More

> recent entries
> calendar
> friends
> profile

Thursday, August 16th, 2007
12:40 am - All True Wealth is Biological

helmine
Lois McMasters Bujold had a scene in her Miles Vorkosigan SF series that's fixed in my mind.

Mark Vorkosigan, the cloned-by-enemies, raised as a weapon for a failed coup d'etat, yet nonetheless recognized genetic heir of Count Aral Vorkosigan (political bulwark and planetary prime minister), bends close to hear what may be Count Aral's dying words, as he lies having a heart attack, for which Mark may be blamed. "All true wealth is biological," says the count.

I believe that. The book doesn't explain what Count Aral meant, as dire events quickly ensue, so it's kind of left to interpretation. But it feels true to me. All true wealth is biological. Living things, people, relationships. Health, lives, lifetimes. Other material things are all well and good, but without the biological element, ultimately unimportant.

That's a kind of more I feel the lack of, in my own life. I have enough money. I have a house, and sufficient material possessions. A lot of things I quit buying, because they lie around still in the sacks. I need some more biological wealth. I have a garden, and dog and cats, but I need more family. You can't run out and buy that, though. So I have to find another way.

There are intangible kinds of more, too, that would make life so much sweeter. I want to explore what those are, and how I plan to manoeuver towards them. But I don't want to dwell in platitudes and feel-goodism. There must be concrete things that can be done, or avoided. But anyway, there's the inagural post. I can work up more later.

Hi, Monkey! (waves)

(1 comment | comment on this)



> top of page
InsaneJournal