GET READY FOR A GOOD FIGHT. DON A COOL BOXING T-SHIRT.

From where does all this aggression come? It's been around since the origin of man and is showing no sign of letting up. Even I, philosophically always the pacifist, show signs of aggression every now and then. For example, when someone cuts into my lane without the courtesy of indicating. When people are rude and disrespectful. When someone misuses their power. And on countless other occasions, too numerous to mention. What I need when I'm all worked up is a good thriller or really violent movie of some other kind. Which is why watching 300 for the first time yesterday was so good for me. Just watching all those glistening muscles and tight torsos thrusting their spears and slashing with their swords was enough to distract me from any of my own feelings of anger. (In truth, not so much anger as frustration - I've been battling with flu for a week and am tired of not operating at my usual peak.) So here I was watching 300 honour-bound Spartans warring against Persians and mythological beasts to protect their country. For them a fight to the death was the greatest sign of bravery and honour and they were all prepared to sacrifice themselves for their country. It's interesting that we can watch a dramatization of history, albeit it with reference to Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's amazing graphic novel, and see the Spartans as noble. Yet, within a contemporary context, when people sacrifice their lives and kill others because of a religious or patriotic belief, we don't think them as being noble, we see them as terrorists. I live in a country where many of the "terrorists/freedom fighters" now sit in government and they have been transformed into "heroes". History has been rewritten. Simplistically, it all depends on whose side you're on, and who feels most threatened, and this determines who we label as noble or who we want to see behind bars or worse. In my mind, violence is violence, and it doesn't matter which side is committing it for which cause. It is, I think, natural for us to be aggressive, even violent, at times, but it is our greater spiritual purpose not to be.

LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, T-SHIRTS AND BLOGGING

There was a line that Dennis Hopper uttered in Apocalypse Now that has stayed with me for over twenty years. It went something like this - "Have you noticed that in the middle of the word 'Life' is the word 'If'?" It's true, of course. Life is full of 'ifs'. If I had more money ... If I'd married someone else ... If I were slimmer ... If I were younger ... If I hadn't been running so late, I would have ... If I didn't need the money, I would be an .... If I had met you sooner ..., If you were younger, ... If you were older, .. If I'd taken the other road, ... And so on. It's a sign of our discontent, I suppose, that we look back on opportunities lost, or ahead at future possibilities, and we use one little word to explain to ourselves why we didn't take the path of our dreams, or why we can't take that giant leap forward and try something new, move somewhere different, change our career, our body shape, commit to someone, break with someone, commit to yourself. Used differently, that same little word can set our course to a much grander life. It can project our thoughts in a very positive direction - If I win the election, I will do my utmost to make sure that everyone in this country has a roof over their head; If I start up a practice, I will make sure that 20% of our work is pro bono; If I dedicate just one hour a day to writing, by the end of the year I will have written a book; If I start up a blog, I will be able to promote my t-shirts to more people and make a few new friends along the way. Ah, the power of 'If'. To excuse, blame or inspire. In truth, life is one long 'if'. It is the unknown. And that is the wonder of it. It's what stimulates curiosity, the urge to explore and learn, and the desire to pack in as much as we can into this dear life, because what lies behind, well, that's another big 'If'.