Ffolkes,
Here is further demonstration of what I shoot for when composing the daily titles for this otherwise inexplicable activity….

“Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”  — Prof. Noam Chomsky, “Syntactic Structures” — An example of a sentence which, though — grammatically acceptable, is without meaning

See? It’s that simple! And nutritious, too! Kinda high in satiric cholesterol, though, so maybe we should just go on to something a bit more constructive and illuminating, ever hopeful of finding something, anything, that makes some sort of sense….
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“Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.  But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it.  Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.” — Shunryu Suzuki

As mentioned here before, earlier in my life, I wrote down my own philosophy; I figure if it’s good enough for Descartes, it’s good enough for me. Thus was born Peruaosophy, the Philosophy of Pearls. In that definitive work, Axiom #2 addresses the above statement by Mr. Suzuki; it reads thus: “The Nature of the Universe is Change;  unpredictable, innovative transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you are in for a rough ride.” It is, I believe, a fairly accurate statement of what is real, and through years of serious research and testing against the real model, it holds up as being true. A lot of folks don’t like it, but that is only natural; nobody likes being told things can’t always be the way they want them to be.

But Mr. Suzuki makes a good point here, too. He is merely more direct, and a bit less tactful than the Axiom. People know they suffer, and often don’t know why, and this explains that in a very clear, but uncompromising manner. Preparing people for changes is never easy, due mostly to humanity’s unfortunate tendency to fall into laziness; most folks are looking for an easy road through life, and don’t like to make waves or deal with changes on a daily basis, preferring the secure feeling of knowing exactly what will happen next, and never realizing that, with just a little bit of effort, change can be turned to our advantage, instead of always causing us to feel put-upon. It’s well worth the effort, too, as it carries with it the feeling of pride that accomplishing something on our own always brings. All we have to do is convince everyone that it’s worth their effort, and that means appealing to their self-interest, rather than their better nature; they may not have one…..
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A man, a plan, a canoe, pasta, heros, rajahs, a coloratura, maps, snipe, percale, macaroni, a gag, a banana bag, a tan, a tag, a banana bag again, (or a camel), a crepe, pins, Spam, a rut, a Rolo, cash, a jar, sore hats, a peon, a canal – Panama! — Guy L. Steele.

Absolutely astounding! I have nothing to add, except “we are not worthy!”…… I checked it, did you?….. such a wonderful waste of time and mental acuity! Occasionally you have to let out the Bozoid side we all have, and just let it fool around…..

“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”– Willie Wonka
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Everyone has a photographic memory. Not everyone has developer.

Memory is almost entirely volitional. Remember above where it was noted that people are motivated primarily by self-interest? Well, memory is almost entirely based on that; we remember what is important TO US. If it isn’t important to us in some way or another, the mind will just delete it, or file it away somewhere hard to find. But, if it is important, we will remember the necessary elements. It is a little hard to believe, I admit, but it is nonetheless true.

What it means is that to improve one’s memory, all that is needed is to make EVERYTHING important to you. It is an attitude adjustment, and requires a bit of effort, but it’s not so hard to train oneself; much easier than training someone else. And the results can be astounding, to say the least.

As a polymath, my interests are almost unlimited; there isn’t much in this world that isn’t interesting to me in some way, and as a result, I’ve always had a good memory, which I might point out, is very useful in places like schools, jobs, and relationships. Never missed an anniversary yet, and can’t tell you how that little item has improved my life! I do tend to forget birthdays, especially for women, but that is, again, volitional. I’ve found that after a certain age (different for each one) women stop acknowledging such events, and it’s best for us men to support that idea; it makes life much simpler.

Mostly, though, it is helpful in life to pay attention, and tell yourself that everything you see, and hear, and perceive by any sense is important data, and should be filed where it can be found easily. It doesn’t take long for it to become a habit, and can make life much more pleasant in the long run….which we all hope to have….
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Don’t give someone a piece of your mind unless you can afford it.

Immediately, one thinks, “Can I?” What is your answer? Is there enough in your mind that giving some of it away won’t cause a feeling of hollowness, and loss? My own answer is, “I must have, because there’s always more ready to fly out…” Whether this is a good thing, or not so much, has yet to be determined, nor will it be, if I have anything to say about it. And, I always do, don’t I?…. stop him, stop him, before it’s too late!…..
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It is the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It is the dream afraid of waking
that never takes a chance.
It is the one who won’t be taken
who cannot seem to give.
And the soul afraid of dying
that never learns to live.
— Bette Midler, The Rose

I’m not sure if Bette wrote this song, but she sings it very well.  The poetry that constitutes the lyrics of the song remains a favorite of mine. It is good enough that it requires nothing more to be included today….just enjoy, and take it to heart……
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Silly me, I thought I was done….. I’ll be posting again a little later today, due to a very nice email notice in my Inbox this morning. In the meantime, y’all take care out there…..

Kowabunga!