You Can't Be Serious: Essays in Wonder

No, despite the title, this isn't a self-help book! But You Can't Be Serious does lay foundations of hope and help for a civilization that seems bent on losing its purpose. Ranging through disciplines as diverse as science, economics, philosophy, poetry and religion in inimitably informal and conversational fashion, You Can't Be Serious involves the reader in shaping a take on the future that offers fresh coherence, meaning and delight.

"Lots of wisdom ... I will be sharing in my sermons and in worship." --Richard C. Choe, Coordinating Minister, Grace United Church & St. Paul's United Church, Brampton, Ontario

"[Paterson's] life as a journalist and an academic outlier ensure lively readability, and with just enough rigour to set the pace for careful response. And that's exactly what he asks of the reader. Careful, considered response. He doesn't propose easy solutions, but he does propose an excellent method for living. From the Introduction this: 'It comes down to a choice far more complicated and difficult than it might seem: a choice between raw fear and unqualified trust. Fear, it seems to me, has botched hope for far too much of human history: unqualified trust has rarely been given a fair go. Trust in what? That's a good question. But I'd also want to ask "fear of what?" My answer to both questions has to be: "I don't know." I do know, though, that fear inhibits while trust liberates. And living in trust is not only more motivating and energizing than living in fear: it's heaps more fun. Curiosity takes me further when I trust.' The [later chapters in the book] reflect [the author's] personal life as a peripatetic story-teller, an almost gyspy journalist, whose vast range of travels as the editor of an international piping magazine (made in Scotland) pull together streams of influence about culture and story-telling. He is a very, very well-travelled author and it is in this confluence of analysis of culture, religion, and story-telling that Mike Paterson's book becomes readable to the extent I didn't want to put it down." --David Bell, All Things Literary Book Review

FROM THE AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION:

That the world's not what it was should be no surprise. What is surprising is that human activities now enfold complexities that, even if we don't understand them, seem certain to decide the fate of every living organism. We need to know that the future's now our inescapable responsibility. Not one cubic centimeter of the biosphere, atmosphere or ocean depths remains wholly untouched or unaffected by human interventions of one kind or another. Nuclear power, mass extinctions, the impacts of fertilizers, forestry, fossil fuels, and new materials: the evidence is indelibly laid down, even now, in the geological record. And, as each intervention has rippled through the whole, it's triggered unforeseen changes in places none of us have ever thought to look. Change begets more change, changes interact with each other and permeate things we never meant to mess with. And the tide's rising.

The old crusade to wrest control from nature's whim, one that's long preoccupied Western cultures, has reached its "Jerusalem." And, like all victories, the outcomes, intentional and coincidental, aren't quite what we hoped or expected.

It's a bit embarrassing really. Our bluffs, our boasts of unimpeachable intellect, are all being called into question.

So what's next?

Mike Paterson, B.A., Ph.D., grew up in, on and under the Moana Nui Kiwa - the Pacific Ocean - and with a love of, and respect for Maori and Pacific Island Polynesian culture. He sailed, dived, surfed and swam his way into adulthood with wide-ranging interests, passionate curiosity and a passion for travel. Writing has been his passion since his eighth birthday when his mother gave him a copy of Edmund Spenser's The Fairie Queen as his birthday present. The concise, sound-rich Old English of Spenser has been an ongoing source of inspiration. More than 30 years in journalism have never dulled his passion or imagination: he writes with idealism, vigor and purpose about things he knows deeply. He is fascinated by cultural diversity and has traveled widely in pursuit of varied ways of experiencing and understanding "the human condition." Mike Paterson's scholarly interests lie in the cultural aspects of identity formation, and intercultural relations. His 2001 Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Glasgow examined such issues in relation to Scotland's international promotion and marketing activity. Mike launched, designed and produced the successful international Piping Today magazine for the National Piping Centre, Glasgow, and is the creator and presenter of a course, With Love: Gifting Your Stories to Grandchildren, which encourages older people to pass on family lore to younger generations. Most recently, this was successfully offered in Kingston, Ontario, in April 2017.