Because



  1. Because here I am.
  2. Because what else am I going to do?
  3. Because I know neither how to live nor how to die.
  4. Because the words came out that way.
  5. Because they sound good.
  6. Because they are true to life.
  7. Because they are authentic.
  8. Because they are accurate.
  9. Because that’s what I have come to expect.
  10. Because I no longer know what to expect.
  11. Because that’s the way the world works.
  12. Because I believe that’s the way the world works.
  13. Because a significant number of people believe that’s the way the world works.
  14. Because, thus far, this way has proven most successful.
  15. Because there might come to be a better way.
  16. Because there is always a better way.
  17. Because God planned it that way.
  18. Because of Fate.
  19. Because events worked out that way.
  20. Because of the laws of Nature.
  21. Because it’s human nature.
  22. Because of our natural tendencies.
  23. Because of brain chemistry.
  24. Because of the motion of subatomic particles.
  25. Because of random chance.
  26. Because of 400.
  27. Because it turned out this way.
  28. Because it’s what our parents have taught us.
  29. Because it’s what our friends have taught us.
  30. Because it’s what our teachers taught us.
  31. Because it’s what society teaches us.
  32. Because respectable people say so.
  33. Because somebody wrote it down once.
  34. Because it’s what the Bible says.
  35. Because Neil deGrasse Tyson says so.
  36. Because all the experts say so.
  37. Because the social majority says so.
  38. Because the social minority of which I am a part says so.
  39. Because my friend told me so.
  40. Because I say so.
  41. Because it’s obvious.
  42. Because it’s logical.
  43. Because the facts are all in.
  44. Because I’m rational.
  45. Because I’m open-minded.
  46. Because it feels right.
  47. Because it seems right.
  48. Because there’s no other choice.
  49. Because the alternative is irrational.
  50. Because the alternative is illogical.
  51. Because that’s crazy.
  52. Because they’re crazy.
  53. Because they’re different.
  54. Because they believe differently than we do.
  55. Because we’re right.
  56. Because they’re wrong.
  57. Because they’re afraid.
  58. Because they don’t know.
  59. Because I don’t know.
  60. Because nobody really knows.
  61. Because the world isn’t made of sentences.
  62. Because we’ll never have all the facts.
  63. Because the future is unknown.
  64. Because we treat the future like the past.
  65. Because it is useful.
  66. Because what’s useful is all that matters.
  67. Because what’s useful might change.
  68. Because survival requires adaptation.
  69. Because everything changes.
  70. Because existence requires change.
  71. Because change requires a background.
  72. Because any arbitrary background will do.
  73. Because we can remember that.
  74. Because we choose to remember that.
  75. Because that’s how I remember it.
  76. Because that’s what you say to be understood.
  77. Because that’s what other people say.
  78. Because you can’t just flap your jaws and make noises.
  79. Because you want to be useful.
  80. Because you want to be accepted.
  81. Because you want to be understood.
  82. Because you want to be loved.
  83. Because what else are you going to do?
  84. Because you don’t know.
  85. Because nobody knows.
  86. Because what matters is how to get along with other people despite your differences.
  87. Because most of us want to live longer.
  88. Because most of us want to live peacefully.
  89. Because most of us want to live stress-free.
  90. Because most of us want to live civilly.
  91. Because some people don’t know how to live civilly.
  92. Because some people don’t know what to do with themselves.
  93. Because you need to find something to do.
  94. Because people usually fall back on what is easy.
  95. Because some people cannot see possibilities.
  96. Because some people cannot doubt themselves.
  97. Because some people cannot create possibilities.
  98. Because some people are not inventive.
  99. Because some people are content.
  100. Because some people are not trying.
  101. Because everyone can’t be the same.
  102. Because there is always tension.
  103. Because life without drama seems boring.
  104. Because drama gives us something to do.
  105. Because drama distracts us from finding something to do.
  106. Because doing something we know how to do seems useful.
  107. Because learning something new seems useful.
  108. Because learning something new allows us to shed outworn activities.
  109. Because we don’t want to be bored.
  110. Because every moment is important.
  111. Because everything we do is important.
  112. Because everything we do is political.
  113. Because everything you do affects other people.
  114. Because you can’t help that what you do affects other people.
  115. Because you can’t tell other people how your actions affect them.
  116. Because politics is an endless tug-of-war.
  117. Because society is an endless tug-of-war.
  118. Because it’s all against all.
  119. Because we need not play tug-of-war.
  120. Because nothing that we do is necessarily political.
  121. Because we’re all in this together.
  122. Because there are alternatives.
  123. Because you can offer people options.
  124. Because people can change.
  125. Because people never change.
  126. Because everything can be described mathematically.
  127. Because that’s how the math works out.
  128. Because that’s what happens.
  129. Because that’s what seems to happen.
  130. Because repeated observations bear this out.
  131. Because science will eventually explain everything.
  132. Because science is all that matters.
  133. Because everything is all that matters.
