Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast - #574: Color Talk - Green Speaks

Episode Date: September 21, 2018

I turn over my podcast to the color green, which explains in its own words what it believes. This is part five of a five-part series I'm calling "Color Talk."

I'm pulling out of my driveway. We all know what that means. It's time to have the drive to work. Okay, so today is the fifth in a series I've been doing where I let the colors talk to themselves. I let the colors talk all about themselves. So I've done white, I've done blue, I've done black, I've done red, and we're up to green. Okay, so green, take it away. Thanks, Mark. green, take it away. Thanks, Mark. Hi, everybody. It's green. So what I want to do today is I think a lot of people really misunderstand me. In fact, of all the colors, I think I'm the most misunderstood. And so I'm hoping today to sort of explain my philosophy, talk about my relationship with the other colors, and, you know, guys, just give you a little better sense of what exactly it is I believe. Okay, so let's start with the basic, the most important part, which is I think every other color, when they talk to you,

talks about what they want to change, how the world would be better if something was different about it. And my whole belief is the exact opposite. I'm the one color that says, you know what? Things don't need to change. Things are actually good the way they are. One of my beliefs is that the natural world is an amazing thing. I mean, it is truly an awesome... Like, as you really study the world and nature and understand it,

it is so beautiful, yet complex, yet simplistic. Like, it's orderly but chaotic. It's an interesting mix of things. And that one of the things that I've really come to realize is that what we want to do is not change things, is recognize things the way they are, and then take action to make sure that others don't move away from it, don't change it. Ideally, what I want is just people let things be and just people can be.

It is not my job to—I'm not trying to create action, but because I recognize that there are those who want to alter the world and want to change the natural ways, okay. I mean, I feel like I want to alter the world and want to change the natural ways, okay, I mean, I feel like I need to be protective of that. And I do believe I have a role to protect the world in the natural way as it is. So I think a lot of my philosophy sort of stems from the idea of the importance of recognizing what we have. And the thing about it is, in some ways, nature is this metaphorical onion

that every time you sort of peel away one layer, there's another layer. And there's so much depth to the world, where at the same time there is sort of a simplicity. And in some ways, nature has paradoxical qualities. And that I think that a lot of the other colors want answers to be super clear. And the reality is that nature is not so simple in that way. And that there's a lot of different ways that it functions. And I think what happens is, for example, white wants an orderly world.

And while some of nature is very orderly, some of it isn't. And white's not okay with that. You know, blue wants to understand everything, and there's things in the world that can't be understood. Blue's not okay with that. You know, blue wants to understand everything, and there's things in the world that can't be understood. Blue's not okay with that. You know, black wants to sort of do what it wants to do, and there's responsibilities that you have to the world that you can't just shirk.

Black doesn't get that. And red, you know, there are a lot of, there are times of inaction. There's times in which what the world is about is sitting back and just absorbing it all. And Red's not good at that. And that each color kind of has their issue with what they see about the world. And each one has sort of their own direction. And I think what happens is they get distracted.

That part of understanding the world as it is, is taking the time to stop and really observe it and listen to it and soak it all in. You know, really, ideally what I want is I want the world to continue to grow. I'm all about growth. I want the, I do like natural change. I do like adaptation. Somehow, one of the things I think that people sort of peg me in is they really like to sort of paint me as a color that doesn't like things. As if, you know, I'm... A real popular one is I'm all against change. Or I'm naive because I don't understand the way the world works. And that's the... Here's the funny thing. Okay, I'm naive because I don't understand the way the world works.

And here's the funny thing. I'm naive. No, I'm actually the color that spends the most time understanding. This idea that everybody else kind of glosses over what the world is and simplifies it to some means by which they get to do what they want to do

and not really understand the complexities of the world. That's not being naive. The world is a very complex thing and there are a lot of moving parts and there's, I mean, like, just the interconnectivity of it. Like, one of the things as you really study nature is not only is it beautiful, but the interconnectivity of it,

the community aspect, the fact that all the pieces have meaning and work with one another, it is amazing. And the idea that these other colors just don't stop to really observe that and then I'm the naive one because I'm the one paying attention

or the idea that I'm against change. The world constantly changes. It constantly changes. My, I'm against change. The world constantly changes. It constantly changes. My issue is not with change. But there is a difference between natural change and unnatural change. You know, if a lion needs to kill a gazelle to eat, okay, that makes sense. That death has meaning. There's a reason to it.

