8-Track Mind

1. Why marriage? Why is it important to you, or a choice you made? What do you view it as? What does it mean to you?

Everyone asks the big questions. What ever happened to, 'What's your favorite food?'

Marriage to me is the ultimate commitment. As I've detailed elsewhere, I believe humans live to commit to things, be it religious beliefs, underdog sports teams or whatever. Marriage is the full commitment that 'This is the person for me'. I don't deny that polyamory and polygamy work for some people (although I only know a couple people who do it successfully) but most of those seem to have a 'primary', someone they've chosen as their number one.

Life alone, even when within a group, sucks. When you are married, you are never alone. Ideally, your spouse is always there for you, always supporting you. For me, that is always a boost.

2. How did you know Lisa was "the one"?

The first night we slept (actually slept) together, I slept like a baby, even with my arms around her. Those who've known me for a long time know that I (used to) sleep best alone in a silent, dark room. People in the same bed keep me from sleeping for a while, and usually skin contact would prevent sleep entirely.

Not Lisa. That was the first sign. There have been lots since.

3. What was the weirdest dream you can ever remember having?

Detailed dreams are rare with me, but when they do occur they are only moderately bizarre.

The weirdest one? I will skip the actual weirdest, as it was intensely personal. Happy to chat about it in person (with some people), but it's one of the few things I'm uncomfortable with discussing here.

The second weirdest was the one recurring dream I had when I was a small child. First, I was looking across a giant, empty white room. There was a person in the distance sitting at a chesstable, staring at it. I don't recall if anyone was opposite him. It feels like there was, but I cannot recall anyone there. I was approaching the person extremely slowly (and never got close). Then the scene would shift to what looked like a snow/static pattern on a television, on the old ones where you got snow when you turned to a dead channel (in the days before blue screens). But although it was TV-like, I knew it was lots and lots of people, and the noise was less like the static hiss and more like the noise of the crowd-animal when heard from a distance.

The dream would alternate back and forth between the two, and I had it over and over again as a child.

4. If you had a year to change the world in some way, how would you do it?

Assumptions: I'm not worried about other necessities of life, like bills, rent and such, and can devote the entire year to improving the world.

Hard one. I think I would devote the year to writing. Writing is my best skill, and if there was any way I could actually influence the world, that might be it.

Maybe I'd focus on my blog, turn it into something political. The big blogs these days influence hundreds of thousands of people, so that might work. A book? Maybe as well.

5. What is the most important ideal in your life, and why?

I think it's connections. Connections between people.

We need connections. Deep abiding ones with our lovers and family and friends. Connections with ourselves, our spirituality, our beliefs. Connections with the world, with nature. Connections with the universe, from which we came.

Knowledge, wisdom and love all coming from connecting. Can you ask for anything more in life?

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Be part of the interview chain. If you would like an interview:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your journal with the answers to the questions and leave the answers as comments on my journal.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

If you'd like to ask me some questions, whether I've asked you to or not, even if you don't want to answer any questions, feel free to do so.