  134. Because what counts as explanation is all that matters.
  135. Because explanation will eventually explain everything.
  136. Because art escapes explanation.
  137. Because art is more than everything.
  138. Because art may be explained but is something other than the explanation.
  139. Because art is more than all of its explanations.
  140. Because the world is not our explanations of it.
  141. Because there is always an explanation forthcoming.
  142. Because what is left to do in science lies outside of current explanation.
  143. Because explanation is a becoming.
  144. Because language creates.
  145. Because everything will eventually explain everything.
  146. Because no explanation is enough.
  147. Because all explanations will not be enough.
  148. Because explanations are a language.
  149. Because science is a language.
  150. Because mathematics is a language.
  151. Because groups of people create their own language.
  152. Because language is useful.
  153. Because words in a language help us to get what we want.
  154. Because words can set parameters.
  155. Because the right words might satisfy certain questions.
  156. Because the wrong words ask unanswerable questions.
  157. Because the wrong words sometimes seem like the right words.
  158. Because the wrong words sometimes are the right words.
  159. Because the right words seem to lead to clear conclusions.
  160. Because the words sometimes need to lead to who knows what.
  161. Because words can break normal parameters.
  162. Because words are accurate to nothing but the past use of words.
  163. Because words cannot be accurate to the world.
  164. Because the world does not have its own language.
  165. Because the universe itself is not a language.
  166. Because the universe just is.
  167. Because art just is.
  168. Because art is a language heading in multiple directions.
  169. Because art is often described via language.
  170. Because everything is not clear.
  171. Because everything is not decided.
  172. Because everything is optional.
  173. Because everything can be replaced.
  174. Because everything might be lost.
  175. Because everything will be lost.
  176. Because of Odradek.
  177. Because nothing really matters.
  178. Because nothing we do is important.
  179. Because you cannot speak the ineffable.
  180. Because the ineffable is only what we say it is.
  181. Because everything may be forgotten.
  182. Because something may be hidden.
  183. Because something might change.
  184. Because everything must change.
  185. Because everything must get lost.
  186. Because losing is bliss.
  187. Because winning is guilty and grotesque.
  188. Because winning is all that matters.
  189. Because it’s all about how you play the game.
  190. Because winning isn’t everything.
  191. Because winning is at an end and failure has a future.
  192. Because stagnation is death.
  193. Because there’s nowhere to go but down.
  194. Because there’s no way out of here.
  195. Because there’s nowhere to go at all.
  196. Because we’re all lost in this nowhere.
  197. Because skies are still blue.
  198. Because the rains came.
  199. Because the bells are ringing.
  200. Because the time was not right.
  201. Because I was not ready.
  202. Because I was busy.
  203. Because I lost track of time.
  204. Because we left too late.
  205. Because we ran out of time.
  206. Because I forgot.
  207. Because the game is up.
  208. Because it doesn’t matter anymore.
  209. Because everything has changed.
  210. Because we’re starting from scratch.
  211. Because the slate is clean.
  212. Because I’m here now.
  213. Because anything is possible.
  214. Because everything’s been done before.
  215. Because what’s new is merely the old in disguise.
  216. Because there’s no need to alter what works.
  217. Because it’s comfortable.
  218. Because it’s easily understood.
  219. Because it still hasn’t been understood.
  220. Because it is not meant for understanding.
  221. Because it is an impetus for action.
  222. Because it’s aim is to do something not done before.
  223. Because nobody thought anybody would want that.
  224. Because nobody thought of that.
  225. Because we need something to seem new even if its newness comes to seem false.
  226. Because we quickly assimilate the new to the old.
  227. Because we want everything to make sense.
  228. Because what we want must change.
  229. Because we must reinvent ourselves anew.
  230. Because we must remain essentially the same.
  231. Because art must escape itself in order to become itself again.
  232. Because life must escape itself in order to remain itself.
  233. Because science must change if it is to progress.
  234. Because we must change what we think.
  235. Because we must accept change.
  236. Because change is always there.
  237. Because without change, nothing is there.
  238. Because with unceasing change, nothing is there.
  239. Because what we say is there depends upon what we need.
  240. Because what we need depends upon what we say is there.
  241. Because sometimes we need to create something we didn’t know we would need.
  242. Because there is no creation, only variation.
  243. Because creation is itself only rearrangement.
  244. Because when something seems new, we assimilate it to seem like rearrangement.
  245. Because we can’t pretend that new things came from nowhere.
  246. Because we need to find new things that matter or realize that old things still matter.
  247. Because the Sun will rise again.
  248. Because the fire is hot.
  249. Because the best is yet to come.
  250. Because life goes on.
  251. Because we must go on.
  252. Because our lives depend upon it.
  253. Because we’ll make the most of it.
  254. Because we must make the most of ourselves.
  255. Because civilization depends upon it.