It's part of the system. But if somebody else shoots somebody for money or something, you know what I'm saying? That is unnatural. And the fact that some other colors can't understand the difference between something that is natural and something that is unnatural doesn't make me

the dumb one. It doesn't make me the one that doesn't get it. I very much want the world to change. I just want the world to change in a way that fits what the world is. And I'm not so egotistical that I believe that my wants are more important than the world's wants. That if I want something, that I should disrupt the natural flow just because I need something. Or not even need something, I want something.

Not even that I need it, but I want it. Okay, so what I want to do is I'm going to talk a little bit about the other colors. I'll start with my allies and get to my foes. And then we'll talk about sort of what that means. Because nature, like I said, is very complex. So let's first talk about red. Red understands that there is a wild side to nature.

Red, for example, is very good at looking within and understanding that there are, there are messages that come from within. Now, red calls them impulses, I call them instincts, it doesn't really matter. They're just nat, you know, you are naturally taught to feel certain things and those things need to be listened to because they let you know what is going on. That, you know, when it is time to eat, your body will tell you it is time to eat. It will let you know. And that no matter what needs to happen, you will get messages.

And you need to listen to that. You need to understand that. And Red really gets that there is a feral side, you know, to things. That nature can be at times very wild and very chaotic. And Red gets the chaos. Red understands that things aren't always so orderly and that things happen for reasons that you need to learn and understand, but that you don't have to

prescriptively, you know, the red can live in the moment. And part of being part of nature is going with the flow, is as things happen, is recognizing them and going along with it. And it's about, at times, losing control. That is okay. You know, embracing your wild side, that is a part of nature. Nature has a wild side. Now, meanwhile, there's also a serene side.

There's a quiet side. There's an orderly side. You know, one of the things about nature that is really amazing is, in some level, how orderly it is. How clearly things click and work together. some level how orderly it is, how clearly things click and work together. And white is really good at looking without, at seeing those connections outside, and understanding the role of the community, and seeing how those pieces have to work together. Now, the thing with red and white is red doesn't really see the orderly, serene side, and white doesn't really see the chaotic, you know, instinctual side.

So, while I appreciate both of them, in some ways, if you take, like, red and white sort of see the, embrace the two opposites of nature, that nature has the chaos and has the order. And they each understand half of that. Like, one of the reasons that I sort of like red and white is between the two of them, they sort of embrace the fullness of nature. Now, they each has their own half that they sort of care about, but each one of them kind

of gets it. They kind of get, at least they get an aspect of it. You know what I'm saying? Red understands the needs of the self and impulses and how you have to do what you have to do. And white understands the community and interconnectivity and the role that we play in the world around us. Okay.

And like I said, one of the things that's really interesting when you have a chance to observe nature is how there's a micro, there's a macro. You know, in some level, the studying of nature is the studying of opposites to certain things. Oh, here's another thing that I just want to stress. Some of the other colors really feel that the colors that oppose them need to be eradicated. Like, you went to white, and white is like, oh, well, if I need to preemptively eradicate black and red, I will do so. I, well, and I'll get to this in a second,

I have my issues with blue and black. I do understand that they're part of the system. I understand that. Blue has a role to play. Blue has a role to play. Black has a role to play. And I am not one of those colors that, I mean, there's things that they do that I feel they need to not do, and so I'm not condoning all the actions of blue and black,

but I get their purpose. I understand that they need to exist. There is an order in the their purpose. I understand that they need to exist. There is an order in the color pie. I get that. I'm not one of these colors that if given free reign would just obliterate other colors. I would not do that. That I understand there's a balance to what's going on. That said, I do have some issues, so let's walk through those issues. Okay, so first let's talk about blue. So one of the things is I believe that nature dictates who you are as a person. You have genes, you have inherent abilities, you come from a society, you come from a lineage,

that you are part of something bigger than yourself. But you are a piece of that. And that one of the things that I believe really strongly is that you are born into, you are born who you are. You know what I'm saying? Now, it might take time. I'm not saying there's not exploration that gets to be done. I'm not saying you get to learn more about yourself.

But you are who you are. You are born who you are. And life is about exploring and understanding who you are. And Blue is really in denial about that. Blue really believes that it's like, well, you don't need to be who you are. You can be something else. well, you don't need to be who you are. You can be something else.

