“Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends.”
~~ Czech proverb ~~
Sunset over the Sea, off the coast of Scotland….
Howdy, y’all…. Since returning to the blog world, things have proceeded better than expected. The only part with which I’m not completely happy is my own lack of original material; it seems my muse isn’t quite done with her/his/its vacation yet, & there’s little I can do, at this juncture, to summon them home. Ah, well, at least the old-school pearls are flowing along nicely. I can only hope a new poem is percolating, while I work on a new expository outburst. One may only hope some little bit will be forthcoming….
Until that happens, I am, it seems, limiting myself to refining the process, and that seems to be going well enough to not make any changes. In fact, it also has been working to use a bit of moderation here in the intro, depending on the content below to fulfill whatever misplaced urges for approbation I may feel. I trust y’all will let me know how that’s going at some point. Until such a time, how about we stick what seems to be working best, which looks like this….
Shall we Pearl?
“Go often to the house of a friend;
for weeds soon choke up the unused path.”
~~ Scandinavian Proverb ~~
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Thanks to the demo going on in the downstairs apartment, I am having a bit of difficulty deciding on a musical selection. Since I am as much of an egotist as anyone else, and it’s my blog, I decided to go with one of my own favorites, to wit: all six Brandenburg concertos, by Johann Sebastian Bach. This version is from the Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado conducting. Enjoy!….
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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 ~~
10/13/2012
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Naked Pearls
Caution: Curves ahead….
*******
“The wake does not drive the boat.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
*******
“Everyone who becomes conscious of
even a fraction of his unconscious
gets outside his own time and social stratum
into a kind of solitude.”
~~ Carl Jung ~~
*******
“Do not settle for less than the best your own excellence can command.”
~~ Anne McCaffrey ~~
*******
“That nature only is good
when it shall not do unto another
whatever is not good for its own self.”
~~ Dadistan-I dinik, Zend-Avesta, c. 700 B. C. ~~
*******
“He who has so little knowledge of human nature
as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition
will waste his life in fruitless efforts.”
~~ Samuel Johnson ~~
*******
“I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear friend,
to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart
and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms
and like books written in a very foreign tongue.
Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you,
because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is, to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it,
live along some distant day into the answer.”
~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~
*******
“In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain.”
~~ Pliny the Elder ~~
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Though suffering slightly from immoderate truncation, it’s done. Not too shabbily, either, if I do say so meself. In short, I’ll take it, & make my run for the border (that’s the border of sanity, if you hadn’t guessed by now….). I’ll do it again, soon, which you may regard as either a threat, or a promise. In any case, I’ll be back, post haste. Bide thy time, but, hold not thy breath until I can do so, please? Be well, & happy as you may. You may also emulate my example, and just as strange as you can possibly be; trust me, the Universe will reward you for it…. See ya, ffolkes….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions,
that they exist in the present,
which is what there is and all there is.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
Hazy day on SF Bay….
Hajime…. My regular Gentle readers may have noted my complete absence yesterday; others may not. Nonetheless, it’s so; I blew the day off completely, to avoid any display of the insanity which characterized my day. I can’t really say why, or, even how, the day got that way. I only know I sat to begin composing in the early hours of the morn, & realized it wasn’t going to happen…. With a dispatch unusual for me, I got up, & left the computer behind for a couple hours, going for an early walk, & spending time with Leelu, who is feeling better, but, still a bit clingy. We had a quiet day, in which I visited a couple blogs I’d missed lately, but, otherwise spent only the minimum of time online, sufficient only to keep my inbox clear of dross.
I also managed to put together a decent enough Pearl for today, with some excellent music & a rather fine old-school pearl for the final section. The new poem did leak out a few more verses, but, isn’t ready for consumption, so, I went with one from a while back, during my stint in opioid hell. For what it is, and was during its creation, it’s pretty decent, too. All in all, it’s right & tight enough to post, so, that’s what I’m going to do, as soon as I quit fooling around with this intro…. In a quick survey of what has occurred thus far, I’m thinking it would be well to do that now. Quit fooling around, that is….
So, I will. In fact, I’ll be unusually kind, & do that right now, or, as soon as I figure out which one of these exit techniques will work the best. Oh, look, here’s one we haven’t used in quite some time; it’s always been a favorite, too, so, why not bring it back for an encore today? It’s a pretty cool method, & works very simply. Watch this….
Shall we Pearl?….
“At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life;
this one experiences over and over in every conflict and every perplexity:
that one is alone.
That isn’t as bad as it may first appear;
and again it is the best thing in life
that each should have everything in himself;
his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.”
~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~
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Lettice Rowbotham
Image from the mirror.com via Google Images
I discovered this artist during a recent binge of watching old talent show auditions. She competed during the 2014 Britain’s Got Talent show, placing in the top 7 finalists. A brilliant violinist with a sparkling, roguish personality, she set the British entertainment scene on fire with her flamboyant attitude, and brilliant showmanship. I found her charming, and a better violinist than most will realize. I’ve included the links to her You Tube page, and her own website, where you can find a large number of videos of her playing live gigs and collaborations with other artists. She also is, as the videos show, a superb improvisational violinist…. I hope you enjoy her music; indeed, she is an artist like no one else in the world….
Hell is never far away; it slips in, then out,
like a ninja, bent on stealth and death.
Living metamorphoses, in the space of a breath,
sordid entropy fills us, within, and without.
Tide turns again; back and forth it tumbles,
like those little wind up toys, yet never stays.
All our efforts, all our silly little ways,
disappear like seaweed, as sanity crumbles.
The duality of reality in which we are firmly caught,
seems to inhabit every part of our natural selves.
Nothing is ever still, nor can it be placed on shelves;
we are dark, and light; balance must be taught.
Life is lived only one moment at a time,
past and future have no power to alter this at all.
We can choose to fly, or choose to fall;
finding truth, and beauty, can never be a crime.
~~ gigoid ~~
12/14/2015
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Naked Pearls
Beginning to end….
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“I exist as I am, that is enough.”
~~ Walt Whitman ~~
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“Curiouser and curiouser!”
~~ Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” ~~
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“The thinking that we are has brought us
to where we have already been.
In order to go somewhere else,
we must think in a different way.”
~~ Albert Einstein ~~
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“There is an educative and purifying power in danger
that is to be found in no other school.”
~~ A. F. Mummery ~~
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“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds.
Things either are what they appear to be;
or they neither are, nor appear to be;
or they are, and do not appear to be;
or they are not, and yet appear to be.
Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.”
~~ Epictetus — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvii ~~
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“All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.”
~~ Alexander Pope — Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 289 ~~
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“Come…
Dry your eyes, for you are life,
rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg;
the clay in which the forces that shape all things
leave their fingerprints most clearly.
Dry your eyes…
And let’s go home.”
