Ffolkes,

“Do you imagine that the universe is agitated?
Go out into the desert at night and look up at the sky.
This practice should answer the question.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

Yet another iconic view of SF from the Bay….

Hajime…. A few days ago, I posted a fresh Pearl, followed by a couple days of re-blogs, as I recovered from the physical exertion of babysitting my granddaughter for a full day. Lovely time, but, exhausting…. Now, I’m finding it difficult to explain why, for the past two days, and very nearly this morning, I have completely blown off writing, or posting, at all, in favor of seeking my bliss, so to speak.

My search brought me to the realization I am craving life. Not any life, but, the life that exists when one engages fully in the world outside one’s own sphere…. walking, interacting with people, singing, dancing, playing my guitar, cooking for someone…. all those human activities that reinforce our own humanity by being with other humans. I’m even making plans to attend a local Shakespeare festival, where I hope to reconnect with another part of me I’ve neglected over time…. There is something about live theater that speaks to some part of my soul, even when I don’t particularly care for the play (as I’ve noted, Will was overrated, as a writer, to some degree…brilliant, in spots, but, balanced by a LOT of just plain crap).

I’ve spent a lot of time immersing myself in music, particularly listening to new artists, which I have been exploring on You Tube… I would add, that is the ONLY computer time I’ve been pursuing, ignoring all inner prompts to write; what I found has astounded me, as well as providing some hope, ill-advised as such may be, for humanity’s future, should we be able to survive the consequences of attempting to assert our nature on the rest of reality. If only we could place the same energy and passion we put into music into being rational in our dealings with each other, our chances of surviving into the next century would be greatly enhanced.

The problem I now face is deciding whether I want to continue blogging, at all. For years now, I’ve depended on this process to furnish a large portion of rationality with which I try to face Life at Large; it’s kept me relatively sane now for over six years, and well over a thousand posts, & more than a million original words. (Killed at least one keyboard too; even the new one is now missing letters, as I continue to pound away at this poor old machine….). I’ve met a lot of great people, & made some friends I know I’ll have the rest of my life. But, the satisfaction I get from posting a good one seems less important now; making contact with reality, rather than cyber-reality, seems more attractive to my soul/spirit.

What this means for the future of Exploring Consensual Reality remains to be decided; I am unable to completely stop writing. I’d as soon stop breathing, for writing is now as necessary to my peace of mind as the drawing of a clear breath. But, I’m thinking I may post less often, for I intend to make some rather sweeping changes to my daily routine, as I become more physically able to meet the challenges of interacting fully with Life. Walking, playing music, interacting with people, all will assume a greater significance as part of each day, which will, naturally, reduce the number of hours spent hunched over my keyboard, releasing my angst.

So, for those who may wish to converse more often than I may be posting, I’ll point out my email address is in my profile, and I love to write letters; always have, & email makes it even easier than the USPS ever did to stay in touch with those we love…. I’ll be posting, but, perhaps, not so frequently as in the past… I’ll also be spending less time surfing the Net, & more time walking in the real world. As Edward Abbey, one of my favorite modern philosophers, has said, when you walk, the world gets bigger… I’ve still got a LOT of the world to see, so, I guess I’d better get to hoofin’ it, before I can’t walk at all.

For now, let’s go see what I managed to put together while in the midst of all the rest of this; if naught else, you might be happy to know the poem I’ve been slowly leaking is finally done, so, that’s something, eh?….

Shall we Pearl?….

“What each must seek in his life never was on land or sea.
It is something out of his own unique potentiality for experience,
something that never has been
and never could have been experienced by anyone else.”

~~ Joseph Campbell ~~

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Louisa Johnson

~ Image from You Tube via Google Images ~

Below, you’ll find a compilation of the performances this young woman gave during her journey to winning the X-Factor talent competition in 2015. Her initial performance, at the televised audition for the show, will, I predict, completely blow you away, right from the very first note she sings. As the performances follow, you will witness the emergence of a star-to-be, as she blooms into herself. The last few numbers, as with all of them, show her growth as a vocal artist, as well as her growing self-confidence.

It is, to me, a delightful journey, with some of the most compelling, completely mesmerizing vocal performances I’ve EVER seen, from ANY artist. I hope you enjoy her music as much as I have; you’ll be hearing it for many years to come, I am sure….

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Louisa Johnson
X-Factor Journey 2015

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Satisfaction guaranteed….

Dreaming, we awaken the dawn;
singing, dancing, composing a rhyme
to greet each new moment, to spawn,
negotiating unreality, seeking the sublime.

Down deep, deeper, daring to clamber
where unconscious dreams haunt relentlessly,
past reason, into the sleeper’s dark chamber
the siren calls, yearning endlessly….

Answers we seek so assiduously hover quietly
around the nearest relevant scenery,
alert to any pertinent intent, inherently
absorbed in metaphor, soberly sedentary.

Proportionate allegory, even the plainly mundane,
though among our most powerful tools,
must remember, the map is not the terrain;
first among Nature’s most basic Rules.

Awakened, craving Life in every fiber of being,
seeking to find the grace of the muses,
reaching back into primitive emotion, seeing
at last, Life never, ever refuses.

~~ gigoid ~~

8/3/2017

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Naked Pearls

The fruit of the vine….

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“Sometimes it takes great effort to discover
that life was meant to be effortless.”

~~ Anonymous ~~

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“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.”

~~ Albert Schweitzer ~~

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“Failure is instructive.
The person who really thinks
learns quite as much from his failures
as from his successes.”

~~ John Dewey ~~

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“Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

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“It is by not always thinking of yourself,
if you can manage it,
that you might somehow be happy.
Until you make room in your life
for someone as important to you as yourself,
you will always be searching and lost …”

~~ Richard Bach, Spoken by Leslie Parrish, “The Bridge Across Forever” ~~

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“Warned you have been.”

~~ Yoda ~~

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“Therefore search and see if there is not some place
where you may invest your humanity.”

~~ Albert Schweitzer ~~

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Part of this process has always been on a deadline, but, I find myself unwilling to acknowledge the angst that accrues when the deadline goes whooshing by, or, to allow it to influence the results. It’s done, and this moment in time, to wit: now, is sufficiently within parameters to fulfill my chosen duty. Even if all that is sheer bullshit, I find myself without remorse. So be it. It’s done, it’s got great music, a new poem, such as it may be, and a rather elegant old-school pearl…. & if it ain’t enough, well, so be it. For now, suffice to say, I’ll be back in a day or three, when I’ve filled up on life, & feel the need to get it out… Until then, be well, & be true to your own spirit….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….