Relentless Inquiry

There’s a continuum along which one can be a traditionalist, an early adopter, a visionary, or simply an idiot, or insane, or both. The reality is that the same person, in the same place, will appear all along that continuum depending on the observer.

Ursula K LeGuin’s classic tale, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” never dealt with the friends and family of Those Who Walk Away. I started walking away over a decade ago, but stayed ‘a moment’ to enjoy someone’s company. Now I’m on the road again, metaphorically speaking, following in the footsteps of Kerouac, Thoreau, O’Keefe, and others.

How many tried to leave Omelas, but were restrained by friends and family ‘for their own good’? Worse, how many were grateful later on for being saved from such a ‘big mistake’?

Or were they really crazy? If so, the ones who left are a tragedy. If only they hadn’t been so naive and idealistic. If only. It may or may not be the only life we’ve got, but we have to live it as if it is, or it doesn’t count.