Energy

photo: Mobius DaXter

Energy is the fundamental essence, the lingua franca of human existence--entropy the anti-Christ. The Third Law of Thermodynamics states that "the entropy of a system at absolute zero is a well-defined constant." Longevity even the ineluctable desire for immortality boils down to energy. Marathon runners hit the dreaded "wall." Truck drivers take "bennies" or "crank" to stay awake amidst the monotony of interstates. Meditation would seem to be the opposite— a gentle slowing down. You breathe out then put on the brakes. In fact it’s a search for the chi, at the heart of martial arts. Energy is not only monetized ie per gallon cost for gas but it's tantamount to commodification. Solar panels were created as a way of diminishing the greenhouse effect, which derives from carbon dioxide. Astrophysicists determining if there's life on a planet circling a Kepler Star, look for carbon.The evidence of life is also a harbinger of death. The ultimate embodiment of stasis is the cadaver whose lack of gravitas signals the absence of conatus. 

read the review of Francis Levy's The Kafka Studies Department in Booklife

and listen to "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" by Marvin Gaye