~~ Watchmen ~~
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As I’ve managed well over 1000 times, it’s done. The Pearl, I mean. I’m also pretty well done; been up only a bit over an hour, & already whooped. (Don’t bother looking it up; it’s just an Americanism, & hopefully isn’t IN any dictionaries…. Expressive, though, eh?) My sense of duty will drive me to get it posted, then, I think, I’m done for this part of the day. Most likely, I’ll take a morning walk in the cool, & indulge myself in a bit of a nap. Some time in there, I might even work on the poem, & a fresh Pearl for tomorrow. Or, maybe not; I’m feeling rather unpredictable these days…. plus, I never know when I will be called on to act as a hammock for a cat…. such as I am being summoned for now…. See ya, gotta go; the empress doesn’t like to wait….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
Hajime…. Today’s Pearl is yet another truncated version, for the simple reason I don’t have time to put it all the way together the way I prefer. I make no excuses for it; I’m once again the designated babysitter for my granddaughter for the day. Simple excited anticipation prevented much of what you won’t see today, and may be considered no great loss. Believe me, I’m not sweating over it. Yesterday was a good day; got to talk to a friend halfway across the world via Skype, which always gives the geek in me a thrill, quite aside from the pleasure of talking with a like mind…. the glow of inner joy kept me going all afternoon.
Well, that’s all the chatty conversation I’ve got today; I’m gearing up for the physical effort I know is coming; my granddaughter, at two, is a bundle of energy, which my aged body must strain to keep up with. Fortunately, I’ve done this before, & know it’s just a matter of using my head & being mindful, not hard to do with a two-year-old’s mind to enjoy. It’s such a joy to watch it learn to learn…. and soak up perceptions like an ocean sponge. Since I only have what you see below, I suppose I should get to it, & figure out how to get started on a Pearl for tomorrow…. Ah, well, it’s all grist for the mill, right?
I found a new technique for getting this intro done, too. Wanna see it work? Watch….
Shall we Pearl?
“Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield!
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain. Exalted reason,
Resplendent daughter of the head divine,
Wise foundress of the system of the world,
Guide of the stars, who are thou then, if thou,
Bound to the tail of folly’s uncurb’d steed,
Must, vainly shrieking, with the drunken crowd,
Eyes open, plunge down headlong in the abyss.”
~~ Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller, “The Maid of Orleans” ~~
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Naked Pearls
Conclusions are left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader….
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“Everything that irritates us about others
can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
~~ Carl Gustav Jung ~~
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“If you regard discomfort as a normal condition
you are not likely to be troubled by want.”
~~ Ieyasu’s maxims ~~
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“If our behavior is strict, we do not need fun!”
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
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“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
~~ William Butler Yeats ~~
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“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered,
“To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.”
~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi ~~
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“We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure
without being more sensitive to pain.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
*******
“A hard beginning maketh a good ending.”
~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part i, Chap. iv ~~
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Well, there you have it, in its entirety. I’ll offer no complaints, nor any encouragement; only empathy is available, at a reasonable fee. Probably, the best idea, for all of us, is for me to just say, see ya, ffolkes. I’ll be back when I’ve got this back under some sort of control; shouldn’t take long…. Be well, be strange, be alert….. All are good to be….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.”
~~ Mohandas K., ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi ~~
I know I left it in here….
Hajime…. To say so may engender comments, or, at least, the general impression, that my curmudgeon status is in full force, but, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort and chagrin for much of yesterday, as I observed a large portion of humanity celebrating their particular form of madness, in the form of a paroxysm of common delusion, sharing the apparent unconscious joy of surrendering their rationality for a promise of supernatural intervention after they die. I suppose it is only fitting to also observe a world on the brink of a nuclear holocaust, as those most lacking in rationality lead the mass of their unwitting accomplices to extinction….
But, nonetheless, that’s the way I see it, & it wouldn’t be honest to not say so. Regardless of anyone’s beliefs, reality has come to a cusp for our species, & I can’t see much, or, for that matter, any evidence we will alter our rush to our own demise, for there are not nearly enough of us who can see the problem we face, or help the rest realize their failure to reason. Moreover, though it is difficult to accept, there is little reason to think reality will allow us to deny our own nature any longer, but, will assert its prerogatives in a way we will have no choice but to accede. In short, we’re pretty well up the creek, and there’s no paddle in sight.
Rather than dwell on that which I cannot personally change, I think I’ll just put together a Pearl, with some of what I see, and can guess, as some of the elements; this, while not likely to cause anyone to turn activist, or reformer, or any other possibly helpful state of mind, will have the simple effect of keeping me from hurrying anyone along the path we are already treading; I have to keep reminding myself it isn’t my job, or, my destiny, to fix anything; it’s only my task to observe, and report. So be it. It may not be the most ethical path, but, ’tis the one I can choose without abandoning all I know to be true….
That’s a bit cryptic, & possibly depressing, as well, but, such is life, sometimes. Wait a minute! What’s this?
A gray, bent old man just appeared; he’s wandering about the room, touching my stuff, & giggling to himself, somewhat madly….. Suddenly, he says, “Don’t you have something you’re supposed to be doing?”…. SIGH…. He’s right, so, we’ll go ahead, now, & just do it…..
Shall we Pearl?
“You can’t get wet from the word ‘water’.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
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I’m in the mood for some old-time rock & roll, & for a blog that posts Pearls, what better music to turn to than that of this lady? She was, after all, known for a time as ‘Pearl’….. The video I’ve included is part of a collection of most of her live concert videos…. Enjoy, ffolkes; Janis had a voice that arrowed straight into the bones, & made itself felt….
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Janis Joplin Live
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Augmentation: Inner Aye
Distant, peals of thunder, vividly.
Closer, a patter of rain, falling gravidly.
Between the light and the darkness of fear
find merely the remnants of one lonely tear.
Do not hate us, though we have not sinned;
eager for courage, upon whom all hope is pinned.
Tales of insolence, hatred, or fallen virtue
fill us up, not down, in such pristine foreign venue.
Capable hands severed, able hands tied;
the future is angry, all but now denied.
Multiple times, warnings sounded across the pale
nobody heard, nobody came to tell the tale.
Gifted by time, salience fails in epic rhyme;
watchmakers watching, each a separate crime.
Logical solutions refuse to emulsify
forever pretending to cruelly crucify.
Blood will fly alongside pertinent composure,
never seeking, never finding tea, or closure.
Falsely laid trails on mountains of gold
imply no happy endings, no fortunes told.
Ages past have no time for repetition;
further chances only lead to perdition.
Destiny feels a shameful portion of guilt,
for a thousand sand castles, never built.
~~ gigoid ~~
3/2/2016
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Naked Pearls
Notes on Transcendence….
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“It’s that moment of dawning comprehension I live for.”
~~ Hobbes ~~
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“In order to make an apple pie from scratch,
you must first create the universe.”
~~ Carl Sagan, “Cosmos” ~~
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“Never let the future disturb you.
You will meet it, if you have to,
with the same weapons of reason
which today arm you against the present.”
