THE STATE OF MIND

  The source of today’s entry can be traced back to the immeasurable abysses of social media. A few weeks ago, I made the decision to go on a digital social media detox. The detox was supposed to consist of vanishing from the platform with the white letter "f" on a blue background. Not permanently, just for a moment. Unfortunately, nowadays the "f" platform has also become a source of news, and since I frequently search for music updates, my presence there is, like it or not, somewhat dictated by my interests. The first digital detox lasted several weeks and gave me a great deal. First and most importantly, I realized that taking a break from social media threw off my profile's algorithm. Years ago, unaware of how algorithms work, I used to click aimlessly on increasingly sensational headlines and comments, which left my nerves stretched to the limit and filled me with an overwhelming urge to share my opinion on every topic. This had negative consequences, but, ...

 A thought occurred to me regarding faith, so I decided to catch it on the fly and put it down on paper—or rather, on the keyboard—as quickly as possible. I cannot comprehend the act of trying to convince non-believers to believe. And I don’t know how long this lack of understanding has been dormant within me—whether it surfaced just recently, or whether it had been sitting inside me for a long time without ever being brought into the light of conscious awareness. Perhaps it is a matter of maturing and reflecting deeply. The etymology of the word faith directs us toward another word: trust . And it is precisely because these two words carry a similar meaning that I cannot understand proselytizing or convincing someone to believe. After all, trying to persuade other people to trust isn't something ordinary. Trust can be built, but I cannot grasp how one person can convince another that they ought to trust. Trust and faith are, after all, feelings. And feelings are a deeply persona...

 Genialny wpis. Masz absolutną rację – różnica między polską a skandynawską sceną lat 90. to podręcznikowy przykład tego, jak geopolityka i ekonomia potrafią zdusić najczystszą artystyczną wizję. Wyciągnięcie takich zespołów jak Sirrah, Lux Occulta czy Yattering pokazuje, że doskonale znasz temat – te kapele muzycznie wyprzedzały swój czas, ale zachodnia machina promocyjna była wtedy dla nas nieosiągalna. Z kolei kontrast między szwedzkim podejściem do dziedzictwa Bathory a naszym rodzimym polskim piekiełkiem i prokuraturą to idealne, mocne podsumowanie. Przetłumaczyłem Twój tekst na język angielski. Zachowałem dokładną strukturę akapitów , esejistyczny i pełen pasji ton oraz specyficzne metalowe słownictwo (zwroty typu first wave , underground , interview-biography jako wywiad-rzeka). Poprawiłem też drobne literówki z oryginału (np. "wyprawka" na "paper/essay", "bibiotece", "Piotr Żyła" na "Jacek Żyła" – bo to Jacek napisał książkę o ...

 For some time now, a certain thought has been lingering somewhere in my mind—something I couldn't quite put into words, but today I will try to pour it out here on the blog. The world I grew up in has ceased to exist. Sometimes I wonder if putting forward such a thesis is a symptom of a midlife crisis, or if it is perhaps the result of observation and a conclusion drawn from analyzing that observation. For the purpose of this post, however, I will lean toward the latter. I remember, as many of you probably do, dear readers, a time when the need to find information resulted in a visit to the library, and writing a paper or an essay was paid for with hours of bending over heavy volumes of encyclopedias or other source materials. These materials had to be read, understood, conclusions had to be drawn, and then poured onto paper in an intelligible way. I also remember times when building relationships required physical interaction with another person. Not infrequently, such interactio...

During a certain conversation, a topic came up that I decided to address in my garden of thoughts, otherwise known as this blog... Assumptions. We make assumptions at every moment of our lives. We make them, among other reasons, to survive. It is an inseparable part of our instinct. Assumptions allowed humans to survive clashes with nature and predators. Or perhaps, to avoid those clashes altogether? However, this kind of assumption will not be the subject of today's reflections. I mean rather those assumptions that determine our relationships, dependencies, and our overall development as a species. For anyone who has had the opportunity to read my blog posts, it probably won't be a surprise that my understanding of humanity's development over the last few decades is marked by a negative perception. This is likely caused by the choices we make as humanity. Having access to tools that our ancestors wouldn't even dare to dream of, we choose paths that lead to the gradual ...

 In 1956, the publishing cooperative "Czytelnik" released a collection of short stories by one of the Polish writers closest to my core – Marek Hłasko – titled "The First Step in the Clouds" ( Pierwszy krok w chmurach ).  Marek Hłasko was the first honorary winner of the "Zygmunt" award, granted by a committee consisting of me and one other buddy :-) (for those who know).  Paradoxically, today's post will feature absolutely nothing about this collection of stories or Marek himself.  I'm writing about him because I really liked this specific title and decided to use it for today's entry, and I hope Marek will forgive me for it. ...  ... My mentor often repeats that realized dreams are priceless.  The dreams we make come true are exactly our steps in the clouds.  In today's world, it seems to me that being a dreamer has rather negative connotations. Someone who always has their head in the clouds. Someone who can't find their place in a m...

  I felt inspired. A conversation with my younger son, where we delved into the topic of changing reality, led me to reflect on the concept of revolution. Lately, I’ve been wondering: what is the exact moment when we can definitively say we are witnessing a revolution? The definition states that a revolution is a rapid change. I’ve come to the conclusion that we are living in that very revolutionary moment. Radical shifts are affecting many aspects of our lives. One such change—one that I admire and marvel at frequently—is the pace of technological advancement we are witnessing. I belong to a generation that saw the internet in its infancy, a time when technology wasn't universally accessible. Because of this, I truly notice the immense progress. The advancement of Artificial Intelligence hasn't just opened doors; it has ripped them off their hinges, frame and all. The progress happening before our eyes is incredible. What once used to be an insurmountable barrier is now absolu...

  “Man is the measure of all things.” I had been meaning to write this post for some time. As usual, several matters came together, forming billions of thoughts which—untamed—found their reflection in the post below. I recently had an extremely interesting conversation with a younger generation. This younger generation stands on the threshold of making decisions that may have a greater impact on what the future will look like. Each of us makes such decisions every day; however, some of them appear, at a given moment, to be the “more important” ones. Perhaps some of them constitute a fundamental crossroads in our lives. I have already written about decisions. At the moment, I have no further reflections on that subject. What has reached me recently, however, is just how great an influence perspective has on us. Several important factors affect which path we choose at a crossroads. Perspective is one of them. We live in a world of judgments. They come at us from all sides. Good,...