The Fool On The Hill

“But the fool on the hill, sees the sun going down, and the eyes in his head see the world spinning ‘round.” ~ “Fool On The Hill,” by The Beatles

My whole life has been about discernment. Sometimes I try to figure out why I came equipped with a permanent radar. It is often both a curse and a blessing. Environment, genetics, circumstances, personality traits, people and situations I’ve met along the way… I am what many describe as an ambivert; I shuffle between deep introversion and comfortable gregariousness, depending on who I’m around. I don’t play pretend or mask for social acceptance. Maybe it’s my ADHD combined with the will passed down by my father and the Maniati way of being. I have no idea, really.

When social media now requires artists to ‘perform’ for the algorithm, I respectfully bow out of the game. I make art, not content. It can be a lonely, almost gaslit space to exist in, but I stand by this. We live in a world filled with smoke and mirrors and some well-ironed emperor’s new clothes. I simply don’t have the time nor the energy to edit a video of me doing this or that. I’d rather put my precious time into the actual work. I’ll figure out other ways for those to find me.  

Like many around me, I’m currently mapping out a path…a plan…a journey that will guide me back to some semblance of the way life used to be. I’m not built for this modern world, as the click-bait, rage-bait, ‘my life is perfect,’ and ‘look at me’ vibes give me no satisfaction or fulfillment.  We all know the truth. Life is messy. Life is tougher than it used to be. My work gets into all of this. 

Innovation is a word that has begun to grate at my soul. When I hear tech oligarchs, investors, influencers and celebrities preach that we must embrace AI or be left behind, I happily grab my hobo stick and trek the other way. Call me a progressive old schooler, but in a world drowning in devices and social platforms, we've never been more disconnected and disengaged from one another in the history of humanity. 

**Written by me, not AI.