~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ~~
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“I say love, it is a flower; and you, it’s only seed.”
~~ Bette Midler. “The Rose” ~~
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“Education is an admirable thing,
but it is well to remember from time to time
that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”
~~ Oscar Wilde ~~
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“Time present and time past
are both perhaps present in time future.
What might have been and what is
all point to the same end,
that which is always present.”
~~ T.S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton” ~~
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“You only live twice:
Once when you’re born,
Once when you look death in the face.”
~~ Ian Fleming ~~
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Well, it’s done, in spite of having to resort to literary trickery, just to free ourselves from the burgeoning rant in the intro section. All the elements are present, so, we’ll go ahead & post this, just as if it were worthy. I’ll make it a point to try again, perhaps tomorrow…. Until then, y’all be careful out there, & stay alert. Things are becoming even more strange than we can imagine….. Imagine what THAT is going to be like, if you dare….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“We never reflect how pleasant it is to ask for nothing.”
~~ Seneca ~~
Leelu, Dispossessed….
Hajime…. Though the crisis at Lake Oroville’s Dam has receded to precautionary warnings, and the level of the dam’s reservoir has dropped to manageable levels, it continues to rain here in northern California, to the delight of sea birds & other aquatic creatures, and the chagrin of all the spoiled, self-centered denizens of the human culture, most of whom begin whining after one day of such weather. People are getting testy from the lack of sunshine, it seems, though, personally, I enjoy a spot of rainy weather. That’s due to experience, though, which most folks find hard to assimilate into their thinking apparatus….. but, that’s a tale for another day….
For the nonce, let it suffice to say, it’s wet here. The Pearl you’ll find below is what today’s culture would call a ‘mash-up’, consisting, as it does, of the various parts of other, older Pearls, with a bit of original smarm from yours truly thrown in to distract anyone from any uncomfortable questions, or, noticing anything off. Hey, it works like a charm for the government flunkies who infest the airwaves with their BS, to distract the public from what they’re doing in those back offices & darkened conference rooms; why can’t it work for me? No reason, I think, since humans are so adept at NOT thinking; you’d think we’d find something better to do with all this grey matter we’re wasting, but, no…. we just carry it around from toilet to toilet, moving water from place to place while we dither….
If you couldn’t tell, I’m feeling a bit snarky today; it should work well for me when I start working on the huge ‘discussion’ in my temp files. However, to keep it from getting too sticky here, (it tends to get tacky after it sits a while….), I think I’ll just mention the construction alterations I’ve used today, & get on with it….. Most of what you see below was stolen, from a Pearl first posted in mid-2012. The poem is from that date, as is the final section’s old school entry. This is simply to save time, (Smart Bee went on strike again….), and energy, which can be better utilized later today for a walk out in the storm. So be it, he said, grimly. He also said, watch this….
Shall we Pearl?
“Hope is the fawning traitor of the mind,
which, while it cozens with a color’d friendship
robs us of our best virtue-resolution.”
~~ Lee ~~
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French composer Camille Saint-Saens
Today’s musical selection is a two hour collection of violin concertos from this man’s work, which I use a lot to provide myself with music, by which to write. I hope it soothes today, as you read the mess I’ve put together….
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Violin Concertos Camile Saint-Saëns
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I Speak Not
I speak not, I trace not, I breathe not thy name;
There is grief in the sound, there is guilt in the fame;
But the tear that now burns on my cheek may impart
The deep thoughts that dwell in that silence of heart.
Too brief for our passion, too long for our peace,
Were those hours – can their joy or their bitterness cease?
We repent, we abjure, we will break from our chain, –
We will part, we will fly to – unite it again!
Oh! thine be the gladness, and mine be the guilt!
Forgive me, adored one! – forsake if thou wilt;
But the heart which is thine shall expire undebased,
And man shall not break it – whatever thou may’st.
And stern to the haughty, but humble to thee,
This soul in its bitterest blackness shall be;
And our days seem as swift, and our moments more sweet,
With thee at my side, than with worlds at our feet.
One sigh of thy sorrow, one look of thy love,
Shall turn me or fix, shall reward or reprove.
And the heartless may wonder at all I resign –
Thy lips shall reply, not to them, but to mine.
~~ George Gordon, Lord Byron ~~
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Today’s final section is, again, graced with the material used in the Pearl posted on 7/13/2012; it carries a flavor tease, of a part of the massive ‘rant’ I’m working on in my spare moments… I hope you enjoy this little group of pokes, targeting one of humanity’s most persistent delusions….
From July, 2013:
Here then is an old-school pearl…. Strung together, each of these distinct ideas blend to become one scathing exposé of society today…. Just what that exposé consists of is, of course, left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader…..
“And it came to pass that in the hands of the ignorant, the words of the bible were used to beat plowshares into swords…” — Alan Watts
“Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
“What do you mean, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch?” *YOU* are the free lunch!” — Solomon Short
On a sidewalk near Portland State University someone wrote `Trust Jesus’, and someone else wrote `But Cut the Cards’. — Smart Bee
Those Jesus Freaks
Well, they’re friendly but
The shit they believe
Has got their minds all shut.
— Frank Zappa, “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing”
“Honesty isn’t any policy at all; it’s a state of mind or it isn’t honesty.” — Eugene L’Hote
and last, but certainly not least….
“Apes evolved from Creationists!” — Smart Bee
Well, there you have it…. perhaps a bit less scathing than sardonic, but attractively presented, if nothing else, eh? Don’t forget to offer a cut to the player on your right before you deal the cards ….
🙂
********************************
Hmm… well, it seems to have worked; my efforts, despite their randomness, got me here to the final, closing section, without much hesitation, otherwise known as ‘dithering’, and, more importantly, with sanity, if not completely intact, at least still present. That, in itself, is worthy of celebration; too bad I don’t have any champagne. Since I don’t, I guess I’ll just finish this off, & call it a day. While that may be more rational than the alternative, we’re not choosing to do so for any rational reason. No, sirree, Bob; we’re doing it cuz we’re done to a turn. Rather than stick around, chancing awkward questions or comments, I’ll just say, see y’all later, & hope for the best. Besides, I’ll be back, eventually; maybe it will all make sense, one day. Until then, be strange…. it’s cool out there….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“The measure of a man’s life is the well spending of it, and not the length.”
~~ Plutarch — Consolation to Apollonius ~~
Fun with blankets….
Hajime…. Were I in any way normal, I’d still be in bed. Since I’m neither of those, I’m up, again, staring at the blank screen, wondering what the hell I’m going to write about to bring some joy into the lives of my Gentle Readers. I’m pretty sure such joy isn’t why most of my readers come here; it is, after all, in generally short supply anywhere in the world, and, here is not the exception. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t make it at least a temporary goal, right? Right. Doesn’t mean we’ll be successful, either, but, since any failure is just another way to find out how to succeed, we’ll give it a shot, & see what happens….
