Ffolkes,
Bilious clouds of smoke, greenish-yellow in the light of the street lamps, poured from the windows, while screams echoed off the walls across the way. As I stood in a shadowed doorway, I spied a figure in a window of the burning building’s second story, hooded, carrying a small bundle. As I watched the panicky movements, the figure suddenly tossed the bundle out of the window, where it fell softly down, almost seeming to float.
Without a thought, my legs moved, propelling me across the street to a point below the window, just in time to catch the bundle, which plopped into my arms lightly, without harm. As light from a nearby street lamp fell upon the bundle, I moved the covering blanket, to reveal the face of a small female child, with somber dark eyes that looked directly at mine, seemingly reading my innermost thoughts, and finding them to be distasteful….. as I looked back into those ancient eyes in a girl’s face, she spoke, “Well, are you just going to stand there, or will you flee now, assassin?…..
Hmm…. seems our assassin friend has found himself in a bit of an unusual situation, doesn’t it? Too bad we’re going to leave him to figure it all out himself… I’m okay with it, but it doesn’t really strike me just right, so I doubt if I’ll ever use those precise opening paragraphs for anything…. Always good practice though, and a good way to loosen up both fingers and brain cells….. works for me, anyway…..
That said, we should probably get right to the Pearl….. yesterday was an exhausting one for me. Nothing to do with WP, other than the 200 emails I’m now getting every day to deal with….. I had some errands that took me all over town on buses, a slow way to get around, and tiring for a old fart such as I’m turning into these days…. it’s a slow, insidious process, but the effects of age are nonetheless relentless in their advances.
Oh well, no complaints, just tired today…. fortunately, none of my physical degradations have affected my mind as yet, so let’s go give that a work-out, shall we?….. A-Pearling we will go……
___________________________________
“Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.” — Robert Lindner
A few days ago, another blogger here on WP, odie mama, (http://eyesofodysseus.wordpress.com) asked me a question. Well, it was more of an observation with a question mark behind it, but, …. it intrigued me. She said that even though I write about serious subjects with a cynical approach, a feeling of hope seemed to infuse the tenor of what is written, and asked me to comment on that….. It has taken me a couple of days for the idea to percolate, and this morning I found the pearl that helps to explain it, to me, and to her…..
I believe that the hope she is perceiving lies in the truth of the above quotation. The most powerful weapon of reason we have as humans is Doubt. Some may question that assertion, but to my mind, it is clearly the case. Nothing is more valuable in our search for the truth among all the lies we find strewn in our path; examining any claim with doubtful eyes is our best defense against the manipulations perpetrated upon us by other unscrupulous people. And those people whom I like to call our beloved ruling class know this…..
They know that when the people are informed, when education is free and universal, and the press is free, the task of manipulating the common man becomes much more difficult. This annoys them no end, so much so that they spend a lot of effort trying to remove or restrict anything in society that will promote doubt among the general populace. Cut educational funding, promote religious agendas that thrive on ignorance, dress up their lies in fancy clothes to look like truth; anything that will make folks refrain from thinking is good, in their eyes.
And that is the hope that is so apparent here….. though I speak of serious subjects, and lament their prevalence, and effects on people, Doubt is ever-present. I tend to challenge ANYTHING said by a talking head, especially if they are a politician, a priest, a pastor, or an imam. Whatever…. they are all just trying to foster and maintain their own version of slavery, so, as far as I am concerned, they deserve none of my respect, nor any of my mercy…. and they will find none of it here….. That is the hope that I spread….. Doubt….. a powerful ally on the Scholar Warrior’s Path….. and one hated and feared by all those in power, or who seek power over others…..
The good want power, but to weep barren tears.
The powerful goodness want : worse need for them.
The wise want love; and those who love want wisdom.
— P.B. Shelley, “Prometheus Unbound”
— How many assholes does it take to change a light bulb? None, assholes never see the light anyway. — Smart Bee
___________________________________
“A shelf of classics for our young adults: Tolkien, Hesse, Casteneda, Kerouac, Salinger, Tom Robbins, and “The Last Whole Earth Catalog”. — Edward Abbey
Gosh! I didn’t realize I was so well-grounded in the classics! Not only have I read at least one book by each of these authors, but, I’ve read more than one by all but one of them, and…. I read the entire book printed on the margins of the pages of the “Catalog”, narrated charmingly, and so effectively, by the vintage, loyal, stalwart, inadvertently abused, but well-loved VW bus, Urge, who detailed the times and travels of the people chiefly responsible for the creation of the Catalog itself……
“How can they say my life isn’t a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten?” — Cindy Adams
___________________________________
“The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe. But the stupid man will just lie down on some seaweed and roll around until he’s completely draped in it. Then he’ll stand up and go, “Hey, I’m Vine Man.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey
Now, that’s deep! 🙂 Deep enough that I hope you were wearing high tops…. but I do like the metaphor of the wise man and the grain of sand; hadn’t heard that in a while…. Cute, and lots of whimsy points… but not quite right….
