Function Over Form

Day of 2 Yellow Lunar Warrior

Tone 2 (Lunar): Creative power to Polarize Challenge, action of Stabilizing

Yellow Warrior Seal (CIB): Questions and emphasizes Intelligence

Hello hello, it has been some time since I've written here. I've been busy experimenting with the subject of the title of this post. That is, function over form. I have had many conversations about this idea lately, interestingly enough particularly with men, and it is time for me to say something about it. 

We are riddled by forms. They are delivered to our doorstep, televisions, schools, existences. Society loves form, capitalism loves it more. Form is packaged for you and sold to you and impressed upon you. To be attractive you must look "this way," to be successful you must have "this thing," to seem intelligent you must acquire "this degree." 

Yet, it is never the form that is responsible for the happiness. 

It is always the function that the form provides expression for that brings the reward. 

What is function, then? Well, definitively speaking it is "the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists." A synonym for this particular definition is PURPOSE. You'll remember I talked about that last post, a few months ago. It is fitting then, that I take that one step further. 

Function provides form. Form often requires refining in order to provide for better function. The square wheel, for example, was not really useful. The form restricted the intended function of the creation. 

So it is with us. 

Often times, we attach ourselves to ideas of forms - often not even "our own" ideas (everything belongs to Existence first) - and we allow those misshaped forms to define our existences. This causes a lot of misery, being that ALL FUNCTIONALITY is being suppressed into a limited (and let's be honest, not very creative) number of "acceptable" forms. 

An example of how we commonly limit ourselves into restricted forms can be found in that we often attempt to force a desired result into the way "it should look," rather than focusing on HOW IT SHOULD BE. So, a concrete example:

Beauty

There's lots said on this topic, but ultimately it's a state of mind. Really, it's a state of appreciation. So, if you want to enter into the state of appreciation commonly called "beautiful," but you want to do it by altering your FORM rather than altering the FUNCTIONS BY WHICH YOU CONSIDER YOUR FORM, then you're going to find yourself spending a lot of time pursuing interests that OTHERS appreciate. The thing about being in a state of appreciation, being beautiful, is that you kind of have to appreciate yourself....

So if you don't appreciate yourself, it's not going to matter how much you work out, how much make up you buy, how pert your breasts are or how long your dick is. Because you're defining your perception of self appreciation by others standards. Being that is the case, you have NO control over the standards by which you define yourself because THE STANDARDS ARE NOT YOURS. This allows for attaining appreciation to always just be out of reach, because in a world like ours there is always going to be someone willing to tell you that what you like is fucked up. Then they will tell you what to get so that what you like is no longer fucked up. This is consumerism of form, which is a huge charter in the capitalism contract. 

The thing about function and form, at their very core, is that we each represent their seeming duality. We each have a function, obviously some are more attainably defined than others, and that function results in how we perceive our form to be useful. Particularly, if we are considering the definition of function as "the action for which a thing or person is specially fitted or used; or for which a thing exists," and we also consider that each person is unique in that they are the only person who has been through their exact experiences within their own body; then we can "conclude" that each functional form (person) is unique in and of itself. 

Being that is the case, it follows that each form is uniquely designed to facilitate the functionality for which a person intends themself. (It all comes down to choice, remember? If not, see earlier posts). So to pursue a limited amount of forms in order to accomplish a planetarily desired functionality is kind of a waste of time and antithetical to the unique purpose for which we are each intended. That unique purpose being that we each exist to be what we actually are..."ourself" in other words. 

If functionality is omniversal and genuine form is unique (by genuine I mean what it actually is and not just what we conceptualize it to be, ex: "fat" vs. size or "seat" vs. ground) - I'm saying that this is the case - then we find ourselves in a position to determine (being that we're conscious, mobile and causing and effecting here and everything) which it is more useful to pursue in order to accomplish what each of us desires. 

"You" can pursue the form of something that you desire, you are free to do so, but let us say that your unique form does not allow for the form-function that you pursue.

- This can be considered physically: as in you want to be a size "0" because society tells you that is attractive, but you cannot be a size "0" without subjecting your unique form to extreme and unhealthy conditions; which in the end may make you a size "0" but considerably less attractive because your behavior revolves around a singularly formed ideal of yourself....and such a lifestyle is likely to make you kind of crazy and possibly less desirable to be around.  