And that, the funny thing to me, I mean, Blue is so interested in knowledge and perfection, yet it turns away from sort of the true perfection, right? Like you were born, you were born with such potential to be something. And life is about finding that and living that, not about turning your back to it. You know what I'm saying? Blue really has this idea that, like,

it doesn't matter where you come from. Your genetics don't matter. Your lineage doesn't matter. All of that is just irrelevant. And as if, you know, you should do whatever you want to do. Your lineage doesn't matter. All that is just irrelevant. And as if, you know, you should do whatever you want to do. And it really, like one of the things that I've come to understand, just spending a lot of time, you know, observing nature and thinking about nature and doing all that, is that the biggest problem is when you reject your nature, when you don't understand or embrace who you are and how you fit in. And that one of the things that I always try to explain is you are born belonging. You are born being

part of something. Now that doesn't mean you understand it. That doesn't mean you can see it. You know what I'm saying? Like one of the big things is blue is so caught up in what you can prove that it doesn't understand that there are things beyond kind of intellect. Like, Blue is really, really into, it's all about knowing, and not that I don't think you can't know things, but in general, I believe that wisdom is more important than intelligence. I mean, I know Blue would argue with that,

but the idea is, do you understand the impact of what you know and how it affects things? You know, Blue has this idea that just pure knowledge in its absolute form is somehow important. And I mean, some knowledge is important. And understanding who you are is important. And I do think people should spend time and energy learning about themselves. And I do think people should spend time and energy learning about themselves. But I don't believe that it is your role to sort of just learn everything there is to learn.

Learn what you need to know about your role, about how you fit. And blue, interestingly, for the color that is all about knowledge, really embraces a lot of ignorance. And blue will not believe in things it can't prove. You know, and, I mean, so here's the contrast of blue. Blue believes, A, that knowledge is power, and B, won't believe in anything it can't prove. So right there, it's like, I need to know,

but there's certain things I will not know because I can't prove them. As if the ability to prove them makes them true or not. Like, that is the ego that I'm talking about. You have to learn to let go of your ego. You know, blue is like, I am so important that if I can't prove something exists, then it doesn't exist. Like, only if I can't prove something exists, then it doesn't exist.

Like, only if I can prove it to myself is it real. And I'm like, there are things that are real that you will never understand. This idea that in order for it to really exist, you have to understand it, that is such, ironically, I'm the naive one, I'm the naive color, and you're willing to just ignore things just because you can't prove them? I mean, that to me seems silly.

But that is my issue with blue, is blue has a big identity problem in that it sort of, in that it sort of, it is unwilling to learn. Like, it wants to learn in a superficial way, but won't learn in a substantial way. And I find that hypocritical. You know, I really believe that, like, blue for all the things it professes doesn't really live up to a lot of those ideals. Like, perfection, I're like, perfection.

I'm all about perfection. Become the perfect you of who you can be, of who you were born to be. Don't change the things about you that make you special, that make, you know, don't disconnect from the life around you. Don't walk away from your role. That's not perfection. Okay. Let's talk black now.

that's not perfection. Okay, let's talk black now. So black, one of the things that I believe is that as you study the world and you see how things unfold, you realize that the world has a plan for you, that you have a destiny, and that one of the things you need to learn is you need to understand your destiny. Not reject your destiny. Not walk away from your destiny. Understand, embrace, and fill your destiny. Black really has a problem with this. The idea that you, like, black is, once again, so egotistical, so selfish,

that black is like, I want to do what I want to do. Damn the consequences. And that one of the things that makes black so dangerous is that it will take things and destroy them solely for the sake of because black wants to do something, you know, and that what is more disruptive to the natural order than people sort of just disrespecting it and then just messing it up? I mean, that is quite dangerous. Like, I believe that the destiny is what you are. Like, you have a destiny.

Your job is, like, you have an identity you have to figure out. You have a role you have to figure out. What are you supposed to do? What is your destiny in the world? And I really believe strongly that what you need to do is figure out how your identity plays into your role.

And then that creates your destiny, fulfill your destiny. And one of the things that is troublesome for black is that they seem to want to destroy the system. They have no respect for the system. Black... So here's the thing that comes up a lot. I heard black say this, where black... A lot of times people talk about how I'm life and black is death

and what's going on there. I'm like, no, no, no. I don't dislike death. I'm not anti-death. Death is a very important part of the overall ritual. Things live, they die. But they die because it's their time to die. They die because in part of a larger system, either they're food for something else or they've fulfilled their purpose or whatever.

Death has a role, but Black wants to usurp death. Death is not a tool to be used. Death is not some stick, some weapon to wield. And Black really treats death like it's some, it's a personal weapon that it gets to use

to do whatever it wants. And in doing that, it just warps things. So here's my example, is, let's say I am a lion. I'll use my lion example. I'm a lion and I'm hungry. Okay, I need to kill to eat so that I, you know, I can eat myself and feed my family and grow.

