Simply, Life: Reflections on Living

Escape

Austin Lochan Dodd — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:18:06 GMT

Much of theology and moral philosophy seem to focus on alleviating or escaping suffering and the other less desirable aspects of being human in our world. Sometimes these pursuits focus on the individual, what they can do to become more moral or to understand some deeper nature of reality.

Yet no matter what the individual or the disciplines of theology and philosophy achieve, the world around us still exists. Unless the population of the world becomes ascetics, each time an enlightened individual dies they give rise to further suffering as the active good they can do is taken away and their ability to ease the suffering of others is lost.

Many theologies and philosophies simply allow a person to escape the world, rather than accepting it and joining with it. What of animals, those with brain injuries, and those with intellectual disability who lack the faculties to reach some concocted form of higher consciousness?

Just as those who invest too fully in material things to escape the harshness of reality, a person can use intellectual and spiritual pursuits to do the same: consoling themselves while forsaking others. At some point the suffering returns after you disengage from the pursuit you put yourself into. We know the human mind can take us to amazing places, and yet that feeling does not last forever. All these pictures of reality that theology and moral philosophy give us are incomplete. Why commit yourself to seeing the world solely through a specific lens?

Much of this world is unexplainable. There are many convenient stories we can tell about it to explain away things or to make sense of things. Yet, must the world make sense? Or can it simply be allowed to be an oddity? An absurdity? Must there be an answer to everything? Or should we simply make do, the best we can, with what we are given?

We can dizzy ourselves all day with thought and separate ourselves further from the world. Or, we can humbly join with the world and live life. Instead of seeking to overcome pain and suffering, we can accept their existence and as we live do what we can to comfort and ease the pain of those who bear it.

Allure of Ideology

Austin Lochan Dodd — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 18:36:10 GMT

It is so easy to be captured by an ideology and to cling to it no matter what; to believe it wholeheartedly despite evidence that rebuts it. Whole professions become captured by ideology. This capture is a significant limiting factor to life.

When we learn something and see truth in it, we can start to see everything through that lens. We can begin to organize everything into boxes and explanations that fit that ideology or worldview we have. We can build everything up into our own image and think of it as the truth, even if false or lacking merit.

People have debates to further fight for their positions, even if they know their argument is weak or incomplete. We can get caught up in living by our assertions. These assertions can misguide us and lead us to invest time in pursuits that may ultimately be a waste; simply because we did not catch the error in our thinking.

The most important thing in moments where we realize our thinking is flawed is to be willing to stop, to admit the mistake, and then to start over. Be careful what ideas you go all in for; it is best to be truly convinced it is worth your time and investment, as well as the potential investment of others.

Sometimes it is best to not throw yourself headlong into some new idea, most often it is likely a passing craze, and if it is not then you have time to engage with it later. Sometimes missing out opens the opportunity for something greater down the road. It leaves you available to engage more deeply and soberly with other ideas and evidence that may be more promising.

agnostic

Austin Lochan Dodd — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 18:05:51 GMT

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God so often is a catch all term, 

Made to mean whatever a person hopes it to mean, 

Perhaps a deity, 

Perhaps the thing from which all existence emanates, 

Perhaps something personal, 

Known only to the one whose heart in which the definition lies.  

 

For me,  

God has some meaning, 

One that I fail to articulate, 

And whose existence I am agnostic about. 

 

Yet, 

Without God I am lost.  

I am angry. 

I am bitter. 

 

With religions of God, 

I am further lost, 

Left with prayers and rituals that feel empty. 

 

All religions seem to miss the mark they aim for, 

Seeking God or Salvation, 

And sidetracked on something they misinterpret to be that thing, 

Always falling short of the thing itself. 

 

Yet glimmers of the thing remain. 

The richness and beauty that can be found in human life, 

What more can be found in turning our mind to something greater, 

Beyond selfish pursuits and material pleasure. 

 

Something portrayed best through creation and communion together, 

Through love and care, 

Through action and nurturing,  

Through maintaining values that allow life to flourish and sustain.

Without Explanation

Austin Lochan Dodd — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:04:05 GMT

Emotivism gets much right and yet leaves much unrecognized. Human life is a complex picture. For what reason do we have these emotional reactions to “right” and “wrong”? Some of these reactions are innate to most humans; and then others are individual to each person and their makeup. Other reactions are socialized over time and outside of us. They are things we are socialized and conditioned to believe as they have been deemed preferable for the betterment of society. We teach them and pass them down.