Okay, so, this isn’t happening, is it? I’ve just spent five full minutes, trying to figure out how to do what I wrote above, and, for the life of me, drew a bigger blank than I started with today. Go figure, eh? More proof of Murphy’s presence in my life, I suspect, but, rather than give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s done it to me again, I’ll cheat a little, by completely ignoring him altogether. I can do it, if I make an extreme effort, which, given the current stat of this intro (to wit: completely lost…), is pretty much mandatory, if we wish to get through this, at all. Here goes….
Well, that didn’t work, either. Still no ideas bursting through the fog to supply us with the means to finish this. Rather than continue to batter myself about the head and shoulders, I think I’ll resort to this old literary trick a friend showed me the other day. It works like this…..
Shall we Pearl?….
“To see what is right and not to do it, is want of courage.”
~~ Confucius Analects ~~
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I know I’ve used this video previously, but, oh, well… It just happens to be one of my favorite sessions, period, which I turn to whenever I want to hear some great guitar work. Since that’s what I want, that’s what you get…. I think we can all live with it….
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Eric Clapton Unplugged
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Random Exposure
If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.
Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.
Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.
Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.
Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.
~~ gigoid ~~
4/22/2013
********************************
Naked Pearls
Walking the walk….
*******
“Everything that has a beginning has an ending.
Make your peace with that and all will be well.”
~~ Buddha ~~
*******
“But my dear man, reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
*******
“And through the spaces of the dark
Midnight shakes the memory
As a madman shakes a dead geranium”
~~ T.S. Eliot ~~
*******
“As long as anyone believes that his ideal and purpose is outside him,
that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future,
he will go outside himself and seek fulfillment where it cannot be found.
He will look for solutions and answers at every point
except where they can be found
–in himself.”
~~ Erich Frohm ~~
*******
“Some people never find it
Some only pretend, but me
I just want to live happily ever after
Every now and then”
~~ Jimmy Buffet ~~
*******
“Become what you are.”
~~ Buddha ~~
*******
“You’re at the end of the road again.”
~~ Subtle Bee ~~
*******
********************************
Sorry about the abrupt exit from the intro; if I hadn’t done it when I did, we probably would never have made it to this point. Since we have, I’ll again take advantage of circumstance, to take my leave, letting y’all get on with your day. Hopefully, our efforts here today have enhanced your ability to address reality for the day; if not, well, we’ll refund every penny you paid. Hah! On that note, I’ll bid thee adieu, with the standard caveat, to wit: I’ll be back… It’s probably best if you note that in your calendar….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“For one human being to love another human being:
that is perhaps the most difficult task
that has been entrusted to us,
the ultimate task, the final test and proof,
the work for which all other work
is merely preparation.”
~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~
Reluctantly poised….
Hajime…. We humans are weird. While such a statement could be construed as critical, in this case, it is more of an observation, based on personal experience. To fully comprehend the depth and meaning would require more time than I’m willing to spend today, so, y’all will once more have to deal with any disappointment on your own, cuz I ain’t talkin’…. Don’t worry, it’s nothing untoward, merely, well, weird, and it won’t delay the production of today’s Pearl any more than it already has with this paragraph.
Of course, this means we don’t have anything more to put here in the intro, a not unusual conundrum. One might think, after two days of sloughing off the work, I’d be a bit more organized, but, then, thinking can often lead to inaccurate conclusions, especially when the subject matter, i.e., me, is rather an ambiguous figure, to say the least. If we said more than the least, we could be sued rather heavily, which is why we never do. And, yes, we have now devolved, rather suddenly, I might add, into complete blather & nonsense. It’s our default when we are thus challenged, as you may remember.
Our Pearl today will be okay, anyway. I finally put together a decent rant, stimulated by, of all things, a question somebody asked me on Facebook. The rest is pretty standard, and, if I don’t get started putting it together, it won’t get done. To make that happen, I’ll end this now, here, so there won’t be any further forays into the outer reaches. Hell, at this point, I’m thinking, if I don’t do this right now, the end results will be completely unpredictable, never a good thing for us….. Let’s just get the hell out of here, while we can….
Shall we pearl?….
“By definition, when you are investigating the unknown,
you do not know what you will find.”
~~ The Ultimate Principle ~~
********************************
Herself, Ms. Raitt
Some days, it’s just got to be the best. Here’s a session I haven’t heard yet, so, let’s have a listen, shall we?….
********************************
Bonnie Raitt BBC Four Sessions
********************************
********************************
********************************
“I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.”
~~ Antoine de Saint Exupery ~~
In the most recent months, my thoughts have begun crystallizing, in a large sense. By ‘large’, I refer to Life at Large, the panorama of human experience on Planet Earth, in all its hideously insane, yet, somehow, vividly fascinating glory. In a cosmic sense, we humans haven’t been around very long; it’s only been about 10 or so thousand years since we left off living on the land full time, without the civilizing (?) influence of writing, gunpowder, and the concept of religion. (Thank you to Tom Carlyle…). Yet, in that minuscule portion of close to five billion years of known Universal history, we have come to the rather grandiose opinion we are the pinnacle of the whole shebang, the highest form of life as we know it, with all the attendant privileges and rights, whatever we conceive those to be.
So, here we are, a motley, unrestrictedly reproductive organism, in season all year round, barely past the time of sleeping on soft leaves in a cave lit by torches, wandering over the face of the planet, even probing our proboscis’ all over the solar system, in our search for new places to fuck. By ‘fuck’ I mean fuck in all its incarnations. We are always looking to fuck; each other, other species, the environment, space/time, biologic creation, the physical universe, the moon, other planets, etc. We want to fuck with, around, on, and up against damn near everything we encounter, from dirt, to atoms, to practically anything our wicked, inventive imaginations can think of, and/or turn into reality….
See, that’s our problem, too. We can’t seem to stop ourselves for any appreciable time from fucking with everything, yet, our overactive, innovative imagination is too powerful for us to keep up with, being the simple animals we really still are, in terms of our nervous systems, perceptive and cognitive abilities, and, some of our physical characteristics, which, in and of themselves, can override any of the other talents/abilities/natural characteristics we may possess. For example, certain smells can literally stop your entire metabolism, instantly creating urges to run, vomit, scream, or otherwise indicate systemic panic; the same can happen with a subliminal perception, which, under given circumstances, can send the bravest, strongest human running in terror, without even knowing why they have panicked.
But, we think we are so cool; Terry Pratchett, I think, described it well when he accused us of being so primitive we still thought digital watches were cool. In truth, we are simply out of our depths, for the most part, though it may seem otherwise, if you listen to TV, or, mostly, anyone else who has an opinion. The only REAL truths we now can depend on are the ones we find within our selves, for everything in the world we have created around us is based on false data and conclusions, which, in the face of their relation to actual physical reality, become delusional, and thus, dangerous to us.
