Rambles before head checks

Sometimes I consider just powering down into an alt account and living my on chain life in anonymity with no more writing as I do, just reading, voting and posting stuff that can't be tied to me. Just like everyone else on earth, I get tired of waiting for the world to change for the better.

It is kind of funny though isn't it? We do believe better is possible but we don't really know what that is going to look like. Is it improved living conditions? Cows have improved living conditions and rarely have to face a slow death of being chased and eaten by wolves these days, yet they still die.

Are we the cows or the wolves? Which is better or worse?

I have no idea what I am going to do if Steem really does take off as I think it will eventually but, what I wonder is if I will be better off for it personally or, will I be more isolated than earlier. Will I become fearful of the world, will I become irrelevant to the world?

Irrelevancy is something that scares a lot of people and it is likely why so many turn to join the various "pride" groups as it makes them feel a part of something, special. It doesn't really matter what kind of pride it is, they are generally based on arbitrary traits that one didn't actually choose themselves. Black pride, white pride, national pride - it is all the same. I find it strange to be proud of something that one is born into and had to do no work for. But I find pride quite useless anyway, it is easy to leverage though and, then weaponize.

Someone asked me once if I was proud of what I have achieved on the blockchain, yet what have I got to be proud of? the volume or quality of work - Is that a pride point? Helping people - is being human something to be proud of? No, I don't take pride in what I have done here because there is no point to taking pride in it, it does nothing for me and, it does nothing for anyone else. I think it is possible to live a good life without having the need to feel pride in it.

I think though that I am increasingly becoming irrelevant on Steem or at least, seen that way as I think that most people feel that they know enough to make good decisions. I likely agree with them except, how many of us actually make good decisions because we know which decisions to make? I was in an argument the other day because people think that I am utilitarian as I think that things done should have some value. I find their argument weak as everything we do with intention has value in the moment we do it for us, even if it is valueless to everyone else.

Of course, actions found valuable in the moment might be much less valuable in hindsight, as some actions deemed not worth it might be highly valuable when looking back. I think that what I do on Steem has value, some for me and some for other people too, so I see it as a win/ win scenario.

It is a supply and demand process where I offer what I can and some people pay what they can. While imperfect in mechanism, the idea of Steem itself is pretty sound. Of course, when people are working in their best interest, it is not in their current best interest to spread their value too widely (if at all) as it takes away from themselves. In hindsight of course, this position might falter.

Eventually, what Steem needs to likely do is offer more than an economic incentive and instead build a place where communities like to reside, relationships can blossom, friends be made and actions tied to the run of the mill processes of life be handled at some level. We aren't really there yet though are we.

Some people from the past like to complain that the community used to be better earlier but, I have been hear 2+ years and when I came, many of those same people were part of circlejerk communities with high value - of course it was good for them. For me, I just had to grind it out a post at a time, over and over and fumbling my way through Steem.

It wasn't until I found my own communities and made friends that I started to get more consistent support and even then, it wasn't overly consistent. The problem is that people get into these positions and then take it for granted that they are there, something I have been careful not to do, which is how I have been able to maintain intentional consistency. It is more than habit, it is my own relevancy at stake.

Some might see this as relevancy in the eyes of others but I think it is more that I want to remain relevant in my own eyes and if am unable and unwilling to consistently do what I enjoy doing when there is the time and space to do it, what am I doing with my life? I wish more people would explore what they really like doing and then, do more of that and actively try to improve themselves. I think most would find they'd have to expand their horizons a bit to include additional skills.

It is funny how many people want to be good at something yet do not want to do the prerequisite tasks in order to be good. We want to run without even taking the first steps. We see this ion Steem when people are looking to onboard millions when they themselves are not in a position to support themselves, let alone create a community around them. Economic value is not enough to keep people here, there has to be more.

There is a great deal more opportunity here already, people still mostly focus on the economy. This will keep changing though as use cases provide more and more reasons to be on Steem, to be in crypto and to participate in the development, running and utilization of the new economy that is currently in its infancy. While all the different projects looking for a better world argue about the definition of what that will look like, the window of opportunity is closing to actually create it.

At some point, the resources just aren't adequate to get the job done.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

Time to make sure my daughter is okay again before getting to bed myself.
Goodnight.