Not directly related to emotivism is the “useful fiction” of free will. It may well be true that we do not have free will; that actions are determined and choices are made before we even have awareness of them. Yet, it is also true that if we believe ourselves to have free will, it changes how we act. One who believes in choice will act differently than one who believes they have no control of their life whatsoever. There is the potential to change and to influence life in unexpected ways. This reality is an important consideration, something that demonstrates further complexity than what may first have been seen.

It appears at times that those in philosophy and science think too deeply about a topic and lose sight of the bigger picture. There needs to be a tango of sorts between deep thinking and getting a more generalist outside view. There appears to be this drive in some to always seek to explain something, or find the answer to something, and yet the thing may be without explanation.

In the end, we may only be able to recognize and describe. To see what is before us and understand that things are simply as they are. Perhaps subject to change, but for now as they are.

On Emotivism

Austin Lochan Dodd — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 18:16:44 GMT

I am inclined to believe that emotivism is true, and yet there is something within me that does not believe it. Reflecting on it brings forth the thought that emotivism is simply not practical. It is not sufficient in and of itself. It may be sufficient if people truly lived independent, isolated, and alone. But in an interconnected, complex, and diverse world, it seems obviously lacking.

I do agree that many people make decisions based on their emotional response to things. Like the saying “cleanliness is next to godliness”, many people emote that a filthy home is disgusting and this has a large bearing on the moral weight they place on cleanliness and hygiene. And yet, this disgust reaction could also be due to socialization itself, being conditioned over time to find something disgusting that one naturally does not. It is quite possible that someone could not have a disgust reaction at all to lack of hygiene, for short periods neglect their own hygiene, and yet still believe being filthy is wrong simply because it is what their religion or family or society has taught them. They could themselves emote that being filthy is enjoyable, and yet through reflection and rational thought realize that due to the risk of germs and illness, it is preferential to be clean and thus they follow an edict of cleanliness in their life in spite of their emotive preference and teach their children to do the same. Emotivism in and of itself is too simplistic to explain the complexity of human moral and ethical life.

What of the emotions one feels when a person is enduring immense suffering before them? Even trying to block it out and be numb to it is a defense against the deep emotion itself. Those who are sadists are said to feel pleasure towards it. Yet, most people have an utter revulsion against the suffering of others. There is some aspect of me that simply feels this suffering must be wrong. It is so disquieting and so terrible that somehow it must be wrong and it must be good to limit the most intense forms of suffering. This is a feeling that I have. It is as if I am emoting a “yay” toward this moral edict, asserting it to be right, despite what the rare sadist may feel. That sadistic view itself brings about an even deeper discomfort and disgust toward that idea that someone could find joy in the suffering of another.

I think it is most plausible that most moral and ethical beliefs are likely founded, at their core, on emotive responses based in genetics and evolution. And yet, so what? If we all define our moral life based off of these emotes, there is no way for us to truly live within a society. There needs to be some form of social contract. It seems logical for there to be some agreement that people can act based on most of their disgusts and preferences; yet these emotes structuring their actions cannot then violate the ability of others to put forth their agency too. The agency of one is limited by the agency of another.

It seems almost self-evident that emotivism must be managed by social contract. And then what does a social contract become? It becomes ethics, it becomes what a society negotiates to be within the realm of acceptable actions and unacceptable ones; what is right to do and wrong to do. This includes values and ethics that may have no immediate value, but in the long term prevent outcomes that everyone agrees would be worse than the current state.

We can get trapped by our immediate emotions and be disgusted by what they lead us to do. Our short term gains can torment us once a sober mind returns. Stuck between the feeling something was good for us in the moment, and finding it bad for us in hindsight. It is necessary for us to balance our whims with something seemingly outside of us, whether it is a purported objective truth or some internal guideline. We need balance and restraints. We need checks on our impulses. Without them we are left in a state of internal chaos, loving and hating ourselves from one moment to the next.

Ethics is quite complex. Do I want there to be an objective moral truth we can discover? Yes. Do I think there is? No. Do I think it is purely subjective? No, it simply seems false to say it is so. Most people are revolted by the idea that morality is subjective, most people want there to be right and wrong. So we are left to define our morals and ethics within a social contract. We are left to enshrine this within custom, culture, and law. We are left to socialize one another in a way that supports the thriving of our lives and society. For many, including me, this feels right. Emotively, it feels like the best path forward.