One of the most commonly notions regarding human nature is our Ego, which I have capitalized, for that is how it affects us. However, to promote a more productive frame of mind I have found to be of value, I will forgo further capitalization, to encourage each one reading to devalue the importance of how ego drives your bus, so to speak…. You see, we are more than merely a mind, or, and ego. In fact, the ego may only be a hallucination, as some philosophers AND neuroscientists have suggested. Our existence is also greatly affected, in reality, by physical forces, not all of which we directly perceive, and, by spiritual forces, which are also not necessarily easily identified. Yet, each of those two forces, physical, and spiritual, can instantly assume greater significance than anything our mind perceives, up to and including the potential loss of life…
For example, in the physical world, there are many forces we don’t perceive directly; magnetic, gravitational (other than as motion induced by its presence), certain wavelengths of light and electromagnetic, and, others we can only perceive by instruments. Any of these, sufficiently strong, can be dangerous to us. Spiritually, who can deny the power of what happens to us under the influence of love? Or fear of losing love? There are also many spiritual/emotional forces in our makeup we don’t perceive, or comprehend at all….
However, the ego, due to its own nature as part of us, believes in itself so strongly, it acts as if none of that is anything it cannot overcome to achieve its own ends…. To my current way of thinking, this is a bit grandiose, given our history of success at making reality do what we want. Yes, we have made great technological advances, but, none of them have improved the human condition a whit, and, in fact, are now becoming a danger to the entire species, by continuing to treat the universe as its own toy…. simply because we deny our own nature, which remains divided, unaware of the potential progress to be made by ‘merging the three parts…. which, in truth are but two, the mental and the physical; the spirit is the bridge between them, upon which we refuse to walk…
This discussion was provoked by an exchange I had on Facebook yesterday, prompted by a not unusually provocative statement by a friend (Red, the Fabulous), who is, in my estimation, one of the five smartest people alive. And, yes, I know y’all might think that’s hyperbole, but, it isn’t. In any case, the following exchange took place, which I reproduce now because it is a fine summary of all I’m trying to say here today, in just a few lines…. To wit:
Red: “I want to live in a world where people know how to merge. ”
Me: “If you’re talking traffic, you;re dreaming. If you’re talking life, well, it might be some time yet… *wink* ”
Red: “Yes.”
T.C: “Physically, mentally or spiritually? ”
Me: “They are all three the same exact thing; our inability to ‘merge’ them is a big part of all the troubles you see in the world… I, too, would like to live in such a world, in which we all could look past our ego’s need to divide them, and us… ”
That’s the word I needed… divided. We have a divided nature. It’s natural, in a universe that exists in duality. But, we let one part of our nature overmaster the rest of what the universe has to tell us; by doing so, we create our own inner conflict, which is reflected into the society we have created. Until we learn to ‘merge’ the different parts of our nature, to see the connections there are in life, then we will remain separated, from ourselves, from each other, and from our own universe. In doing so, we condemn ourselves to our only real hell, which is living disconnected from life…. and the love that is possible when we are part of everything…
Serendipitously, I have already shown the exactly right pearl with which this discussion should be closed… Here, then, is the correct path, as indicated by, naturally, a poet….
“For one human being to love another human being:
that is perhaps the most difficult task
that has been entrusted to us,
the ultimate task, the final test and proof,
the work for which all other work
is merely preparation.”
~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~
********************************
A Failure to Germinate
Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.
Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.
Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.
I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.
My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.
Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
of which reality boasted proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.
~~ gigoid ~~
9/27/2012
********************************
I couldn’t, in good conscience, call this one a Naked Pearl grouping; it’s just too odd. It starts oddly, ends oddly, and uses an odd path to get where it ends up. The best I can call it is to say it’s a random harlequin pearl, and let it go at that…. For one thrown together in jig time, it’s really not bad…. Enjoy!…
*******
“To be, or what?”
~~ Sylvester Stallone ~~
*******
“There’s no easy quick way out,
we’re gonna have to live through our whole lives,
win, lose, or draw.”
~~ Walt Kelly ~~
*******
“Self-improvement is a dangerous form of vanity.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
*******
But where shall I start?
The world is so fast, I shall start with the country I know best, my own.
But my country is so very large, I had better start with my town.
But my town, too, is large. I had best start with my street.
No, my home.
No, my family.
Never mind,
I shall start with myself.”
~~ Elie Wiesel ~~
*******
“Depend not on fortune, but on conduct.”
~~ Publius Syrus ~~
*******
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 ~~
*******
“A child of five would understand this.
Send someone to fetch a child of five.”
~~ Groucho Marx ~~
*******
********************************
This is pretty late getting done, compared to our usual time to post; oh, well. Such is life in the fast lane, ffolkes, so, we may as well just deal, and get on with the day. Hopefully, this will help make that go better than it otherwise might. Then again, perhaps not. Time will tell, as it always does, the mouthy bastard. I, personally, shall merely say, see y’all tomorrow…. and, that’s all the warning you’ll get….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“Ignorance doesn’t kill you, but it makes you sweat a lot.”
~~ Haitian proverb ~~
Did you say ‘chase paper’?….
Hajime…. I’m posting very late again today, but, not for any bad reason. On the contrary, it’s been a fine morning. I would share it, but, it’s still too intimate an experience to do so; I’m greedy sometimes, & want to savor it for a time. The time I spent will, eventually, be a big part of my personal cache of memories, in the folder simply labeled “joy”. Can’t say exactly why ’tis so, but, gift horse, right? Don’t want to examine it too closely….
Rather than torture all of us by trying to create some grandiose, compelling intro today, I’ll make these two paragraphs do as a sublimation for the real thing. I doubt seriously y’all will miss it, any more than will I. We also will not be discussing any of the personal quirks, and/or mental issues which would tend to complicate matters in the normal course of events. Of course, around here, there is no such thing as a normal course of events, but, we won’t talk about that, either. Instead, we’ll just do this….
Today’s musical selection features an Irish artist, a fiddler, who currently plays with the Celtic Woman group. I’ve seen the group on stage a couple of times; each time, this woman’s performance, for me, made the show as special as it was. Quite simply, her performance is infectiously joyous, sharing her own pleasure at playing her music to such a degree it is tangible…. I hope you enjoy it….
********************************
Celtic Woman
Máiréad – Granuaile’s Dance
********************************
********************************
********************************
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
*******
“No slave is ever freed, save he freeth himself.”
~~ Bob Marley, paraphrased ~~
Today’s rant is self-directed, as it should be, given the opening quotes…. Enjoy! Oh, and, keep an open mind on this one; you’ll need it….
From 5/6/2015:
Dubiousity, Redux
In the virtual world, I call myself gigoid, the dubious, for specific reasons…. Rather than use my own words to delineate/describe those reasons, here are some of them, in the form of pearls, (naturally….), as collected by Smart Bee, just as an exercise…. It turned out to be a nice, eleven-star pearl, all centered around the concept of doubt as a function of wisdom…. It seems I’m not the only person in history to put my faith in doubt, rather than the other way around, so to speak…. There are a lot of big names here, and, I only went through the first half of the collection….
