Ffolkes,
There are moments when this becomes more than merely writing; it becomes a test. A challenge. Self-imposed, which, as you should know, are the toughest kind to pass with a good mark. I am, by far and away, my harshest critic (now that I’ve been divorced for over ten years, of course…..), and these tests are more connected to my character than to my education. That is to say, the tests of writing that I set for myself are meant to test whether or not I am meeting my own standards for what I write, (and those standards are killers), compared to what I would set for others. This stems from axiom #4, of course, “Excellence is its own reward.”…..

It occurs to me that it has been a good long while since I put the entire contents of Peruaosophy up for the perusal of those who come by….. come to think of it, it might be a good thing to post it on my “About” page…. it would explain a lot, for a lot of folks who might otherwise not quite understand where I’m coming from (as if that is possible at all…. snort….). Maybe I will…. but later. It will be enough for the moment to put it in one of the sections below, with a short intro…. yeah, that’s the ticket…. and it avoids the test, too…. boy, I’m good…..

See, you, too, can learn how to change planned reality in a heartbeat, avoiding all sorts of unwanted, previous engagements, saving yourself all kinds of unwanted angst and worry. The best part is, if one ever gets to write for an editor, it will drive them nuts! Bonus!…. It’s almost as good as being back in school, and getting to tie the princi….. no, wait, the statute of limitations isn’t up on that one yet…. Never mind…..

Yes, I am odd, I know it…. no need to harp on it. It must be time to cast aside all the nonsense that has built up here, and burst through to the other side of silliness…. a place, I know, where I spend a lot of time…. silliness, that is, not beyond…. ah, screw it. Let’s dive…. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

About thirty or so years ago (wow, I hadn’t realized it had been so long…..), I was sitting in my study one day, feet up, reading some philosophy, when a reference was made to the statement by Descartes, to wit: “I think, therefore, I am.”  It occurred to me that there are other philosophies, and philosophers, who have used the same format to describe their own philosophy’s basic premises, or a similar one; it is, after all, merely a re-statement of an “if-then” proposition, which would come naturally to Descartes, mathematician that he was….. Any who, I thought to myself that, if they could write down their own concepts of what is real in life, and formulate their own philosophies, why couldn’t I?

So, I did…. and all in all, I have never been happier with anything I’ve written. The following axioms, which comprise the working premises of this, my philosophy, were all considered well and deeply, with great deliberation and care, before being added to the mix, and I am quite proud of it. It may seem a bit tongue-in-cheek, but look deeper into each axiom, past the humor to the concept, and you will find that what is said here is true, eternally so, and is applicable to every part of life…. enjoy!

Peruaosophy

Axioms:

1)  I think I am; that’s close enough.

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.

3) Thou art God, you know.  Let’s do lunch.

4) Excellence is its own reward.

5) Girls think differently.  So do boys.  Don’t fight it.

6) Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And God so loved the world, He said, “Quit whining!”

7) Do your Duty.   Respect Life.   Honor the Truth.   Share your Love.

8)  Go back.  Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.

~~ gigoid
__________________________________

Honorable Request

Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass
dimly into memory, bit by combative bit,
ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,
only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.

Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply
as they must, never given a reason,
somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,
dancing on to greet each bright new season.

Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage
proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown,
clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,
past an infinite future, already flown.

Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps
flowing with currents, strong and fairly found,
love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,
seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.

~~ gigoid

__________________________________

The Eternal is empty (like a bowl),
It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted.
It is bottomless, perhaps the ancestor of all things.
It unties its tangles,
It softens its light.
It becomes one with the dusty world.
Deep and still, it appears to exist forever.
I do not know whose son it is.
It seems to have existed before the Lord.
— Lao-Tzu (fl. B.C. 600)

Well, damn! I should have known, and in fact, did know, but hadn’t appropriately considered, that even Lao Tzu, as revered as he was in his time, and as much freedom of speech that gave him, still had to consider politics in his statements about the universe. The last two lines are, to my sharp, ever-inquisitive eye, a result of that necessity only, and have nothing at all to do with the actual content delivered above it.

