?" and attempting an honest, self-knowledgeable answer helps us cut through the often unspoken assumptions that more money, fame, recognition, academic standing, status symbols, toys, accomplishment, etc. will yield more meaning and fulfillment. Literature and film are replete with stories of people who find ashes and emptiness at the end of this rainbow because this is a universal human experience.
It may be the loss of loved ones, or a crushing loss of wealth and power, or the diagnosis of terminal illness, but something triggers the recognition that all the things we assumed were so important are hollow and meaningless once the foundations of our day-to-day treasures have eroded.
Another example of this awakening and one man's response to his mortality is Ikira Kurosawa's Ikiru.
Coming to terms with his terminal disease, the protagonist seeks to complete one meaningful task before he dies: getting city approval to build a children's playground. As the mindless bureaucracy grinds away his remaining life, the protagonist struggles to get the playground completed before he passes away.
What is that meaningful project for each of us? What is the day-to-day meaningfulness that we take for granted while we focus on success?
The yearning for success and recognition is inborn, of course; that drive is key to our success in mating and advancement within the constantly shifting social order. It is not the desire for success which is suspect so much as the goals we devote our lives to pursuing.
Each of us has a different answer to "what's the point?" depending on which decade of life we're living and our particular circumstances, misfortunes, opportunities and character. For me, I wonder what's the point of the blog and the project of actually making money from writing. We all need enough money to subsist, of course, but beyond that, what's the point? What will that extra money buy? Is what it will buy really the key to fulfillment?
In times when the overlapping duties and responsibilities of small business ownership require 80+-hour work weeks, I inevitably ponder freeing myself of the blog and all its subsidiary responsibilities. So far, my response to "what's the point?" is that I find meaning in trying to be a small part of the solutions to the epochal crises we collectively face. But a day rarely goes by without me asking "what's the point?" and wondering if my efforts to keep the whole project afloat is distracting me from the day-to-day meaning and value of my life.
Market Musings
The air pocket in the stock market last week has triggered a chorus of calls "this is the top" or "we're in the topping process."
The market will respond to this massive recognition that the top is in by rallying, of course, but perhaps not to a new high. Everyone with Technical Analysis 101 under their belts sees a head and shoulders pattern in the SPX.
A number of indicators suggest a near-term bottom is being set: ADX, CCI, stochastics, $NYMO (McClellan Oscillator), etc. But is another new high ahead? Many TA types are calling for 1780 as the "real top." (The recent high was 1709.) That could occur, or the market could fill the gap at SPX 1685 and reverse to the weekly lower Bollinger band around 1,545.
A glance at this chart of the Fed balance sheet (i.e. how much money the Fed has printed and pumped into stocks, bonds and mortgages) shows why participants are panicking at the prospect that the Fed money spigot will tighten. I have already made the political case for tightening, and the market's swoon may be suggesting the "smart money" sees the writing on the wall and is exiting now to book the year's extraordinary profits.
No doubt short-covering rallies will occur, and perhaps even head-fake to a double top. But the fundamental driver of higher stock prices has long been the Fed, and the anticipation of tapering will cause the dance floor to empty--either slowly or in a rush.
The best thing that happened to me this week
When we're working ridiculous hours and are drained by day's end, it's a joy to escape into a favorite film. This week I watched two of my favorite movies, The Double Life of Veronique by Krzysztof Kieslowski and Red Beard by Akira Kurosawa. Each film manages to entrance without being treacly or predictable.
From Left Field
A Chance to Own a Home for $1 in a City on the Ropes (Gary, Indiana) (via Joel M.) Chance for urban pioneers with little to lose? If the city nurtured micro-businesses, they might succeed : you need an income to live in your $1 house....
China's Millennials: Young, Gifted, and Chinese (via Maoxian) "Facing the future of housing, marriage, and job, why do our hearts beat not with expectations but fear?"
The problem with Swedish integration (via Steve K.) "While the world was not paying attention, the Swedish model had started to go downhill. Inequality here is growing fastest in Europe. The fact that rich and poor live separately is the case in all European cities. But Stockholm also consists of islands and vast green areas between the districts, nature that almost automatically turns wealthy districts into gated communities. The Nockeby district is full of perfectly maintained villas with alarm systems. Near Rinkeby subway station on the other hand, men are sitting on benches between the apartment blocks, doing nothing. There is a Turkish coffee house and a Somali bazaar, but not even a cash machine"
Advice from Elon Musk: How to Be a Giant Killer (2 min. video) (via Jeff C.) Find an industry that's stagnant and dependent on government subsidies....
Foreseeing Trouble in Exporting Natural Gas (via Joel M.) "He is spearheading a public campaign against increased exports of natural gas, which he sees as a threat to a manufacturing renaissance in the United States."
Hmm: insightful decision or major regret in the making? Why I Left Google: Thoughts on trading in pride and security for authenticity. "When I reflected more, I realized that external recognition had unfortunately become a primary motivator for me. Some days I’m so paralyzed with fear about everything I can hardly do anything, but the other truth is a really important and big one: for the first time in my life, my identity is not 100% tied to my accomplishments, I care less about what people think of me and I spend more time on work that feels right."
"If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." Woody Allen
Thanks for reading--
charles