Pay particular heed today, ffolkes; these little bits of shiny stuff are more subtly important, to you, than you may realize…. Oh, and, ALL of this will be on your final Quiz…. Don’t blame me, I didn’t make it up….
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.
They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Brahma ~~
“Philosophy, means, first, doubt; and afterwards the consciousness of what knowledge means, the consciousness of uncertainty and of ignorance, the consciousness of limit, shade, degree, possibility. The ordinary man doubts nothing and suspects nothing.” — Henri Frederick Amiel
“A lizard ran out on a rock and looked up, listening no doubt to the sounding of the spheres. And what a dandy fellow! the right toss of a chin for you and swirl of a tail! If men were as much men as lizards are lizards they’d be worth looking at.” — D. H. Lawrence (1928)
“Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.” — Robert Lindner
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.” — Voltaire
Modest doubt is call’d
The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches
To the bottom of the worst.
~~ William Shakespeare ~~
~~ Troilus and Cressida — Act ii, Sc. 2 ~~
Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom. — Smart Bee
“Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.” — Bergen Evans, The Natural History of Nonsense (1946)
“If you understand, or if you don’t. If you believe, or if you doubt. There is a universal justice and the eyes of truth are always watching.” — Enigma
“Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt.” — H. L. Mencken
My guard stood hard when abstract threats too noble to neglect
deceived me into thinking I had something to protect.
Good and bad I defined these terms, quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then;
I’m younger than that now.
~~ Bob Dylan ~~
Ah, yes, indeed…. I AM younger than that now….. so, there will be more on this subject later…. Ta, then….
********************************
Retrospective, defined in folly….
Yesterday
I wrote a poem.
It bled out of my head,
like I’d been struck with
an axe,
right through the artery,
in the neck,
spraying blood around
everywhere,
like a pulsing garden hose….
It hurt, at first,
then came the feeling,
of quick relief,
of timeless beauty,
of pain avenged,
of lust aroused,
of outrage aflame,
of deep compassion,
of endless empathy,
of truest love….
Now it’s gone, cast away
like pearls before twine.
(Grin…)
You thought
I was going to call you
a pig,
didn’t you?
Hah!
Well, you’re not.
You’re a person.
I know, because
you’re reading this poem…
if that’s what it is.
I think it is,
so,
maybe it is.
Or, maybe,
it will be,
someday, when it
grows up,
and learns to rhyme.
Whew…
Just in time…..
That’s all.
Reality often sucks wind,
y’know?
S’okay, though….
It keeps us busy,
and out of some of the
mischief,
so much part
of our
nature.
We all can do
only what we
do.
Or, don’t.
Two sides, one coin.
~~ gigoid ~~
9/1/2014
********************************
Naked Pearls
Not so obvious truths….
*********
“I think, therefore I am… dangerous, that is…”
~~ Master Bee ~~
*********
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
~~ Anais Nin ~~
*********
“Do what you love.
Know your own bone;
gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.”
~~ Thoreau ~~
*********
“A man cannot speak but he judges himself…
no man thoroughly understands a truth
until he has contended against it.”
~~ Emerson ~~
*********
“In walking, just walk.
In sitting, just sit.
Above all, don’t wobble.”
~~ Yun-Men ~~
*********
“Really to see the sun rise or go down every day…
would preserve us sane forever.”
~~ Thoreau ~~
*********
“… as sight is in the body, so is reason in the soul…”
“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions,
that they exist in the present,
which is what there is and all there is.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
*********
“If it had been a bear it would have bit you.”
~~ Jonathan Swift — Polite Conversation, Dialogue i”
*********
********************************
Did it. Down, dirty, done. Moreover, got nothin’ left to say, so, I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow. I’m as certain of that as I am of anything in the world…. Fair warning, I’d say….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“But my dear man, reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
Spider Nebula Image from NASA’s Spitzer DST via Space.com
Hajime…. ‘Tis, in my opinion, hardly fair of Murphy to be such an ass. However, I do have to also admit, his timing is imfuckingpeccable. Thanks to the celebrations yesterday, I was able to fall out last night at about 7 PM, sleeping fairly well until 0300, at which time, the iconic force of nature himself stepped into the picture, sending Leelu into the throes of catly passion, yowling, demanding to be petted & soothed, or, at least acknowledged. Naturally, to a sleepy curmudgeon, this is the height of insult & rudeness, and my initial reaction was much like yesterday’s, chasing her out of the bedroom & slamming the door…
But, today, I found my center, and my balance, almost immediately, thanks, no doubt, to the more than usual amount of rest I was able to get before the advent of the gods of lust broke the spell. So, here I am, with a different sort of picture to adorn the opening section today. It’s there to give me the opportunity to stare off into the depths of space, to find that spot inside where I can stay balanced. Funny how that works, eh? But, for me, it works like a charm, since the far reaches of space, in my mind, are as familiar to me as my own backyard. In my youth, I spent hours a day there, wandering through the galaxies and nebulae on the other side of the Universe, and imagining all the wonderful new things there are to see and learn.
The upshot of all this blather is to inform y’all today’s Pearl is being started somewhat early/late, (depending on one’s time zone and degree of slavishness to the clock), which means some, if not most, will be from either the archives, or straight out of my emergency stock of bullshit tricks to distract the Gentle Reader from realizing how much we are cheating. It rather has the feeling of being a politician when I do this, but, hey, sacrifices must be made to Art, right? I think sacrificing a few politicians would help reality a lot, so, why not, I say…. especially if it kept them busy with something other than thinking up new ways to screw the public.
Now, having set the table, so to speak, we’ll begin the meal. No, we’re not serving snacks, or appetizers. We’re just going to go find some pearls, and see if we can string them together in a reasonably recognizable shape, to stimulate some thought, or, at minimum, some confusion that will lead to asking questions. Yes, that’s lowering the standards a trifle, but, we do what we must according to the dictates of reality, and, our almost non-existent conscience when it comes to Pearls. In short, what you’ll see is what you’ll get, and you’ll like it, or lump it. Up to you, and that’s reality, so, deal….
On that relatively grumpy note….. Shall we Pearl?….
“This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.”
~~ The Buddha’s Words on Kindness (Metta Sutta) ~~
********************************
Our regular Gentle Readers will have already guessed what music would show up here today; the clues are well-placed and obvious in the intro section. For the record, as always, the compilation I picked is the one with the prettiest picture I saw while searching it out…. Enjoy!….
“Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable; what it is or what it means can never be said.” — George Santayana
This observation by Mssr. Santayana seems to me to explain most of the movies that come out of Hollywood, or anywhere else. Each of us, though we cannot always say what we see as beautiful, knows what it looks like when we encounter it; every movie made is an attempt to attract people with visions of commonality, beauty that all can agree on, and, of course, pay money to see. It’s a manufactured market, only there because people want to experience those feelings, and are convinced that they can by participating in the public viewing of someone’s idea of beauty (or comedy, or evil, or any other intriguing related emotional experience)….