Obviously, those in society who feel an urge to oversee the morals of the populace (i.e., the preachers, may they rot in their own hell….)  had been applying a bit of pressure to the old man, and he agreed to include that last part as a sop to the current administration of priests and pundits. Well, it’s obvious to me…. just look at the whole piece, AS A WHOLE…. and it becomes clear that the last part was not part of the original idea…. it doesn’t fit, either in style, or content, or context, for that matter….. it is, as I say, merely a way to be able to deliver the rest without engendering the ire of the priests by failing to give their delusions the proper obeisance. They do get cranky when that happens….

“We are all alike, on the inside.” — Mark Twain

Another great piece of wisdom, and this one so simple, the priests couldn’t figure out how to keep it from getting published. They really, really did want to, though, as this idea is completely opposite of what they would have their followers believe…. In fact, they tend to get their knickers all in a twist if anyone even implies a similarity between them and one of their objects of fear and hatred (blacks or other persons of color, women, other religious beliefs, left-handed people, and almost anyone else who doesn’t hold their beliefs….) This one is such a controversial subject, even amongst preachers and priests themselves, that I am always tempted, when the question arises, of using a somewhat graphic technique to demonstrate just how closely Twain’s statement is congruent with Reality….

Should a priest of say, the Episcopalian persuasion, or perhaps a Southern Baptist, and another preacher, say a Muslim imam, or a Russian Orthodox Greek Coptic,  get into an argument over whether or not the two cult’s followers were alike inside, I would offer them to take a look…. I would tie them down, facing each other, and make some matching slices to their naked bodies, in the same spot, where they can both see the results…. if the color of their blood did not convince them, we would have the option to continue on to deeper examples of how similar are the two bodies in question…. I don’t believe their faith would sustain them after seeing just how much their own liver looked like that of their supposed enemy…. Ah me, by then, it wouldn’t matter anyway, because by then, “I” would be the enemy, so they, if they survived, would have a new obsession to pursue, one with at least a basis in real offenses to them…. and I always enjoy that sort of thing; it keeps the blood flowing, y,know?….

Now, some might say that this is a bit harsh in its approach, but I would counter with two words, that to the intelligent mind, bring with them instant images of the horrors of ignorance allowed free rein in society…. The Inquisition. I don’t care how sincere a priest or preacher is in their beliefs; just allowing themselves to be associated with any institution that was involved in such persecution of knowledge and the innocent, all in the name of the church, is enough to condemn them to me.

Honor, to my mind, demands more than just lip service, and allowing such institutions not only to continue to exist, but to continue to exert their influence over the ignorant and vulnerable, is tantamount to performing such acts. If any priest or preacher really had a sense of honor, he would be burning bibles and shooting Popes every other day…. Well, no, that’s going too far…. once a week would be sufficient…. but, to allow the Pope, and others like him, to continue to exist doesn’t say much for humanity, or for our own sense of honor…. Or, for how quickly we learn…

As is often the case with ranting, I’m unsure of how I got to this particular point; I get so amped up with the force of what I’m feeling about what I’m writing, I forget to keep track of where I’m heading, or where it started out…. ah well, occupational hazard, I reckon…. and if I can take a poke or three at a preacher or two while I’m about it, well, that’s a good day’s work, in my world….. So, we’ll let them be, for now…. rest assured, I still have a lot to say about THAT particular class of society…..   🙂
__________________________________

Well, that was an interesting morning, to be sure…. unrecorded side events unrelated to the creation of this Pearl interrupted about a third of the way through, but proved to be mostly beneficial, and so are a wash, time-wise…. Now, all I have to do is work up the energy to hoof it down to the library and back, to get this posted, and see if I have any email that needs attention…. and maybe, a little time to answer comments, should yesterday’s post have stimulated same…. Ever hopeful, we are…. Any who, I pronounce this one to be finito, so, I will leave you now, with just the right timing….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!