“Change your opinions, keep to your principles; Change your leaves, leave intact your roots.” — Victor Hugo

This particular inclusion represents what is, to my mind, an absolutely perfect example of what makes a good Pearl of Virtual Wisdom*. (See below)  Fifteen words, none complex, put together in a simple way to present an idea, a concept that is far more profound than the simplicity of its structure might imply. No extra adjectives to suggest passion or unnecessary emotion, while still heeding the need for it as motivation. Good advice, almost a corollary of the Golden Rule, one that goes one step further, to include the possibility and promise of Change. In Peruaosophy, we learned axiom #2: “The nature of the Universe is Change.  Unpredictable, innovative transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.” Even if we hold this to be only mostly true, it still makes the above concept an excellent approach to coping with the vicissitudes that Life provides with such humorous regularity. Including Mssr. Hugo’s idea in one’s toolbag of coping skills is an excellent defense against becoming the butt of Reality’s daily joke…..

“Always make allowances for the “duh” factor.”

I don’t know who provided this little gem, as attribution was not included where I found it. But it fits right in with the previous paragraph re: Reality as a slippery ratchet, at least in respect of what I like to think of as the defense against the dark arts for Real…with the dark arts standing as metaphor for the tendency of the Universe to change the rules on us in the blink of an eye. Being flexible and able to deal with change can act as a buffer when Reality plays one of its little jokes on us, allowing us to keep clarity of mind in the midst of chaos. This line refers to those times when we must use or be potentially affected by the actions of others, not all of whom can be relied upon to have the same skill set that we ourselves may possess. This line, again in one short line, reminds us that not everyone is the same, and there will always be some bozo who will, through no particular fault of their own beyond simple ignorance, be the cause of events that are catastrophic from our point of view. The ability to plan ahead, to make allowances for those ripples in the smooth functioning of our lives, and be flexible, and creative enough to disallow any negative side effects, is a tool that everyone should have at hand……

“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat  are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.” — Dame Edith Sitwell

I love this one….I hadn’t heard this one, though I’ve seen other witticisms from the grand Dame Edith, and she always has a unique way of viewing, and expressing, the perceptions of society common to all of us. This one I like because I like to consider myself somewhat eccentric; in fact, I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t enjoy the feeling of being different than most folks. (That’s folks, not ffolkes. I’ll explain the difference later. For now, suffice it to know that ffolkes is a small subset of folks…..) Where was I? Oh….there I am….Since I can in no way claim to be any kind of aristocrat, being at minimum 30 or 40 generations away from any royalty in the family, I guess that means I’m a genius, at least by Lady Sitwell’s paradigm.  All I can say is, if that is true, then being a genius isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I will say, however, that I do share the listed characteristics  of a genius, to wit: I don’t give a damn about what other people think of me, or of what I say, or do. I make my decisions of how to behave before the court of Reality, and I stand by those decisions, regardless of what anybody else thinks. That isn’t to say I’m adverse to criticism; I’ll listen to what folks have to say. But if they can’t show me where I’m wrong, well, too bad, so sad, who’s next? As I’ve said before, I look at all comments made to me; those I can agree with, I smile, and respond with respect and gratitude. Those who are unjustly, or ignorantly critical of my work are listened to with a degree of respect concomitant with my estimation of the critic’s competence to make the comment. If they are right, then I will cheerfully admit it, and change accordingly. But if they are wrong, they will be cheerfully ignored. Forever……

Well, this is certainly late today; it’s almost 5 PM. That’s what happens when I have to be up and out of the house by 0800, & don’t get to this until almost 4. But, it’s done, and I think it’s done well. You are free to think so, or not, as is your preference. Hopefully, it got at least one chuckle out of you, or one moment of introspection, or an “oh yeah, I know what you mean”….if not, well there is always tomorrow….Y’all take care out there….

*Pearls of Virtual Wisdom are not by any means to be construed as, or to be used as Real Wisdom. Any attempts to use them as such are the complete responsibility of the reader; the author makes no claims of infallibility, and will bear no guilt if Reality slaps you for trying to use this information inappropriately.