And there's a natural system of work there. But let's say I just go, I'm a hunter, and I just go kill all the gazelles just because I can. Because it's fun. Because I can take a picture with the gazelle carcasses as a trophy. So, okay. The first, I'm part of nature. And to be honest, look, part of keeping the gazelle population in control

is that there's predators that hunt it. That's part of the natural ecosystem. Okay, but I go shoot all the gazelle, I'm not messing with the ecosystem. There's creatures that depend upon, the lions, for starters, depend upon those gazelles for food. And those gazelles might, you know, eat plants and things that are,

like, you can't just take things out of the ecosystem. And, I mean, once again, it's the motivation. The lion is part of the ecosystem, and eating the gazelle is part of what is going on. The hunter coming in and just shooting things, it's not. And so I'm not anti-death I very much believe that death has a role to play but that is my big thing

maybe not my theme today is things have a role they play and they have a purpose they play and as long as they fulfill their purpose that is great but as soon as things try to fulfill their purpose, that is great. But as soon as things try to change their purpose or neglect their purpose or reject their purpose or walk away from, you know,

as soon as things try to change the natural order, that is when bad things happen. And so while normally I'm pretty passive, that what my ideal world is that people stop messing with it and I can just relax and enjoy it. What I want to do ideally is I want to watch the world grow and soak it all in. That's what I want to do. I don't want to be out there having to do stuff, but what I've discovered is there are those that want to harm nature

and the natural order. And I can't. I can't let that happen. And so a lot of my action is reaction, is trying to deal with things and doing that. And sometimes, sometimes I make use of the forces of nature, of the forces of growth as a means to help accomplish my tasks. Like, I know people will say, a giant growth, that's unnatural. And I'm like, well, sometimes I have to use the tools of nature to help keep things in check.

It is not something I do willy-nilly. It is something that I do carefully. nilly. It is something that I do carefully. And, you know, one of the reasons that I tap into nature and I tap into the, the, the arsenal that is nature is I have to serve as a protector. That when I see things, when I see things are getting into problem area, I have to act. Because if I don't, if I don't, the results are, are troublesome. Um, and I, one of the things that I think happens is, I mean, let me talk a little bit more about how I get painted by other colors. Um, for starters, I, I'm seen as being very, um, what's the word? Uh don't know. Maybe a fuddy-duddy. I'm seeing as not sometimes, like I'm seeing this not having a sense of humor. I have a lovely sense of humor. Nature is funny. Nature is very funny. And it's, for example example the kind of humor that I enjoy

is when people misjudge nature the nature shows them how they're wrong you know that you might laugh at a small creature but that small creature especially in numbers can prove quite potent

in ways you might not realize or it is interesting to see something where people just misjudge something and that nature has a way of sort of fighting back a lot of times. I mean, I do what I can to protect nature, but nature also has a way of protecting itself. And that, that to me is quite funny. Um, you know, I, I think sometimes people think, uh, right, that I, I'm not willing to act when it matters. I, I am. Um, the thing to remember is I don't act just to do it. I don't get bored. I don't, you know, I, I don't do things out of, I have nothing else to do.

Any action I take is because it's necessary and I'm protecting something. If not, look, I want to lay back and just enjoy nature. Like one of the things is I don't think, I think the other colors sometimes are so caught up in the little rat race they've made for themselves that they can't sit back and smell the roses and enjoy what the world has to offer. I do do that. I like to say that I think I'm the happiest color. And the reason is, the reason that I'm happy is that I'm able to recognize the beauty that exists. I'm able to recognize how awesome the world actually is. And, you know, I think a lot of the other cowers, like, one of the things that I think

happens is the other cowers are so caught up in their little, their little self-deluded journey that they, they just don't, you know, it's like, oh no, this thing has to change. And they don't realize that, you know, how about, don't worry about it changing. How, how about the way it is? And I don't think the colors, I mean, the reason I obviously white, white and red are allies of mine is red is able to stop and look within is red is able to stop and look within. White is able to stop and look without. But in general, I find that one of the things

that I would like the colors to do more is appreciate what they have. I think the colors spend a lot of time talking about what they don't have and focusing on what they don't have rather than what they do have. And because of that, look, I think if you want to live a happy life, spend more time appreciating what you have than worrying about the things you don't. Because if you focus on what you don't, then the majority of your life is set in a negative place.

