Ffolkes,
But, he asked himself, what if…….?……
“Great tranquility of heart is his who cares for neither praise nor blame.” — Thomas a Kempis
One might think, if one were so inclined, that Mr. Kempis has delivered just another worn-out maxim to an uninterested, apathetic audience; the structure alone is pompous enough to turn off the most sober of readers. One could also say that it sounds like something I might say, were I so inclined; in this they would be correct. I am not currently so inclined, but I will admit that it does resemble my somewhat top-heavy, sturdy style of expression. And the message is certainly one I can get behind, as it mirrors my own mostly-serene existence, which I see as a direct result of not giving a s__t about what other folk’s think I should be, or do, or take, or give, or any other preposition not of my own choosing.
Sure, like everyone, I observe the laws of custom, but with a slight difference from most folks. I observe the laws of custom, as long as they do not in any way produce a conflict with my own moral/ethical position. If they do, well, tough. I don’t need to be praised for doing what I believe to be right; that just leads one to a swelled ego, which makes for difficult relations when it bumps into other egos. Nor do I need to be chastised or blamed because my actions don’t meet someone else’s notions of what is correct or appropriate. Mrs. Grundy, the little old busybody who lives next door and sits in judgment of everything she sees as she peers out her windows, is not welcome in my world……
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“And what is good, Phaedrus, and what is not good, Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?” — R. Pirsig
Another statement to put in the Obvious category….of course we don’t need anyone else to tell us what is good or bad. Those common but essential antonyms are entirely subjective judgments. One may accept and believe a proposition as being one or the other from what they are told, but the ultimate decision for each of us gets made inside our own head, not someone else’s. Lots of folks don’t like to think; but, like any other part of the human body, the brain requires exercise to achieve its full potential. So those who are too lazy, or too lacking in self-control (aka self-esteem) to regularly put their mind to work become accustomed to letting other folks do their thinking for them. It’s just easier, and most folks are so tired by the end of their day from struggling to survive in this complex, fast-paced world, they don’t want anything more than a cold-adult beverage and some mindless recreation.
Another time we’ll explore this concept in more depth, but for now let it suffice to say that this societal tendency, to allow others to decide what is right or wrong, has led us to the brink of societal collapse. The reins of the team pulling humanity’s wagon are in the hands of people who are, a) not going to allow anyone one else to have the reins, and b) going to make the decisions about right and wrong according to THEIR OWN self-interests, not anyone else’s. These choices are not going to help us; they will only guarantee that our species will pass into history sooner, rather than later…..
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Some people have a way about them that seems to say: If I have only one life to live, let me live it as a jerk.
We all have someone who we are convinced are assholes, (I thought and thought about what word to use here, and this one just says it too precisely to not be used, just because it is considered vulgar or ‘dirty’), people who spend their entire lives making other people uncomfortable because they hate themselves. We all have a list of folks who would be on this list……here’s my current top ten choices for inclusion on the list of people or organizations we would all be better off without having to be subjected to their drivel on a daily basis…..
Rush Limbaugh–Proud Misogynist. The champion of deliberate ignorance, lifetime sufferer of FIMD (Foot in Mouth Disease).
Ann Coulter– Rush’s female clone. Sounds smarter & has better make-up artist, but in reality just has more money and a better spell-checker….
Arnold Schwarzenegger– A clone of Ronald Reagan, but without a USC degree. (Though he did marry well…..and proceeded to cheat on her with the housekeeper….)
Madonna–An icon dedicated to the gods of ambition, makes a mockery of virtue and honesty.
Barney–Don’t get me started on this insidious little nightmare…..even kids find him creepy. If our species ever comes to resemble this creature, I’ll start the nuclear war myself…..
Okay, only five, but I’ll stop there, as the list kept growing the more I considered the parameters. Easier than I thought, and a list more populated than I had hoped, ‘cuz it’s probably not too good for my karma to focus on negativity……
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How dieth the wise man? As the fool.
Death is the great equalizer….all of us, of every creed or color, will die, and it won’t matter at all whether we die rich and miserable, or poor and happy. It won’t matter whether we are well-esteemed or reviled in the eyes of our fellows, or whether we want to or not, we are all going to eventually travel that road. It’s rather humbling when I stop to think about it; hell, not just humbling, but downright terrifying. The greatest unknown is our final destiny, and our fate afterward is the ultimate question. But it is not only humbling and scary, it is also a comfort, providing us with one more very strong reason to embrace living, for as the Scots are wont to say, you’ll be a long time dead….
You may be a king
Or a little street sweeper,
But sooner or later
You’ll dance with the reaper. — Reaper Rap
(Grim Reaper, “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey”)
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A thing of beauty is a joy forever;
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness.
— John Keats (1795-1821)
— Endymion, Book i
Seventeen words. One rhyme. And an expression of the joys of perception and memory that would take many hundreds of words to fully describe in prose. I’ve always wanted to be a poet; seeing the universe in such a way that it lends itself to poetic expression is, to me, one of humanities most precious gifts. But, my attempts to produce poems generally fall well short of the level of quality or expertise that I would feel comfortable showing to the world at large, so I mostly stick to prose.
I do enjoy creating what I call ‘poetic prose’, a sort of free form style wherein the images created by the words are so powerful and elegant that it might be construed as poetry, and give the same feeling upon reading it…..I guess I can just be glad that since the world’s human population is now over 7 billion, even if the percentage is small, it still makes for a lot of poets. The more we have, the better chances we have to survive, I think….. straightforward prose doesn’t seem to be getting the pertinent information out into the public consciousness. The people need poets to lead the way to a new way of thinking, about life, the universe, and our place in it…..and they need them to do that soon…..
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There you have it. Another fine mess, but at least you don’t have to wipe anything up….y’all take care out there….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
Kowabunga!
gigoid 