“Whenever anybody says he’s struggling to become a human being I have to laugh because the apes beat him to it by about a million years. Struggle to become a parrot or something.” — Jack Handey, “Deep Thoughts”
More approximate wisdom from Jack…. 🙂 Admit it, you smiled…. Struggle to be a parrot, indeed!…. clever. Not quite what I’m looking for yet, though…. Onward…..
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. — Confucius
Not verified as truly the words of Master C,, but reasonable; it sounds like him. And that’s more like it, I think; we keep getting closer to a real pearl…. one more shot at the big money, ffolkes, then we’ll move on….
“A man’s gotta know his limitations.” — Dirty Harry [Clint Eastwood] in “Magnum Force”
Hmm…. I guess it just goes to show, you never know where you may find something unexpectedly valuable…. like a pearl heretofore hidden in the persona of a macho, maladjusted cop with PTSD, and a penchant for blowing his problems to bits with a big gun…. probably very stress relieving. It would be for me, for sure…. And… I think that the journey to get here, if you will look back over it, can be considered the true lesson, as is always the case when considering journeys, and destinations……
___________________________________
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate now knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” — Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude
I am blessed with at least seven people in my life who fit into this mold, not including my children, who would also fit the given parameters. I’d also like to believe that my brothers and sisters, all four of them, would be there if needed; I know I would for them, and will be if necessary. We’ve all never been terribly close since moving apart, but also have always felt and shown loyalty, and love for each other.
So, that makes me a pretty lucky man, all in all, and I know it…. it humbles me, constantly, when I consider it, and it is a thought that carries me through some rough mental battles with myself, and with reality. Even if I don’t call for help, I know it would be there if I asked, and that can be enough…..
“The road to a friend’s house is never long.” — Danish proverb
___________________________________
“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books. For to you Kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.” — Chinese proverb
This proverb is one that has ruled my existence, from the moment I first came across it in my early teens. In one aspect, it is a concept that supports and verifies what I wrote above about Doubt, and to my mind serves as solid evidence as to the truth of what I said there. This statement has also served me well as a social tool in my work, in every field I’ve embraced, if you can believe it. On a number of occasions, in mental hospitals, restaurants, and computer rooms, I have printed this onto a chalkboard, or an easel being used for a presentation at a meeting, just as a random act of intellectual subversion, and each time, the results have far surpassed whatever I had envisioned.
The sight of this quote displayed wherever I put it never failed to produce a response from all who read it, and those responses often painted a clearer picture of that person’s personality than anything else they ever said or did. Some would read it, and assume a puzzled frown, trying to assimilate its meaning. Depending on their success or failure, they would then smile and go on with whatever they were doing with a sense of calm and serenity… Or, others would frown in thought, then say something akin to “Pshaw!” and shake their heads as if to clean off their shiny coats of mud. Still others would widen their eyes, and look around for a pen, furiously scribble it down, and rush off to show it to someone else…. A very few would read it, and say something such as, “Oh, what a nice reminder….” These folks were generally the ones who were my friends….
To my mind, this approach to life, that of a scholar as opposed to a warrior, is the only choice I could make to be happy, and true to my nature. I acknowledge within myself that violence is a part of my nature, as it is for all of us naked apes; it is not something that is wise to overlook. But that part of my nature has ever been dominated by the part of me that HAS to have thoughts to ponder, the part that needs to read and absorb the perceptions of other minds, the part of me that would literally die if I did not embrace it as my purpose, my raison d’etre. I can no more stop reading and thinking than I can stop breathing, or eating, or any other essential life function…. it’s the way I’m made, and it has always been a joy to me to know this, and to give free rein to my intellect, refusing to limit its consumption to any single viewpoint or system of beliefs….
And so, I walk the Scholar Warrior’s Path; I walk that path with my books close at hand, pausing often to read, and consider…. the path is much clearer ahead of me that way, and I walk it with joy…. seeking Truth, and Beauty, and Love. I’ve found all three, and life is good, no matter what is happening around me, or to me…. So Be It…..
___________________________________
“My Teacher said that that that that that man used is incorrect.” — Smart Bee
I love the English language! You have to say it out loud, but if you do, you can see that the above sentence is absolutely correct usage….. brilliant! Not worth a whole pearl, which is why it is here at the end. But, it had to be included…. just because….
I think that went well…. no major foul-ups I’m aware of…. of course, proofing is yet to come, but, it all looks good to go for the time being. With a start like this, the day promises to be fairly productive and agreeably pleasant. Who knows? Maybe the woman I am to fall in love with, for the last time in my life, will walk into my life today…. not bloody likely, given current indicators, but, hey, worth a moment or two of anticipation before putting it back into the “I’m Patiently Awaiting” file, where it doesn’t distract me from the matters at hand….