Unsettling

Austin Lochan Dodd — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:18:46 GMT

There is something unsettling about life. Something that shakes the soul and keeps a person up at night. Perhaps it is the reality of death, that each thing we do we may one day never experience again.

Yet, for me, it is an unsettling in a general sense; a feeling at want for words to express it. My mind seeking something it feels cannot be found. The thing itself is felt when together with family, and yet fades to a mourning when it is time to go home.

It is a longing and a desire to be immersed and engaged in something more. A desire to be free from the mundane, and yet for the mundane to feel magnificent.

There is something unsettling. Like the worst of a horror film. Something that shakes you to the core. When you realize much of what you do is a simple attempt to relieve this uneasiness. The fact of discomfort. The fact of annihilation. Relieved only when one truly feels alive and immersed in the deepest moments of life.

All will one day cease to exist. We are each so vulnerable, so at risk of death. So delicate. In any moment we could be gone. Life enjoyed, even in the moment, cannot erase this fact. Its truth comes like a twisted dawn. A hand on your shoulder you wish was not there. Something that cannot be stopped. And yet despite this, we persist. The daunting thought loosens its grip and seems like a distant memory; until it returns again.

How bittersweet it all is. How ignorant we can be of it. How we can pretend it is not so. Unsettling and beautiful all at once.

Trees in Fall

Austin Lochan Dodd — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 23:50:36 GMT

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Trees in fall,
So seamless,
Their leaves scatter the ground.

Forests now bare,
As if life never existed.

In spring they grew,
Nourished by rain and earth,
Green leaves radiated.

Year after year,
Indifferent by our eye,
They shed.

Do they mourn?
Do they protest?
Do they silently cry?
There is no way to tell,
Their experience unknowable.

Naked they bear the dark bitterness of winter,
How easy it seems,
And yet it torments us

The warm rains come,
Life blooms anew,
Sometimes the same as it was,
Other times different than before.

Looking upon trees in fall.


© 2025 Austin Lochan Dodd

Ritual

Austin Lochan Dodd — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:08:49 GMT

All of life’s actions are a ritual. Each action has extreme significance. Each action communicates what is important to us, what we value. Action is ritual. Ritual embeds meaning. Ritual shapes connection. The way in which we perform our rituals shapes what is meaningful in our life and strengthens our connection to those things we find meaningful.

Our rituals define us and they should be done with care. Our rituals bring us back to what we want to remember. Life is grounded by ritual. Without ritual each action wanders without being able to realize it’s full potential. Without ritual we are lost.

Ritual brings familiarity and it sets a course. Ritual gives rhythm to life. With ritual there is security and comfort. Ritual keeps us present and allows us to be aware even in the most chaotic of times. Ritual preserves all things and allows life to carry on. Ritual can always change, yet only to preserve the meaning it is trying to convey. Ritual guides. Ritual prepares us for what is to come. Ritual fuels the cycle of life as we maintain it. Ritual deepens understanding.

Ritual allows us to face many things in life, to interact with it fully, and to come away from it with closure and understanding. Ritual allows us to appreciate the moments we are experiencing and to bring realization of how precious and magnificent these moments are. Ritual recognizes even the most tragic and painful of moments and allows us to navigate them fully. Ritual is a process of love. Ritually fully gives space to the range of life’s experiences, feelings, and moments. Ritual fosters healing. Ritual carries on.

Ritual is customs and culture, and yet it is more than this too. The seasons have their rituals, our bodies have their rituals, and we further create and discern rituals as we live and interact. Ritual is what makes us human and what makes us alive.

Nine

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:42:48 GMT

He looks down. His thumb glides upward against the screen. His thumb glides upward again. His hand is in a fist; he rests his head on it. He glides his thumb upward again. This repeats. He continues to sit. He has not moved. He finds nothing of interest.

Eight

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:41:42 GMT

He sits at his desk. He feels a cold breeze across his arms. His body is slumped. He is breathing shallow. His eyes blink, stay closed for a moment, then open again. He has no thought. His eyes open quick. He readjusts. He takes out a pen to write. The paper is yellow. He looks at it, blinks long again. He holds the pen. He is not writing. His body stays slumped. He yawns.

