Coram Populo: 3.5D
Ronnie the Raincoat hangs out in the bookstore
He's never seen his own wife in the nude
Somebody called him depraved
But think of the money he's saved
Neil Innes (The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) - "Ready Mades"
A good many of you will not understand this, but I have to tell you: I have had experiences while on LSD for which I will go to my grave thankful. To have seen these things, to have felt these things, to have been there...
Last night I took some sparkling LSD, and it started off unnerving, then became unpleasant, then became beautiful, then became perfect. Seriously, I wish you could all see the world the way I saw it last night. It's beautiful.
I decided that since I hadn't taken acid in about seven years (the two tabs I'd had in that time were shit and didn't count) it was time for a series of three to five trips, taken over the space of a month or so, for the purpose of doing a little tinkering in my subconscious. I am happy to report that the first phase was a complete success.
I find that LSD by itself is very very harsh and edgy, and really requires some cannabis, smoked 90 minutes to 2 hours after dropping the acid, to make it flow smoothly and beautifully. I had no cannabis in my posession when I dropped my tab, and simply had faith that I'd find some weed somehow.
In Cuba Mall I had a great jam with some buskers, just as the trip was kicking in. As they were packing up, I discreetly asked them whether they could help me find some weed, and one of them gave me a nice bud, easily enough to get me through the night, and then he refused to accept payment. This kindness will not be forgotten.
A couple of hours later, the trip was well and truly in full swing, and it was time to smoke some, because it wasn't very pleasant at all. I was jittery, nervous, unsure of myself, and the slightest sudden movement would give me a hell of a fright. Then I bumped into one of those buskers again, a guy named Stu. Fucking great guy. I made a deal with him - I supply the bud, he rolls, we both smoke. So we had a joint in the park by the design school, and he played his mandolin while I played my flute, and the music we played was stunning. There was nobody around to hear us. We played music that existed only for us, in that time and place. It was beautiful.
Shortly thereafter, I ran into M'colleague outside the Midnight cafe. We went for a wander. He likes it when I'm tripping, because he gets to play mind games with me. I like his mind games. It's all good.
I told a girl that she had a beautiful smile, and she responded by smiling even more beautifully.
At 2am we arrived at the sculpture symposium in Civic Square, which I didn't even know was happening. It was like the Hall Of Bright Carvings in Gormenghast, except outside, and the carvings were of stone, not wood. I have taken some photos, which I'll post as soon as I once again have a working computer (I'm not at home right now).
One sculpture had an artist statement of which the first sentence was something like "I don't know if you've ever had a moment when you've thought there is nowhere I'd rather be than right here, right now, doing this". I sent the artist a text saying "I'm in the middle of one of those moments right now!"
We sat on the edge of the water sculpture in Frank Kitts Park on the waterfront. On the water was the reflection of Jupiter. A single point of light that danced and stretched and came together and split apart...it was truly hypnotic.
And we saw two omens. The first omen was this: On a building by the waterfront a scrolling marquee shows the current share prices all day every day.
The second omen was this: Last night the marquee malfunctioned, causing the lights on the bottom half of the scrolling marquee to dart across the side of the building at incredible speed, a lot brighter than they should have been, and I kid you not, it looked amazing!
The first omen means that...well...it means that Wellington is turning into the sort of place where share prices are displayed in lights all the time. That the corporate world is gaining ground. That the soul, the beauty of the city is being pushed aside. This is true - at the railway station, for example, the statue of Kupe that once stood in the foyer, and the family run kiosk where really good pies were once sold are now gone, having been replaced by a supermarket that fucks up the beauty (not to mention the acoustics, the cunts!) of the foyer. The little secret spots are being discovered (the Chamber, for example) and closed off. The freaks are being displaced, and it's not good.
But the second omen means that the beauty, the soul (I wish I could think of a less wanky word, but there just isn't one) will always find a place. It will always bounce back. They can move us, they can seriously inconvenience us, but they cannot destroy us. We'll always be around. So it's OK. No matter how ugly the world gets, there will always be beautiful things, beautiful people. It's going to be OK. It's going to be OK. It's going to be OK.
It's going to be OK.
I wish I could show you what I've seen. I wish you could see the world the way I saw it last night. It's beautiful in 3.5D, I kid you not. Nothing I saw was false. Contrary to popular belief, LSD doesn't make you see things that are not there. Not for me, anyway. It may make stationary things appear to be moving while at the same time staying still, but last night I didn't even get that. I just saw how beautiful the world really is. And for a while I was not just seeing this beauty, I was part of it and it was part of me.
If this beauty is only visible when one is on LSD, then LSD cannot be a bad thing. It is now about 20 hours since the trip wore off, and I am happier now than I have been in a long time. I have seen the human soul, and I have faith. I do not, and will never, regret taking LSD. Most of you will not understand this, until you take it yourself and see what I've seen. I think you should, but that is your choice.
So sayeth life, the world is mine
The flowers that bloom and the song of the birds
I am the daylight and the sunshine
So spricht das Leben, the world is mine
So sayeth death, the world is mine
Your daylight is but vein display
Stars and moon sink in eternal night
So spricht das Tod, the world is mine
So sayeth life, the world is mine
You make great tombs of marble and stone
But love, you cannot entomb
So spricht das Leben, the world is mine
So sayeth death, the world is mine
I have prepared a graveyard
And created pestilence and war
So spricht das Tod, the world is mine
So sayeth life, the world is mine
Every grave is a plot of land
Into which my eternal seeds do fall
So spricht das Leben, the world is mine
"So Spricht Das Leben" - traditional song
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Max Ehrman - "Desiderata" (1926)
I love this city, I love this world, and I love you.
Goodnight.