- This can be considered in terms of hobby: as in you want to be musically creative because you like music and music that is creative tends to be of the lasting and appreciated variety; but you suppress your other creative inclinations in spheres of your existence that have nothing to do with music so you can relentlessly pursue studying music in order to become "better" at it creatively; which in the end may make you very educated on the technical workings of music and the varieties therein, but may make your approach to music sterile and therefore not very creative because maybe you're actually creative in dancing and not music - but you've been so obsessed with the form of being "musically creative" that you've stifled your creativity (the functionality) where it is actually there for you to have it (i.e. dancing). 

OR "YOU" CAN PURSUE THE FUNCTION OF SOMETHING THAT YOU DESIRE, because you are also free to do so. So let us consider the same examples:

- This can be considered physically: so you want to be content with what your body actually looks like because the reality is that it's your body and you're going to keep company with it until the day you die, which means you should take care of it so that it ages in a useful way. Being that your body is the one you have, you observe what it is and you consider how, if at all, you can alter it to become more healthy, more useful energetically and more comfortable to you. Eventually your body becomes a tool, a companion, a vehicle through which you can accomplish your desires and thereby becomes LESS OF AN "ENEMY." In pursuing the interests that are best for your consciousness, your mind and your body, rather than pursuing the forms that others have determined for themselves (and have tried to determine for you) as "pleasing;" you do yourself the favor of valuing the function of your existence (ALL THAT YOU CAN DO) over the form of your existence (THE WAY YOU HAPPEN TO LOOK). In doing so you may be surprised to find that you become more attractive to yourself, because you discover that you're the only person in ALL OF EXISTENCE that can do exactly what it is you are here and capable of doing. So then you become interesting and important to yourself, a mystery and an experience, and it hardly matters what other forms people appreciate because you're DOING YOU. 

- This can be considered in terms of hobby: so you want to be more creative in music because you love music and you find that creativity and music are a good combination. But perhaps you don't have that many original ideas when it comes to music itself, even though you have an aptitude to play the music. This is not a problem since the functionality you are actually pursuing is CREATIVITY in the form of MUSIC. So in this particular situation, rather than pursue the form, pursue the function. In what areas are you actually creative? Drawing? Dancing? Cooking? Writing? WHATEVER IT IS, PURSUE WHERE YOU ARE CREATIVE. In being more creative in general - since that is the functionality in the form of music you are pursuing - you are feeding whatever OVERALL CREATIVITY that will eventually play into your musical form. You are not compartmentalized in ACTUALITY. If you have a bad day it will effect your music. If you have a creative day it will effect your music. THE MORE CREATIVITY YOU HAVE IN YOUR DAYS THE MORE IT WILL EFFECT YOUR RELATING TO MUSIC. It does not matter if the creativity isn't FIRST coming through the music because ULTIMATELY THE CREATIVITY IS ALWAYS COMING THROUGH YOU FIRST. 

Function over form can be applied to every life situation. In certain places, mainly largely individualized cultures, form gets all the attention even though everyone is attempting to recreate the same necessary functions. The thing is that function does not answer to form...form answers to function. So attempting to recreate the necessary functions in any given society through only CERTAIN forms actually CUTS YOU OFF FROM THE MASSIVE VARIETY OF FUNCTIONALITY ITSELF. 

So an experiment is clearly in order. Are you reading this? If so, do you have desired outcomes for your existence? GREAT, glad to hear it. Me too! Now for the experiment:

Imagine the FUNCTIONALITY of a particular desired outcome for your myriad existence. See it physically, feel it energetically, imagine it perceptively.

Do not think of what the job LOOKS LIKE (Boss/President/Manager, or insert job title here), think about WHAT THE JOB ALLOWS YOU TO DO (Make your own hours, work with a certain sector of society, have enough time to do favorite activities). Do not think of what the ideal companionship LOOKS LIKE (Marriage, Popular, Wealthy), think about WHAT THE IDEAL COMPANIONSHIP ALLOWS YOU TO DO (Live your life parallel to the companions, pursue your hobbies, learn new things, share your time, be happy, travel).

Naturally depending on what it is you are seeking to manifest in your existence, the rubric of what to envision can shrink and grow. Functionality is flexible like that....form, on the other hand, is not so generous as a starting point. If you are seeking to attract certain emotive states into your existence, then think about what functionality that ambiance entails: Joy? Freedom? Love? Sincerity? Caring?

THEN MANIFEST THAT, ENVISION THAT, SEE THAT AND BE THAT.

Do not get caught up in the form of what joy, freedom, love, sincerity and caring CAN EMBODY.

Functionality is like water. It can embody anything. It fills up anything and takes its shape. It's powerful like that. Perhaps put some thought into how you're already intending the functionality you exist with right now. 'Cause we've all got it, we're all born with the deluxe package - we just forget to appreciate our own package....

Think about it!