Complicity

Finished re-reading one of my favourite books recently - "Complicity" by Iain Banks. My copy is so old that our dog, who died in January, had gnawed on its corners as a pup.

Apart from Banks' compelling writing, I'm drawn to the central theme of this book - that we are responsible for our actions. And not in some semi-trivial, almost impersonal manner, but in a viscerally, intimately; the things we do impact on each other and our world.

OK, this is taken to extremes by the 'baddie' of the novel, but is demonstrated over and over, right down to the final scene where ... no; no spoilers here!

This theme has personal relevance for me too, and I only acknowledged that link on this reading. Oh, I'd always loved the 'we are all complicit in the evil our lifestyle wreaks on others and the environment' message: that when we buy an item of cheap clothing, it's likely that somewhere in the world a person, probably trafficked and probably in some form of slavery, has produced it; and therefore we are complicit in that person's trafficking and slavery. That when we waste paper, a tree - perhaps even an old and dignified tree - may have died in vain; and that when we waste that paper, we are complicit in its death. However, I now suspect this book was part of that process of awakening which began a cascade of significant changes in my life back in 2008.

2008 was the year in which I not only accepted responsibility for the effect my actions had on others and the world at large, but also on myself. Perhaps a previous paradigm under which I'd been practising had taught me to neglect my own needs for the sake of others. (Perhaps it takes longer than three years for the patterns of that paradigm to completely fade away!)

Anyway, Iain Banks, thank you for being one piece of the puzzle which has lead me to a better life. I'm grateful.