On that note, I will put this to bed, in the vernacular of journalism….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse Be With You…. (say it out loud, it sounds better…. it’s a hard “s”….) 🙂
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
Kowabunga!
gigoid 
Wonderfully written once again, thank you for that. I’m borrowing the Henri Nouwen quote…hope you don’t mind. I love that one. 🙂
No worries! Anytime….
Really good takeaways here…and have you had a chance to read THINKING, FAST AND SLOW
By Daniel Kahneman. Just wondering.
Regards,
Thanks…. no, I haven’t seen that one… but, I’ll see if I can find it at the library, my main source of written stuff offline these days…. and thanks for that, always looking for a new read….
Good catch Assassin. Is it really wise to be sassy to and assassin? One too many thats it seems to Peanuts . . . and mental hospitals too? Please explain both the “that” sentence and that last. LOL 😀
“My Teacher said, that that ‘that’, that that man used, is incorrect.” It’s easier to tell when it is punctuated correctly, as now… just pause at the commas, and emphasize the “that” in parenthesis, and it is clearer….It is perfectly correct in number, when seen with the punctuation in place…….. 🙂
And since I am a qualified assassin, I can say what I want…. even about mental hospitals….
Take care…
Ok, I get the that that now. Thank you for explaining that. That that that was going to bug me all night!
Yikes, since your a qualified assissin I guess I won’t get sassy, Mr. Gigoid, sir. 😀
No worries, again, mate… assassins only work for pay and I don’t think 37 is in the market….. 🙂 And… gigoid is never capitalized, unless the grammar police are actually in the room with you… it’s way too formal, and not my style….
I worked in mental hospitals for 28.7 years… that is where I used both my quote, often, and my martial arts…..too often…
Sounds like your second novel after you do your life story. 🙂
If I can live long enough, yes indeed…. I’ve thought long and hard about a book on those times…. it would fit right into the truth is stranger than fiction category in the bookstores…. probably has a lot to do with why I write so much every day…. I’m still processing a lot of mental angst built up over the years I spent banging my head against that particular wall…… But, if I can turn it into some good prose, and it makes an interesting tale, no sense in not trying to sell it, for sure….
Hey if you got a good book out it and made some actual money, well, that really makes things go down a lot smoother!
I’m still thinking of being a parrot…lots of great pearls today!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed them…. A parrot might not be too bad… they live a long time, and can talk, so we wouldn’t be losing too much over what we can do now… who needs opposable thumbs, anyway? 🙂
Amen!
Gigoid! Ok I’m writing this from my dumb smart phone and it won’t let me scroll to bottom of page to edit. ….but I’m sending this first part unfinished. If its too messy no need to approve.
so many pearls to comment on so I’ll just write them as they come.
Id rather be a parrot. Free range if course. Lots of happy times in the tree tops eating fruit, playing games, chatting with my extended parrot cluster. And you can’t beat being able to fly as far as great physical abilities go. natural predators be damned.
Two. Thank you for the shout out.
Three. Thank you for the response. Where you have used the word doubt I have used the weird hope
Continued..
I have used the word hope. And I mean exactly what you do with the word doubt but I guess I’ve strayed from that word because it usually has a negative connotation.
I have hope that there are a meaningfully large number of people who doubt the mainstream. And
Continued..
I have used the word hope. And I mean exactly what you do with the word doubt but I guess I’ve strayed from that word because it usually has a negative connotation.
I have hope that there is a meaningfully large number of people whoo doubt the mainstream. And that there is still a chance the scholar can outweigh the warrior. A lot more cards being played in todays deck. Does that make it easier for the warrior to win the game
…versus the writers,sages, intellectuals. I’m not sure.
some days I think the warrior will win no matter what.because cheaters have the short term advantage. Once their ways are discovered the game is still spoiled andits left for the honest men to salvage the scraps. Those are sad days indeed.
When I feel this way. But ill remember what you said about doubt.
And ill remember to never reply from this phone again.
P.s. I too think a book about your hospital days would be a great scholarly gift. Please write it. Or share example pages with us here.
Pps. What is a gigoid?
Goodnite.
“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books. For to you Kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.” — Chinese proverb
The above thought is what I take away with me today. Although I had never read this before today, I see that it is how I choose to navigate through this journey. What keeps me from getting too ‘caught up’ in any one cause, as it is all just another chapter in the unfolding drama of humanities initiation into existence. I like the idea of the Scholar Warriors Path. For it is rich in everlasting rewards that echo through eternity.
