culture, the cosmos, and longevity
- Tunji Williams
- May 24
- 2 min read
the collection of cigarette butts that have begun to accumulate outside of my apartment, as i've regrettably taken to smoking over the past several months building my new company
Is this thing on? It's been a while.
Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." I've been wondering as of late, which one is it? Two or three? Similarly, I've been wondering, at which cigarette does one become a "chain smoker?" Is it the 2nd in the sequence that does it? Or the third? For what it's worth, I say the third. I tend to believe the same is true for God's presence over the collective. These days, I feel that the 3rd, is indeed the charm.
Allow me to share more.
I've been obsessed with the idea of "culture" for longer than I've been aware. The set of ambient rules, norms and incentive structures that govern the spaces in which we dwell and the communities and societies to which we attach ourselves. In a genuinely pluralist society, these cultures co-exist side-by-side, intersecting with, and giving way to one another when appropriate. This, in service of a greater good: peace, harmony and order.
How do we measure the value of any given cultural construct? What is local virtue? And what is truly universal? The more I dwell on it, the closer I move to the idea that longevity holds the key. That which lasts through time and space, evidences its inherent value and virtue, simply through its continued existence. No dissertation necessary. Time is the test.
The conclusion is reductive, no doubt. But sometimes, the truth is simple. When cultural axioms collide with cosmic law, cosmic law prevails. So as I see it, any cultural axiom that survives or manages to avoid that collision course with the cosmic, must have a natural place in the universal order. Whether I love it, or not. It just is.
It's with that lens, and a daily dose of humility and wonder, that I've embarked upon my deep dive into the busy cultural landscape that sits silently behind, under, around, and within, every space we occupy collectively as humanity. The topography tells its own story of co-existence, harmony, attrition, truth and longevity - legible in a million different languages.
I seek what is true. And what is true, is true through time and space. The truth knows no other way.
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