For an early morning mini-rant, that’s not too shabby. To conserve some of the elegance it shows, I’m going to make the unusual executive decision to stop the intro from getting overzealous, ending it in this paragraph, long before we normally give up on the morning dose of blather and nonsense. I think I can make up for it below. Whatever the case may be, we are going on right now; what’s more, there is nothing any of us can do about it now…..

Shall we Pearl?….

Ffolkes, I have to say, in the last two minutes, Prince puts on what I believe may be the best ever virtuoso guitar solo I’ve ever seen. Eric Clapton played with George to create the original; this takes their genius at least two steps higher. All I can say is, wow. He just kills it, and makes it look easy, like all he did musically. I never got into his music much; it’s a bit esoteric for my taste. But, I have always realized it was my own ear that could not appreciate him, for he is, and always was, one of the best who ever made music, of any kind…. Moreover, he was an artist of integrity, in that he refused to be anything but himself, and true to his own art…. Not many are truly original; he was completely so.

From 11/22/2012:

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them.  That only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality.” — Lao-Tzu

I’m not sure how to take this…. I found this quote from Lao Tzu AFTER writing the above intro, and AFTER writing the third section’s pearl below. As always, Lao Tzu makes obvious the reason why I am feeling my discomfort, and points out how to get past the pain, caused, as usual, by my own perceptions, and my reaction to them. But, at the same time, this time, it occurs to me that although we cannot force reality to do what we want it to do, there does seem to be a rather unbalanced percentage of results that favor the bad guys, rather than evidence that supports an even, or even random, set of chances. I mean, yes, this does parallel my own philosophy’s axiom #2, almost exactly, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to me when the universe does present us with natural and spontaneous changes.

And, really, it is not. But, from what I can see, objectively, it seems easier for the bad guys to take advantage of the system as it exists, and for them to achieve the results they desire. It seems that if the universe were truly a random deal, then those chances of success would be equal for both the rich and the poor; seems only fair to me…. But, then, I am not the universe, and most simply put, I care, and it doesn’t. That is what makes the difference, and is why the bad guys win so much more often…. If one is the kind of person who cares about others, then fairness becomes an issue. If one doesn’t care about others, then it is not an issue, and one can use all the advantages the universe offers to those who would lie, hurt others without compunction, and cheat their own mothers, (well, who knows… they MIGHT feel guilty about it, but they would still do it….) to achieve their own ends. This is why the world is like it is, quite frankly…. because there are two types of folks in the world, and one of them insists on playing fair….

You know what, though? I don’t care, ultimately, how unfair it is….. Each of us has to make a decision about how we are to approach life, and whether or not we will be the kind of person who will take advantage of others to get what we want. To do so is to give in to the Dark Side of the Force, in my mind, and I just won’t do it…. Yes, I could have a lot more, and be a lot more comfortable, physically…. I could be rich, if I didn’t care about other folks…. But, I do, and I also enjoy being able to look at myself in the mirror in the morning without any shame…. I mean, doing that is already a dangerous occupation, as my face is far from what I’d call pretty, or even handsome…. but, it is an honest face, and that is what I care about….

So be it…. Let reality  be reality, ffolkes, and let the chips fly where they may…. All we can do is all we can do, anyway, right? Right……

“You cannot believe in honor unless you have achieved it. Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” — George Bernard Shaw

That, of course, is my opinion, but, I think there is plenty of evidence to support those assertions. I’m not the only one who thinks so, at all; sadly, very few are trying to do anything about it. To give an idea of what I believe has contributed to the issue, here is one pearl, and one graphic, which will show what I believe to be the way an adult human male ought to be; what he needs to believe, and, needs to be, in order for our species to have any chance of becoming adult at all….

Well, it’s done. I’m sure it’s a bit choppy, and truncated in spots, but, it’s going to have to do, cuz it’s all I’ve got today. I’m tired, and grumpy, and want to go back to sleep. Fortunately, being retired, I can do that, and will, as soon as I figure out a way to stop typing. Whew! Thought that period would never show up. Okay, I’m done. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, come hell, or high water, both of which are in our future, along with my return here in the morning….