Reblogged this on gigoid and commented:
Ffolkes,
I am progressing toward being able to write more, slowly. Today, in the time I had to read, I found one of the best Pearls I created in 2012, which I am re-blogging in toto for your reading pleasure (hope springs eternal…).
Abondanza!….
gigoid
that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that… That sentence took way too long to get my head around. Hahaha! Great work Gigoid 😀
WeLL i am behind on four with
three to go.. looks like i’LL need
a 17 minute or so Animals..
more specifically
Dogs Song
by
Pink Floyd
of 1977 era to
accompany the folloWinG
words like Pigs or Ahogday
on a Wing.. ah.. reminds me of
high school days when i rarely
slept nights and edged my
way through days..
with lids
of
eYes
that strained
to liFt much higher
then.. laser focus listening
to the teacher as my greaTest
fear then was maKinG less than
a grade of A.. now.. i find tHeiR are
no labels at all for success only bliss and
nirvana within as surely a wolf or a dog’s
moon full hOwl met iN
BaLAnCinG
Force wiTh
Nature now
comes nexT…
anyWay.. the best
thing about music like
this is the trip they were on
when they made the song
comes through in EmoTioNal
and SenSory Response through
deeper and slower waves of bRain relay..
anyWay.. off to the quotes of pearls i go and surELy
this SonG can be played over from any pARt and the
FloW of bRaiN ReiGns on as ReinS more of timeless streAMs
river
own
waves
Ocean more
oKay.. enough
FloWinG heRe i guess
for even more to coMe hehe..;)
“Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.”
— Robert Lindner
Faith..
greaTest
authoritY aS
Force NoW
WitHin.. INsidE
outsiDe.. aBove..
so belOw.. all aRound
directed by i of I WiTh
SpiRiT! oF EmoTions!..
DanCinG and SinGinG!
as heARt iN MiNd and
BoDy BaLanCinG soUL
morE as directed By WiLL over
fearless smART UnConDiTioNaL
LoVe thaT FeeLs and seNses more
and more NoW SeNSinG FeeLinG
never now
ending
LiGht
LiFe isREaL..:)
The good want power, but to weep barren tears.
The powerful goodness want : worse need for them.
The wise want love; and those who love want wisdom.
— P.B. Shelley, “Prometheus Unbound”
Once aGaiN
BaLanCinG
Force as Faith
as all or half
a
life
liGht
on and off..:)
— How many assholes does it take to change a light bulb?
None, assholes never see the light anyway.
— Smart Bee
SurELy so
aS TrUth is WiSdom
And liGht is Love..:)
“A shelf of classics for our young adults:
Tolkien, Hesse, Casteneda, Kerouac, Salinger,
Tom Robbins, and “The Last Whole Earth Catalog”.
— Edward Abbey
If never heard
on Facebook..
Instagram..
Twitter do
aS Such
likely
never
heard..
sAdly
enough..
by most..:)
“How can they say my life isn’t a success?
Have I not for more than sixty years got enough
to eat and escaped being eaten?”
— Cindy Adams
Survival..
an ultiMate
success for now
however.. without living
life not much success about that..
aT
lEast..
seNSed
and FeLT..;)
“The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe.
But the stupid man will just lie down on some seaweed and roll around
until he’s completely draped in it. Then he’ll stand up and go, “Hey, I’m Vine Man.”
— Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey
i ratHeR
do boTh..
alWays NoW..
gRaiNs oF ViNe
rEaChinG sAnds..;)
“Whenever anybody says he’s struggling to become a human being
I have to laugh because the apes beat him to it by about a million years.
Struggle to become a parrot or something.”
— Jack Handey, “Deep Thoughts”
Seems the
Bonobo these
days is mosTly
moRe hUman
without
clothes
of
modern culTures..:)
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.
— Confucius
Or
essence
oF symbols
abstractLY
constructed-like-words..:)
“A man’s gotta know his limitations.”
— Dirty Harry [Clint Eastwood] in “Magnum Force”
And FeeL and SenSE
More than
liMiTaTions
KnoWn bEfoRE..:)
“The road to a friend’s house is never long.”
— Danish proverb
Exception..
end oF
juST
one
hoMe
blog
post
OF MiNe..;)
“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books.
For to you Kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring,
but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned by the flicking of a finger.”
— Chinese proverb
Fiction to reaLiTy
CreaTing
sAMe
wiTh
iMaGiNAtiOn
DiFFeRent…
metAphor oF
Quantum
MiND
and BoDY
ForCe unleAshed
relEased aS FREE..:)
“My Teacher said that that
that that
that man used is incorrect.”
— Smart Bee
Hmmm.. wonder why people write such
long lines when A mouth refuses to do that
inN
synch
aS Such
aS StReAMs
FLoW Rivers
Waves Ocean wHole..;)
OKay.. off to 3 of 4 now..;)