  256. Because we all want to make life better.
  257. Because we all want to make life more comfortable.
  258. Because we all want to make life more interesting.
  259. Because we all want to make life more beautiful.
  260. Because it will make my people proud.
  261. Because it will make my parents proud.
  262. Because I did the right thing.
  263. Because I did what anyone would do.
  264. Because I did what I wanted.
  265. Because I ignored the critics.
  266. Because I defied the people who disagree.
  267. Because I pleased my fans.
  268. Because I gave it my all.
  269. Because I left it all out there.
  270. Because I was myself.
  271. Because God was on my side.
  272. Because I changed for the better.
  273. Because I had to.
  274. Because I was expected to.
  275. Because it’s my job.
  276. Because I have no choice.
  277. Because I don’t want to choose.
  278. Because that’s just the way I am.
  279. Because that’s the way things are.
  280. Because I’m tired.
  281. Because I’m alone.
  282. Because nobody will leave me alone.
  283. Because I don’t know who I am.
  284. Because I don’t know what I want to be.
  285. Because I don’t know what to do.
  286. Because there’s too much to choose from.
  287. Because all the choices seem empty.
  288. Because someone else has already done what I want to do.
  289. Because someone else has already done it better.
  290. Because I’m too late.
  291. Because I’m not too sure.
  292. Because of that old black moon.
  293. Because of that bleeding sapphire.
  294. Because of what the cowboy said.
  295. Because it’s written in the stars.
  296. Because it’s not clear what “it” is.
  297. Because it’s a mystery.
  298. Because of the riddle of the Sphinx.
  299. Because of the games people play.
  300. Because of the words people say.
  301. Because there are rhythms to convey.
  302. Because it can seem so simple.
  303. Because the words are not the rhythm.
  304. Because the words are their own rhythm.
  305. Because it’s becoming a jumble.
  306. Because the game is almost over.
  307. Because that’s all.
  308. Because I said so.
  309. Because my ticket was punched.
  310. Because my number came up.
  311. Because the events have led to this.
  312. Because I let them pass me by.
  313. Because it wasn’t worth it.
  314. Because the lines are long.
  315. Because it seems so pointless.
  316. Because I don’t know where it will lead.
  317. Because nobody else enjoyed it.
  318. Because people weren’t happy.
  319. Because you seemed upset.
  320. Because of the look on your face.
  321. Because you don’t like me.
  322. Because of what I’ve heard.
  323. Because of what I’ve seen.
  324. Because of what I know.
  325. Because I just know.
  326. Because of what I assume.
  327. Because I had to tell somebody.
  328. Because you are here.
  329. Because I love you.
  330. Because I feel for you.
  331. Because I care about you.
  332. Because something happens inside.
  333. Because the heart wants what it wants.
  334. Because I can’t help it.
  335. Because I can’t stop it.
  336. Because it was meant to be.
  337. Because the timing was right.
  338. Because of plain luck.
  339. Because of whatever you like.
  340. Because of what the man said.
  341. Because I heard it in a song.
  342. Because I read it in a book.
  343. Because I saw it in a movie once.
  344. Because he knows what he’s talking about.
  345. Because of the wonderful things he does.
  346. Because because because because because.
  347. Because there’s no place like home.
  348. Because this is all there is.
  349. Because there’s always something else.
  350. Because I have nothing more to say.
  351. Because there is nothing to say.
  352. Because there is nothing left to do.
  353. Because saying and doing don’t change much anyway.
  354. Because genuine change is difficult.
  355. Because everyone is saying and doing.
  356. Because people who do and say aren’t good listeners.
  357. Because saying and doing is tiring.
  358. Because listening to sayers and doers is tiring.
  359. Because you can’t listen forever.
  360. Because I’m out of time.
  361. Because I don’t have the strength.
  362. Because it could go on forever like this.
  363. Because it can’t go on like this.
  364. Because the end is near.
  365. Because this is the end.
  366. Because this is only the beginning.
  367. Because there’s always tomorrow.
  368. Because tomorrow might never come.
  369. Because nobody ever knows.
  370. Because there’s no telling.
  371. Because while we’re here, there’s only endless retelling.
  372. Because it’s all the same even when it’s different.
  373. Because it doesn’t matter anyway.
  374. Because it’s all that matters.
  375. Because this is everything.
  376. Because we’re here.
  377. Because we are at all.
  378. Because what else are we going to do?
  379. Because what else can we do?
  380. Because all we can do is do something while we can still do something.
  381. Because this is the best that I can do.
  382. Because I’ve tried.
  383. Because it’s all over now.
  384. Because it’s all here now.
  385. Because there’s always more elsewhere.
  386. Because if not for this, it would still be elsewhere.
  387. Because it’s here now, not elsewhere.
  388. Because I’m still here.
  389. Because I’m going elsewhere.
  390. Because I’ll continue to go elsewhere while I’m still here.
  391. Because it might be fun.
  392. Because nothing will save us now.
  393. Because elsewhere is at least a possibility.
  394. Because the possible is both something and nothing.
  395. Because I am both something and nothing.
  396. Because I am still possible.
  397. Because I am here.
  398. Because I am at all.
  399. Because the universe is at all.
  400. Because it all becomes it all.


Back to –ahem!– map