Ragu Soup with Pratityasamutpada: A Wordplay on Reality

The absurdity effect: Adding a dash of quirkiness to your perception

A Wordplay on Reality - AI Image by Author (Microsoft Designer)

Hey, you! Yes, you who's reading this. Have you ever stopped to look at the bubbles in your water glass and thought, "Hey, they look like a silent tribute to quantum entanglement"? No? Well, welcome to my slightly off-kilter world!

First of all, I deeply apologize for the name I chose for this thought technique. "Ragu Soup with Pratityasamutpada"? What on earth was I thinking? I'm Neapolitan, for heaven's sake! Ragu is a serious matter, not some philosophical game. And mixing it with a Buddhist concept? That's enough to make both my grandmother and Buddha himself roll over in their graves.

Slow cooking

Thinking about it, maybe there's a reason behind this craziness. Ragu, with its slow cooking and blending of flavours, is kind of like Pratityasamutpada, the Buddhist idea of everything being connected. Each ingredient in ragu needs the others, just like everything in the world is linked together.

Plus, both Ragu and Pratityasamutpada require patience and attention to be fully appreciated. So maybe there's a sort of hidden wisdom in this absurd combination. Or maybe I'm just trying to justify a completely crazy name choice. Who knows?

Don't be fooled by the high-sounding (and absurd) name. It's just a quirky way of looking at the world, born from a strange mix of "New Weird" stories, Vedanta philosophy, and a marathon of dystopian films.

Find magic in the ordinary

The idea is simple: take something ordinary and transform it into something... well, decidedly less ordinary. It's as if you've put on magical realism glasses in reverse. Instead of adding magical elements to reality, I try to find magic in the ordinary. Confused? Don't worry, everything is going to be all right.

A Wordplay on Reality - AI Image by Author (Microsoft Designer)

Here are some examples of my creative delirium:

1. "Dawn crept into the sky like a rusty soft palate." (Because everyone knows the sky is a huge cosmic clock, right?)

2. "The gurgle of the toilet flush was a siren song of the urban underworld." (Who would have thought the bathroom could be so poetic?)

3. "The cracks in the wall drew a neural map of the sleeping city." (Next time your landlord complains, tell him you're just decoding the secrets of the universe.)

Surprising

See the pattern? It's as if I'm trying to make our relationship with reality a bit more "crumbly," so less dualistic, less mentally conditioned, less ego-referenced, less and "indoctrinated." Not that there's anything wrong with logic, but a little absurdity doesn't hurt now and then, right?

I'm not saying you should go around talking like this (unless you want to get strange looks). It's more of a mental exercise to shake up that box we call a brain. It's surprising how, after a while, you start to see things slightly differently. As if the world had acquired a new dimension, a bit stranger, a bit more magical.

And…so?

And you know what the best part is? You can do it anywhere, anytime. While brushing your teeth, walking, or waiting for the bus. It doesn't require special equipment, just a bit of imagination and the willingness to be silly.

"In the morning, my stomach stirs like a water droplet journeying towards sonoluminescence while watching Terence McKenna videos on YouTube, and my blender is so fast it seems to be powered by the Casimir Engine, perhaps hidden behind my gigantic fridge."

So, the next time you're bored, try playing this game. Look at the world around you and ask yourself: "How can I make this thing they're trying to make appear ordinary, completely absurd as it is?" You might be surprised at how fun it is, and who knows, you might even discover a new way of seeing things. Also because...

"The most solid reality is like worm-eaten wood."

(Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching)

And remember, if someone asks what you're doing, you can always say you're preparing a "Ragu Soup with Pratityasamutpada." I'm sure they'll understand perfectly... or maybe they'll look at you as if you've just stepped out of a Dalí painting. But hey, that's all part of the fun, isn't it?

Feel free to leave a comment.

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