“The Matrix” as envisioned by filmmakers Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski is an iconic metaphorical film that continues to remind us of a veil that exists over our everyday lives. As Morpheus said though, “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is, you have to see it for yourself.”
Just before Neo reaches for the red pill to see how far the rabbit hole goes Morpheus reminds him, “Remember, all I’m offering you is the truth. Nothing more.” Then Neo swallows the red pill, and the adventure gets very real.
There is a veil that exists, but it’s not made up of vertically descending computer code in contrasting green over a black background. It’s not human pods providing small electrical currents to supply the needed energy for an AI world of bots and self-aware programs. It could be a form of a simulation, but not existing within a computer mainframe as we envision it.
It’s there. Morpheus described it as being, “Everywhere. It is all around us . . . It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”
The Matrix is some of the best entertainment ever created, and as so many writers have noted, its metaphor is not far from the truth. Some have even referred to it as a documentary. Extending on the Alice in Wonderland metaphor it takes us to a dimension altogether deeper than had been previously conceived in the realm of made-for—prime-time feature film. It’s sublime. It’s gripping. And it makes us think.
But how far do we really want to go down the rabbit hole? Do we really want to take the red pill? Is there a blue-ish/red-ish pill we can take where we venture just a little way down? Is there a way to retain our ignorance-is-bliss world and still understand things a little deeper than the surface story?
The challenge with the rabbit hole is that curiosity gets the better of us. Once we begin to see through the veil just a little we want more. But the even bigger challenge is what to do with what we see.
Anger is a typical first reaction, but it gets us nowhere. It’s understandable, but not productive.
Isolation is another reaction, that it becomes more difficult to function in the world when we begin to see through the hypocrisies and narratives. So, we keep to ourselves and avoid conversations that we know will be triggering for people.
Sadness is an understandable reaction. In German there is a word for it, “Weltschmerz” (pronounced Velt-schmerz), which means world-pain, depression or discomfort with the human condition or state of the world.
Depression seems to be the result of such reactions because we feel helpless to do anything about it. Which then leads us to the question: Why are we here?
Are we here to reveal and understand the complexities of the human condition and then fret over it? Are we here to feel Weltschmerz? Are we here to get angry? Are we here to create a ruckus? Are we here to hypothesize and philosophize? Are we here to force change, to try and wake people up to the matrix?
One thing for sure, trying to wake people up is a losing battle. And being angry only makes us unhappy. Depression. Helplessness. It’s a zero-sum game.
So, where does this leave us? If you’re reading this, if you’re a subscriber to the DEEPER side of things, then you’re curious. You want to know and understand more. You seek depth in life.
But what is the driving force behind the urge to know and understand more? Why do we seek it if it makes us feel unhappy?
Maybe it would be easier to remain ignorant. Work a job, build a business, raise a family, grow a 401K, retire to a state of diminished activity, shower grandkids with love, fret over the economy and who the next president will be.
But no, there is an urging deep within. We want to know more. We seek the truth even if it hurts. Even if it makes us feel Weltschmerz.
It’s not wrong to want to know more, or even to be a rebel. It’s not even wrong to feel anger and sadness. It’s merely a stage for us to pass through. Waking up to truth requires a period of adjustment. The cycle of emotions is a natural response to new understandings. The trick is not to hang out in a place of anger and sadness. Not to allow our lives to revolve around it but to pass through it.
The other challenge is not to go to a place of judgment for those who do not seek to know the truth. As illustrated in another Matrix metaphor, when Cypher made a deal with Agent Smith to be placed back in the Matrix with no memory of having lived outside the Matrix in exchange for delivering Morpheus, we got to see the profound challenge with truth when Cypher said, “After nine years, you know what I realize?” as he chomps on a bite of rare steak, “Ignorance is bliss.”
The desire not to know is all around us and even within us. It’s easier to simply not know, to not understand, to not venture deeper, and live in peaceful ignorance.
But . . .
It is also possible to live in peace while in full view of the matrix. We can know the truth, cycle through the emotions, and awaken to the light of peaceful understanding with compassion for those who have not yet opened their eyes.
We can’t wake them up. They have to want it for themselves.
Morpheus didn’t present the offer to Neo just because. They pulled him out of his daily life because Neo had perceived a glimpse of the Matrix and was curious to know more. It was a gamble, which is why the choice of the two pills was offered. He could take the blue pill, “The story ends, you wake up in your bed, and believe whatever you want to.” Or he could take the red pill and “You stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
The choice was provided. Which is as much as can be offered. It’s as much as we can do.
And yet, there is a subtle effort that exists within and behind the living of a kind of life in which we seek to know and understand more deeply. For lack of a better terminology, you could say it’s a sort of quantum field that emanates from those who perceive the world more deeply. You can feel it from them. Those who are curious feel it. It’s our energy field itself that serves as a form of an invitation.
It can lead to unexpected friendships filled with a level of conversation that ventures more deeply and more meaningfully than most. It will feel nourishing, the kinship will grow, and the topics will venture ever more deeply such that we learn even more from one another and help each other wake up just a little more each day and with each conversation.
The Matrix we live in is not meant to be upended or overthrown. It exists for a reason. A reason we can only posit or vaguely sense. Understanding its purpose, you could say, is way above our paygrade. But it’s there.
My purpose is to know and perceive, and to cycle through the emotions to emerge on the other side in a place of loving kindness.
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Great post. Today I did a talk on the metaphysics of Star Wars and after was chatting with a couple folks and we noted you could also do a talk on the metaphysics of Matrix! I love your take on it. I work a lot with A Course in Miracles which also aligns with this view of Matrix. Thanks for sharing.