It reminds me of the concept of perfection…. We all have heard that “nobody is perfect”, or “nothing is perfect”, and there are numerous philosophical treatises that attempt to prove that perfection is beyond human attainment. My question for these people is this: if there is no such thing as perfection, then why do we have its image in our minds? It seems more logical to me that perfection is merely very rare, but examples of it are bound to occur, just by the law of averages, and when it does, we have the perceptive ability to see it, to acknowledge and appreciate its perfection….
The statement also can be viewed as another way of looking at the nature of reality, or the Tao of life. Is not the very first line of the Tao Teh Ching a paraphrase of the above? “The Tao that can be named is not the true Tao.” It touches on the very base of natural law, of how reality is not what we can say of it; it is more than just the description of it. By observing what is real, our perceptions remove the part of what has occurred that gives it body and substance, what makes it real…. If Albert Einstein’s God is the true one, then He left clues to this aspect of reality all over, but especially in physics, as noted by the famed Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which so poignantly points out the folly of placing one’s total faith in what is perceived…. because by seeing it, it has already changed, to suit another of reality’s aspects, Change….
Axiom # 2 of Peruaosophy states: “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.” Since Peruaosophy is my own philosophy, I can tell you, without fear of lying, that the axiom is absolutely true. It has been tested by every method I could think of, all through my life, and I can assure you that it is a factual statement. Trust me….
Okay, so you don’t have to take my word for it…. test it yourself. If you can find a single time when you can say that it is untrue, you document that, and send it to me. I’ll check it out, if any are sent in, but I have serious doubt that I’ll get any replies, as I’m confident of the axiom and its veracity. It doesn’t mean it is better, or more real than any other viewpoint or world view, but I’d wager it stands up to any of them without flinching or looking away….
Now see what I’ve done? I’ve talked myself into a corner, and can’t figure out how to tie all this mental meandering together with any aplomb. I’m sadly short of quotes, so we’ll have to make do with whatever I can come up with on short notice….. let it suffice to say that I believe in beauty, as little as it can be described, and I believe in perfection, in reality, and in the nature of everything…. After all, to be perfect, one would need to also be perfectly imperfect, else how would one tell? And I know for a fact that many of us are imperfect; at times, I am so myself, on rare occasions….. 🙂 Besides, nature itself is full of examples of perfect beauty, anyway…. just take a walk in a garden when it is blooming with roses, and you will find any number of physical examples of the concept……
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart: the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned….
~~ William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming ~~
His head,
Not yet by time completely silver’d o’er,
Bespoke him past the bounds of freakish youth,
But strong for service still, and unimpair’d.
~~ William Cowper — The Task, Book ii, The Timepiece, Line 702 ~~
********************************
Visible life
Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,
leave marks of salvation, often in pain.
Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse
fight heavily to keep a straight course.
Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense
Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.
Still the night comes soft and eternally dear
to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.
Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest
lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,
Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain
Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.
Now come brave signs of chapter and verse
Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.
Gravid portions of in-between retaliation
leave only pale marks of initial gestation
With hope even pallid warriors grow brave
Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.
Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace
Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.
Cheerful faces yet shine out of time
for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.
Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort
life is ever visible, if only as last resort.
~~ gigoid ~~
9/15/2012
********************************
Naked Pearls
Life as we know it….
*******
“I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go.”
~~ Indiana Jones/Adrian Lake ~~
*******
Not to be cheered by praise,
Not to be grieved by blame,
But to know thoroughly ones own virtues or powers
Are the characteristics of an excellent man.
~~ Saskya Pandita (1182-1251) ~~
*******
“Certainty is only a symptom of lack of imagination.”
~~ Dubious Bee ~~
*******
“A theory must be tempered with reality.”
~~ Jawaharlal Nehru ~~
*******
“Nothing is worth more than this day.”
~~ Goethe ~~
*******
Be Yourself. Who else is better qualified?
~~ Frank J. Giblin II ~~
*******
“In the darkness of future pasts
the magician longs to see one chance between two worlds.
Fire, walk with me.”
~~ One-armed Mike, from Twin Peaks ~~
*******
********************************
Whew! Who knew this could be so much work? It’s probably just as well nobody is paying me to do this, for no matter how much it was, it wouldn’t be enough. So be it. It’s done, and, given the status quo around here just now, that is a minor miracle. It does, however, offer one positive note, for me, at least, which is, being done, I can try again tomorrow to do it better. (As if….) Hey! No sotto voce allowed in the closing section! Boy, some people….
Never mind, ffolkes, I’ll stop tormenting y’all, and, myself, and bring this to a complete, if contentious, close. See y’all tomorrow, lads & lassies; at least one of us has no choice in the matter, so, perhaps I’ll see you in the morning, or, whenever you drop by…. Ta, then….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
“I am not the rose, but I have lived near the rose.”
~~ H. B. Constant (1767-1830) ~~
White’s Tavern, Belfast, Ireland Opened 1630 by Royal License
Hajime…. Lest I begin to list, either literally, or, metaphorically, let it be said, while there is still time and wherewithal to do so, we have never, ever been so fucking tired, or, for that matter, the other way around. Of course, such presupposes carnal activity, which is, sadly, currently not an issue in this house, so, perhaps we won’t say that after all. After all, if we said it, there’d be no taking it back, right? Okay, so, let’s just forget this entire paragraph, shall we? I think, if we are to make any progress at all today, that would be best.
In case it isn’t clear, I’m weary. And, not just from living with insomnia, either. I’m weary of the world at large, I think. Part of this is my current lack of social interaction, other than here on the internet, which, though pleasant and fulfilling, isn’t the same as face to face time with other people. Last evening, I dined with my daughter to celebrate her birthday a few days ago, a thoroughly enjoyable time. But, I realized it was the first time I’d actually spoken to another person in two weeks, outside my house, who wasn’t on the other side of a counter, or, standing in a line somewhere. Rather a come-uppance to my mindfulness of my own life and times, if you get my drift.
‘S okay, though; no big. It will give me a short-term personal goal for the nonce, just what I’d been looking for, to supplement my other personal plans for this year, all of which will take time to mature, as they involve the collection of resources over time. I know, pretty obscure, but, at the moment, the best I’ve got to talk about. I’ve had so much time with my old friend, and been so locked into flowing to cope with it, I’ve not had any time to think about writing, other than what was absolutely necessary to post each day…. SIGH. I’m such a wimp sometimes…. but, after a few moments, my natural buoyancy reasserts itself, and we go on, in spite of any crap such as this little chat, which has, quite obviously, lost its way in melancholic wandering around in my head.
So be it. We’ve reached at least one of the required levels of idiocy to call this an intro, yet, I feel it needs more. I suppose I could try some…. No, did that last month. I also did THIS last month, so should probably use another method here, too. Aw, fuck it. I’m done. Let’s go on down the page, without any more bullshit, okay? Sometimes, ya just gotta quit banging yer head against the wall….