Seven

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:37:50 GMT

He is walking around a parking lot. Headphones in his ears. The cord is white. The sun is shining. His head and neck are warm. Pavement reflects heat. He is wearing sunglasses. He stops. He closes his eyes. The sun is bright. It has been 15 minutes. His breathing slows. His thoughts are unclear. He walks toward the door.

Six

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:32:11 GMT

He is sitting on the edge of a couch. His niece adjusts her position. She moves her hand; the cards being turned away. Two others hold cards. He hears a laugh. “I know the card you have!” His attention is interrupted. He sips from his tea. It is warm. His Aunt speaks. The TV is on. The sound is off. He looks. He gently rests his cup on the table. His hands clap. He turns to see Uncle’s teeth through smiling lips, his Aunt smiles back.

Five

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:26:22 GMT

Her legs lay across his, warm as they rest on his lap. He is sitting on a couch. The TV is off. He looks at her. His eyes moving from eyes to chin to lips. He looks down. His hand holds hers. His thumb moves slowly back and forth. He talks. She smiles. Her lips slightly open in response. He hears her soft voice. He hears her breathe; the air moving along her lips. Her lungs push the air back out.

Four

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:20:58 GMT

He grasps a weight in each hand feeling their pull toward the ground. He places them down. He lays, back to the floor and hoists each weight up. His elbows touch the ground. The weights push his arms against the floor. Push. Push. Push. He straightens his arms, flexes, and sees the weights rising, lowering. His breath quickens, he can feel the blood flowing to his chest. He pushes, calms his breathing, pushes again. His muscles ache and burn. He drops the weights to his side.

Three

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:15:17 GMT

Tap, tap, tap, tap is heard over and over. He presses the delete key. He looks at a screen, dim, but still causing his eyes to squint. He types word after word, trying to remember to blink and look away.

Two

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:14:16 GMT

He stares at a picture on the wall. The sun illuminates the green hues. His glance does not wane. Transfixed at the scene. He has no other thought on his mind, simply looking.

One

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:13:20 GMT

He sits at a desk, slumped in a chair, legs stretched out. Mid-day, the rain just stopped. His head turns to look out the window. Beautiful purple flowers bloom on a bush. Cars drive by, they are gone, one drives by fast. He wonders where everyone is going. To an appointment maybe? Their only day for errands? He puts the blue cover back on his container for lunch. Back to work.

memories

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:10:09 GMT

In dark slumber, a young child is awakened by the rush of wind like a raging river by the window. Days before the sun burned bright and blankets balled up on the floor, too warm to wear. Change has come. Icy breath seeps through the windows and the floor has turned to cavern stone, carpet like frosted moss. The child would have stayed wrapped tight if it were not for the pain in their belly and the smell of baking bread dancing down the hall.

The bread is a distant memory. The chill has come, gone, come again many times. The child is child no more, laying in bed wrapped in blankets.

Gone from awaking to welcoming smells, to rising in stillness before the birds. The cold stove is theirs to warm, the dough to kneed with stiff hand.

As it bakes, the smell invites memories.

savor

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:06:06 GMT

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All will fade.

The elder shade of a tree’s canopy,
The sunshine as it hides behind a cloud,
The laughter and happy times.
There is nothing that lasts.

Just an echo…

This too shall pass.

Savor this moment, it will be gone.

There is nothing to grasp,
Nothing to grasp.

Life will sway as it does,
Ebb and flow as a water’s edge.

Watch it, let your eyes be keen.

An impression on your heart.

That which is scarce can be treated as fodder - with unimportance and discontent,
Or treat it with reverence, care, and sacredness.

You can never get it back.


© 2023 Austin Lochan Dodd

a moment longer

Austin Lochan Dodd — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:02:26 GMT

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Just a moment longer. 
Let my eyes rest upon you, 
this land. 

Let time bestow itself on me. 
Let me breathe it in. Let me wait
here for a while. 

Let me lay where I stand and rest here. 
Let this be my camp.

And yet I must go. I must depart. It tugs at me. As the mountains or the sea does. Speaking to a deep part of me. 

What torment. 

I wish I could walk these paths each day. A familiar place. Like the trail or stream. One day perhaps.

And yet never the same. For it is a place you always have to leave. A place that never can give you what you want. A place with no residents or home. An empty shell. Beautiful, but dead.


© 2024 Austin Lochan Dodd