Blogging Volumes

I almost certainly now have more books than I have life remaining to read them in. My laptop looks back at me beneath a shelf of books; to my right, three full shelves, labelled, from top to bottom, 'Activism', 'Plays' and 'Writing' struggle under the weight of more books; behind me, two more, taller sets of shelves carry my science, sci-fi, philosophy, history, biography, and some random books. On top of my wardrobe sits a large, stuffed tub of books I've read already. And then there's all the books downstairs. I've annexed most walls of my family's dining room for my volumes on politics, all my general fiction, and my poetry. There's also a few hardbacks that wouldn't fit anywhere else. The defence "well at least I don't smoke" is becoming less and less effective. The cliché line of most addicts is: "I can quit any time I want." I'm not even going to try that one. I can't quit. I will pile up books until

 Three strands run through the history of humankind: magic, science, and religion. All human societies operate on some combination of each of these; in most, some strands dominate more than others. To live is magic, there is a science to laughter, and few knowledge-systems understand love as deeply as religion. My aim in 2024 is to braid these three human perspectives into one another, living in alignment with the deepest wisdom of each. Live Expanded, my resolution to 'live' means: to fully explore, and come to terms with, what it means to really 'exist'. Over the course of 2024, I want to develop a richer picture of my 'self' - to investigate the boundaries of where 'I' end and the rest of the universe begins (if there indeed are any such boundaries). The Western philosophical tradition has led most of us to see ourselves as discrete entities, divorced from the rest of everything. We are the 'rational animal' Aristotle talks about, separate fro