Shall we Pearl?….
I have realized that the past and future are real illusions,
that they exist in the present,
which is what there is and all there is.”
~~ Alan Watts ~~
********************************
Jimi Hendrix
Image from alexpress.com via Google Images
Yesterday, a Gentle Reader mentioned this artist, whereupon I realized I’d never included any of his music here. To rectify such a cultural faux pas, I am including the longest live session I could find on the first page of You Tube, a concert from 1970 in Philadelphia. Since, at the time, he was the best rock guitarist alive, it promises to be pretty good…. When he succumbed to the BRC’s poisons in his life, we lost a man who was, perhaps, destined to be the best ever, for within his short time on Earth, he had already taken the guitar to heights never before seen, or even considered for a musical instrument, of any kind…. Quite simply, he was made of music…. and the PTB of society cannot tolerate such beauty for long…
Think about it…. Why else would drugs STILL be an issue in society, if the PTB didn’t want it that way?…. End of rant; enjoy the music….
“The truth is that Christian theology, like every other theology, is not only opposed to the scientific spirit; it is also opposed to all other attempts at rational thinking. Not by accident does Genesis 3 make the father of knowledge a serpent- slimy, sneaking and abominable. Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was, for centuries, an apologist for slavery, as it was the apologist for the divine right of kings.” — H. L. Mencken
I’d intended to use Henry’s quote to discuss religion yet again. However, I fell out for a couple hours, awakening in time to finish today’s Pearl, but, not in time to rant on such a subject. As is our attitude today, so be it. Here’s one on the same subject from the archives, to fill in as we may. Enjoy!…
From 12/2/2012:
“There is one God, but which one is He?”
~~ Smart Bee ~~
Now, this is the proper use of reason and inquiry! Such a small question, made gargantuan by the depth of its insight. Which one, indeed, is the real God? There are as many answers to this question as there are what I like to call “preachers”, for want of a better word (I should maybe try to pick a better one, I suppose….); “preachers” are men, or women, who have decided upon one particular system of beliefs on the subject of divinity as being the correct one, to the exclusion of all the others. In spite of the lack of hard evidence on hand for any of the different belief systems, these folks choose one, and stick to it like a barnacle…. which, come to think of it, is probably what it feels like, after a while….
Depending on to whom the question is put, the answer may vary from Odin the All Father of Norse mythology, to the God of Zoroaster, whose specific appellation escapes me just now. In between you will find God, also known as Yahweh/Jehovah to the those of the Tribe, Allah to the Muslims, and just plain old God to most of the Christian sects. There is the voodoo god, Jobu, in the Caribbean; Set, or Mammon, or any of the other ancient earth gods; Ra of the Egyptians; Krishna, and all his incarnations, i.e., Kali, Yama, Ganesha, Maya, and the others in the Hindu pantheon. The American Indians seemed to favor the Great Spirit. Ancient Druids and Wiccans follow the Goddess, with gods and goddesses from the Greeks and Romans thrown into the mix, just for fun. The list seems as endless as human imagination….. which it is, since all of them spring from that source.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
~~ Smart Bee (and, most likely, the Dalai Lama….) ~~
As far as I know, Buddha never claimed to be a god, and was, to my mind, not particularly clear on the subject of divinity, as directly related to humanity. The same seems true of Taoism, though certain of its sages seem to hold some of the old Chinese mythology beliefs on Heaven, and the creatures who inhabit that domain, another concept for which there is only imaginary evidence to support its veracity, and its reality. In this way, I see these philosophies as superior to the religious doctrines that purport to worship a deity, as they rely on reason, personal responsibility, and compassion to direct action, rather than fear of reprisal, or hope for reward, as is the wont of religious dogma and doctrine.
This perception of mine may be because I have always thought that the entire concept of a deity is not capable of being described, or understood, if one is to assume that a god is what it claims to be. How can a mortal understand an immortal? There is no common ground, other than the assumption of existence, for which there can be any reason for one to be connected to the other, as we could not comprehend their existence. We, limited to our human perceptions, have no direct evidence of a deity that can be experienced by those perceptions.
Anyone who tells you they do is lying, even if they believe it to be true, unless they can share that experience with another human, directly, with evidence for the senses we possess, not merely for what we wish to be true. Feelings don’t count, nor visions only seen by them, or voices in the head, and neither do personal revelations, or religious fevers, or speaking in tongues…. See, hear, touch, smell, taste…. that’s what we have, along with the ability to reason, and our imagination. That is our tool kit, and unless one of the tools fits, it isn’t real, to our perceptive ability. Items purported to be evidence that come from imagination are just that…. imaginary, and cannot be considered proof of anything other than the naivete of the speaker, and of any who choose to believe them.
“It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.”
~~ George Santayana ~~
SIGH…. People are people, though, and they will choose what to believe according to what they feel, most of the time, rather than according to what is the truth, which requires effort to find. It has even been said that humans have a tendency more often than not to make choices that are bad for them, just for that reason, that it is too much effort to think their way through to the truth that would ultimately help them. As long as this is true, then our species is in danger, from itself, and its own delusions…. Sad, in a species of such promise…..
“And on the 8th day, God woke up and said “Whew! It was just a dream!”
~~ Smart Bee ~~
********************************
A Dubiously Soft Morning
Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,
fill up the white, white screen on which I view
my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup
ambrosial remnants of anything new.
Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away
bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,
signs of one happy child, seriously at play,
blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.
Formidable cries of outraged simple justice
echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.
Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice
salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.
Creativity equals unquestioning farce,
often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.
Instead, a blow is felt no joy will ever soften,
accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.
~~ gigoid ~~
7/26/2013
********************************
Naked Pearls
Courage
**************
“Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go;
it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow”
~~ Alice M. Swaim ~~
*******
“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person,
“Always do what you are afraid to do.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
*******
“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love;
it is the prerogative of the brave.”
~~ Mahatma Gandhi ~~
*******
“No man can be brave who thinks pain the greatest evil;
nor temperate who considers pleasure the highest good.”
~~ Cicero ~~
*******
“Courage can’t see around corners, but goes around them anyway.”
~~ Mignon McLaughlin (The Neurotic’s Notebook) ~~
*******
“Courage begins when we can admit that there is no life
without some pain,some frustration;
that there is no tragic accident from which we are immune;
and that beyond the normal exercise of prudence
we can do nothing about it.”
~~ Victoria Lincoln ~~
*******
“As for courage and will
– we cannot measure how much of each lies within us,
we can only trust there will be sufficient
to carry through trials which may lie ahead.”
~~ Andre Norton ~~
********************************
Considering I put in half a night & part of a day to get this done, I’ll take it, no matter how it floats, or, whether it floats at all. In fact, I’ll use this opportunity to get us all out of here, allowing us to get on with the day. I hardly need to mention, I will be back tomorrow, apparently whether I sleep, or not. Oh, well…. See y’all then….
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid 