The winter is upon us once again, and this year it looks like its hitting the east-coast with a purpose. My home mountain (foothill) opened a whole two and a half weeks earlier than usual making me a happy snowboarder. Of course with me, existentialism and snowboarding go hand in hand, I seem to have a lot of thinking time in between my daily activities (on solo chairlift rides for example). Whether this is a good or a bad thing has yet to be determined. In the meantime, however, you all have to suffer from the ideas that originate from my mental meanderings about angels and my place in this world.

Recently someone dear to me has had to deal with the loss of a loved one. This is never an easy thing, however, sometimes it is more difficult than others and this has steered my usual thinking process in different and new directions, namely the metaphysical meaning of loss. Through a long and convoluted process of ideas, models and refinements, I came up with some understanding of life and after-life based on quantum theory. I don't want to get into all the details of what this means (this blog would never end), so a quick explanation using digital images will have to do; this is probably sufficient to understand the principle anyway.

In quantum theory, it is said that the more accurately you try to measure something, the less accurate your measurement becomes. This is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle which emerges from the fact that when trying to measure something smaller than the instrument your using, you can never be certain of that measurement. This can be illustrated by using digital photography as an example. These days, almost everyone has a digital camera of some sort (be it DSLR, quick snap or cell phone). I'm sure most people have noticed, especially those using a cell phone, that sometimes details in images become blurred or pixelised when they are really small or far away. This is the same principle, you are trying to represent something smaller than a pixel using a pixel. In the end your digital image becomes a microcosm of the real world. If you existed only in the digital image, you would know that something should be in that pixel, but you would have no idea of the nature of that something.

The same principle applies to our own existence. The real world is made up of fundamental particles such as atoms which are in turn made up of protons, neutrons and electrons and so on. Currently the technology exists to measure things in terms of electrons (very small), however, anything smaller suffers from the same pixel effect described previously. So we know there is something there but we cannot understand the nature of that something because we lack the tools and senses to rationalize it. So our own existence is again a microcosm of something much bigger and more accurate than anything we know and understand; much like the relationship between the digital image and the scene being photographed.

Given that our known universe is a microcosm of a much greater and more complex reality, one must wonder what sort of influence these unknown forces can have on what we see. Or alternatively what kind of beings live outside of this plane. Going back to the example of the digital image, there may be a pixel representation of a snowboarder, for example, but snowboarders do not exist in a digital image. They do exist in the world that was photographed, however, and perhaps this is analogous to the place where our loved ones are when their manifestations in this world cease to exist. Although we cannot even fathom the full nature of their existence, they are there. Similarly, much like a snowboarder is aware that he is pictured in a digital photograph, or any other snowboarders busting out rad tricks or kicking up monster rooster tails for that matter, our loved ones must be also be aware of us and that is something that I find comforting.

There is still the question, however, of what influence these unknown forces can have on our reality. I propose the Tamagotchi model. Much like the digital photo in my previous discussion, the Tamagotchi is a microcosm of our reality. It is not directly aware of our existence in spite of the fact that we can influence its existence. So what if we ourselves are part of a much bigger Tamagotchi? Are the fates pressing buttons that influence our day to day life? When we sleep or more importantly when we shred? The implications of this are profound. Although I refuse to believe that some metaphysical toddler is pressing buttons that mandate how I laugh and more importantly how I love (I'm much too stubborn to allow anyone but myself to tell me that), I don't find it unreasonable to think that the circumstances surrounding those things might be guided by a higher purpose. What the intentions of that higher purpose are, however, are probably quite beyond the realm of our own understanding.

So assuming that our universe is some sort of cosmic Tamagotchi device, it's important to remember a few things:

• Always love. The people around you may some day end-up pressing your buttons and you wanna hope they press the shred button frequently.
• If you do love with a pure heart, take comfort in the fact that those you love are pressing the buttons and, if they aren't looking out for you, they will at least not be dropping the house on you.
• There's a french saying that goes "sans rancune" or without rancor. Ill will and enmity are self perpetuating so don't hold them.

Well I think that's enough deep thinking for me or soon I will be unemployed. It's probably time for me, and maybe other lift-chair philosophers, to shut up and ...

Keep Shreddin' the GNAR!