I don't have this thing. But if you enjoy the things you do have, the majority of your life is happiness on recognizing the awesome things you have. And that's a big thing for me about nature in general. Really, my major thing to people is

stop and look and watch. I'm a big believer that people just need to be more aware. Like, for example, something I'll say to people is, go outside and take a minute. Don't say anything. Just look around. And what you will notice is, within a minute, within a minute,

you will find a piece of beauty. I mean, you can't not. Nature is just filled with beauty. Whether it's a sunset or whether it's a mother holding a baby or whether it's the way the wind blows or the crackling of fire or the swoosh of water.

I mean, just everywhere you turn, that nature is so engrossing. Like, how many things can you just stare at and sort of lose yourself in? I mean, nature, that's what nature is. It's just full of all these really cool things. And then, take the next layer. Okay, walk away from the, you know,

go beyond the beauty and start looking at the interconnectivity. Start looking at how all the things start coming together of how, you know, in order to have the, in order to see the landscape you're seeing, how all the different components had to happen and how the trees had to grow and the animals had to grow and like all of it. And when you sort of stop and just observe it and think about it and understand it, it is so big and so awesome

and so beautiful. And that's there. That is something you have right now. And I think a lot of people, the reason that they're unhappy stems from the fact of them not embracing what they have. And anyway, I'm a big believer of appreciation and of awareness. And, you know, I will do what I need to do to be the protector of nature. And look, I wish I didn't have to be. I wish that everybody just respected nature and no one tried to usurp it.

And it just could be the way it wanted to be. That it just, like I said, my end goal is I just want the world to grow. I want, like, if you look over the years, all the cool things that nature, it's going to keep doing that. You know what I'm saying? New species will be born and new phenomenon will happen. You know what I'm saying? And there's so much depth.

In some level, like I said, to use my onion metaphor, every time you dig deeper, you will find something new. And ironically, so for example, I find something interesting. My two enemies.

So blue is all about perfection and knowledge. And there's nothing more perfect than nature. And there's nothing that has more to learn from it than nature. Yet blue basically rejects it. Black is all about power and opportunity. And I'm like, there's no... Nature has endless opportunities. And the ultimate like, there's no... Nature has endless opportunities and the ultimate source of power is nature.

So the very things that blue and black are looking for are there in nature, yet both of them reject it. Both of them sort of in their own ego and their own obsession with themselves and how they think of things, like the thing that would give them what they most want, they're just ignoring. I mean, it's funny.

Red wants freedom. White wants peace. What is more free than nature? What is more peaceful than nature? You know what I'm saying? Like, it's funny. If you look at all the other colors and the things they want

and the goals they want and what they're looking for, like, it's all there. It's all there. And I know, I know that I get misunderstood. I know that a lot of people, like, in some ways, what I have to say is simple. The world is there. Observe it. Appreciate it. That simple, right? But in some ways, it's very complex. There are a lot of moving pieces to the world. The world, there's a lot of paradoxes in the world. There's a lot of things that don't make sense on the surface. You know, there's so many philosophers that have spent most of their lives

sort of trying to understand and embrace nature. And one of the things you fundamentally have to do is realize that it doesn't fit neatly into any... Nature sort of doesn't allow simple and easy categorization. That it is something so different in how it is made that we as humans can't wrap the brain around it. That it is a little too foreign in its nature. And so on some levels I get it. Like understanding nature, there's no... Like you can study nature from the day you were born to the day you die,

and you will get a lot of it, but not all of it. Not all of it even can be understood. There's parts of nature that I don't think are understandable. It drives blue nutty, but it is true. And there's things in nature that you can't contain. There's things you can't control. I know that drives black nutty. But that is the essence

of nature in that it is simple yet complex. It is in some ways nature is what it is in that nature itself is both simple and complex. And as you study nature, you discover the element

of nature is simple but complex. You know, it is kind of it is interesting in that it is the very thing, you know, it is the very thing that it, like, it's kind of a microcosm of itself. That the very qualities that it represents are qualities that it holds. And that's one of the cool things you understand, like, oh, nature is simple and complex to understand and as you study it, you go, oh, well nature itself is simple and nature itself is complex anyway

it is something you can forever study and enjoy, so anyway I am now at work, so I'm going to pass it over back to Mark but I hope today you guys gave you a little bit of understanding of the coolness

and the essence of my philosophy. I know it's not always that easy to understand, but it is something important to understand, and I hope I communicated and I connected with you today. Okay, Mark, back to you. Well, thank you, Green. That was very informative, very interesting. So anyway, guys, I'm now at park, so we all know

what that means. It means this is the end of my drive to work so instead of talking magic it's time for me to make a magic i'll see you next time