All action is communication. Action in the physical sense is clear. Action in the metaphysical sense is complicated. The human body complains through a number of frequencies, some set by the laws of physics (i.e. the supreme authority) and others set by the laws of the metaphysics (i.e. the subordinate authority). In the human body, these laws communicate with each other. Complaints are one of these communications.
physical action
The laws of physics act on the body in both anticipated and unanticipated ways. Hunger is an anticipated effect, as well as blood circulation, and drowsiness. The appetite, the heartbeat, and the end of a day all constitute a form a complaint—we have hit the point where we must do something; eat, pump, sleep. These complaints result in the circular motions that structure human life. Unanticipated effects are the result of the body’s existence in dynamic environments. The skin’s liveliness to temperature and friction is an unanticipated effect, as muscle’s tension when frustrated by something heavy. The gasp, the pull-away, the held-breath all constitute a form of complaint—we have encountered something that we must respond to.
Complaints which stem from the body’s interaction with the laws of physics have a social dimension. This social dimension is peripheral. These complaints allow the body survive, even though eating, pulsing, and sleeping all have social significance. The same is true for gasping, pulling away, and holding one’s breath. These may signify something to another human, but the purpose of these complaints is for the body’s own survival. A gasp lets the entire body know that a full-scale response is necessary to navigate the dynamic environment of the external world.
Action in response to the laws of physics is simple. The body is confronted by unbreakable laws, and it responds impulsively. In this domain, the body does not have any flexibility. It must obey—it cannot choose disobedience—hence the impulsiveness: it has no other choice. These impulsive responses allow for a unified comprehension of the external world—for example, the skin’s pain is encoded within the mind and distributed to the entire body. The gasp when I burned my finger on a pan demonstrated my body as a system responding to itself, though the sole external response was social, my mother’s concern. Thus: analysis of complaints launched against the laws of physics shows that the body’s response to the external world is primarily an individualistic survival impulse. The social is second.
metaphysical action
Metaphysical action is vague. It is motion only in an abstracted sense, such as the movement from contentment to discontentment. The mind certainly responds to an emotional or spiritual dynamic environment, yet this environment lacks an independent body. For contrast, when I die my physical environment will remain but my emotional environment will dissipate along with my sense of self. Complaints in response to metaphysical action occur within this abstracted space.
Metaphysical complaints are expressive. They do not have clearly embodied forms by virtue of their production, and thus must be fitted into some other format. From a production standpoint, this illuminates a key question: what is the input to this system? From that, how does it reach its output, and what is the function of this output? These questions seek to expose the self for what it is.
We have lost appreciation for how expressive we are due to the ubiquity of our expressions. From a material perspective, it is a miracle that we so easily shift into language to impulsively string together complaints that bubble up in response to our vague metaphysical environment. Such a use of the technology of language—outside of any outright technical training—is a triumph of our species. Though the technical training within this space comes in the form of critical assessment and refinement.
A complaint (in that vernacular sense) operates as a communication to the self. Language acts as the structuring factor, though the output belongs inside, as its recipient is the body as a system. For example, complaints about my eating disorder primarily function as a communication for my body and its position within its metaphysical environment. The external response is always inaccurate, as it lacks the full scope of sensation. I cannot express the true substance of my experience because it exceeds me in its abstraction; it touches every single part of my being, and oscillates in its clarity.
output and refinement
Complaints can masquerade as fully formed informational products that have some sort of role outside of the body. I have tripped over this performance of my complaints over and over again, and as a result I’ve had my face against the dirt for some time. The output of a complaint is not destined for the external world, regardless of its quality or eloquence. A complaint, as an informational product, only serves to lay the foundation for genuine thought. One may view this as a three-part system with two refinement nodes:
vague response to emotional environment ->
becomes fitted into ->
language which acts as a complaint ->
which illuminates the ->
true metaphysical substance undernearth the complaint.
First, a response becomes an expressive intelligible product. At this stage, the vague response is refined into something that one may think, read, say, or otherwise externalize. Something from the abstract metaphysical environment has crystallized. Refinement requires the removal of rough edges. Thus: this process has a degree of lost substance. With discipline, the level of refinement of a complaint can decrease, which allows for the retention of more substance.
Let’s say a complaint, once refined, is crystal. It takes the form of a prism—a glimmering and glitzing thing. At this point, one must hold up the complaint to the light, so that it may project itself out of its concentrated form. In the light that scatters from the prism of a complaint, the shape, colour, and texture of the base substance becomes accessible. At this point, one can analyze not the complaint itself, but the character of its substance.
Anything worth handing over to the social world comes from the substance underneath a complaint. Accordingly: a complaint forms only the lens by which a genuine, worthwhile piece of information can be viewed, recorded, and disseminated.
complaints and writing
Complaints form the basis of my writing. I am often blinded by too many bubbles rising from my emotional environment and I get lost. I capture these bubbles and refine them into crystals. I mistook this as writing for most of my life.
My complaints are only pretty stones to me—everyone has their own pretty stones, so it’s a little bit strange to walk up to others and shove your pretty stones in their face and celebrate their prettiness. Yes, they think, and my stones are pretty as well—prettier than yours. I certainly think this about others.
The light that passes through the crystals of my complaints, though, that is something else. This captures my location within the physical universe, and my surroundings which constitute my reality. Furthermore, this captures my motion in accordance with the laws of physics. So this is much more interesting than just my pretty stones.