Then, of course, I come back to reality, reluctantly, but always in a better frame of mind with which to approach whatever is happening out there in the BBR, or as we sometimes call it, the scary bad place outside the door….. Sometimes, it’s scarier than what can go on in my head, which is going a good ways, but, after a visit to my “happy place”, I can deal with the fear much more easily. Deal with it I will, for fear is one thing that will never rule my life, no sir…. I’ll have none of that, thank you very much. I see far too many of my planetary peers letting fear determine their attitudes and how they deal with reality, and it is no way to live at all, not for anyone who treasures the power of mind….

How did we get so serious? I just started babbling, and all of a sudden, it’s a mini-rant against fear, which, though a common enough subject, and enemy enough to rant about, I’m barely awake, and have only had one sip of that life-giving nectar of the gods, coffee, so a rant would soon fall down into incoherence, unless I got all pissed off or something, and who needs that at this hour of the day? Not me, certainly, though it IS a way to wake up thoroughly…. just not the most pleasant way, which is more what I’m in the mood for today. Easy is good, I’m thinking…..

Good enough to have provided almost four paragraphs, of not entirely useless material, and at least given me an opportunity to get going with some slight dignity, if not panache. Hell, I’m just happy I’m awake enough to be able to access words like “panache” without blushing, it being so early and all…. and what are all the computer noises about, eh? It keeps making this “doh, don’t” kind of noise, almost like the Law and Order noise when a scene changes…. but we’re not changing scenes….. Makes me wonder what’s going on in the background that it isn’t telling me about…..

“Life is like quotations. Sometimes, it makes you laugh. Sometimes, it makes you cry. Most of the time, you don’t get it. — Smart Bee

If THAT  doesn’t give you an idea of how today is going, I don’t know what will….. Shall we Pearl?
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“To know that one has enough is to be rich.” ~~ Lao Tzu

Though it may sound like it, this is not an endorsement, of either poverty, or affluence. In fact, it is the exact middle ground between the two, that is the meaning herein, the part that contains importance for us as humans, in a society that challenges everyone to become one, or the other, not being content with merely being content with what one possesses. As usual, I’ve probably obscured the basic idea, when I meant to clarify….. SIGH. Sometimes it’s hard being me, what with my natural tendency toward pomposity of speech…. Comes from reading too much alone, and getting comfortable with too many writing styles to remember which one I’m currently using myself….. or, maybe I’m getting old….

Regardless of any of that, I have recently been struck by how apt this aphorism has been in my recent life. I think I’ve done pretty well at dealing with the sudden, exhilarating experience of having more money than I need on a very basic level. Most of my impulsive buying has been prompted by two desires, both of which I’ve managed to fulfill without going completely insane, and blowing it all. One desire is to see those places I’ve always wanted to see; the other is to be able to provide assistance, of a financial nature, to my kids, and grandson, both while I am alive, and after I pass on to the next adventure in the ongoing saga of gigoid, wherever it may lead.

In addition, I find it a very pleasant experience to give in to the urge to buy gifts for the people I love, without having to stop to consider the long-term effect, or worry that it will cause me a strain to do so. Not that I can buy everyone a car, or anything, but it’s really nice to buy flowers now and again, and be able to enjoy doing it…. Even if it doesn’t make me so, it makes me feel rich, to know that I have enough, enough to be able to live, and be able to help whomever I wish to help….

“Kids, the seven basic food groups are GUM, PUFF PASTRY, PIZZA, PESTICIDES, ANTIBIOTICS, NUTRA-SWEET and MILK DUDS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

As I perused the above, while looking through SB for an appropriate quote for this discussion, I realized this was a perfect choice, because, I can always count on Zippy to provide the proper perspective to any discussion that threatens to become mundane, which the above was certainly doing…. (I wonder if I have enough teeth to eat Milk Duds anymore?) Besides, he forgot coffee, unless that is counted as a pesticide, or an antibiotic…. Nevertheless, what I’ve discussed above is all true, and I must say, not only is it a good feeling to be flush for a change, if not exactly rich, it is a good thing to be able to appreciate my good fortune, and the culmination of a long period of hard work, defined as “waiting patiently for the feds to turn lead into gold”, so to speak…

So, if you are fortunate enough in your life, to have enough, maybe you will join me in appreciating what we have, and thinking how we can help others by sharing our good fortune…. It’s a darn sight better than hoarding it, or worrying about spending the fruits of our life-long efforts foolishly, and a lot more satisfying in the long run…. I guarantee…..

“I have more than enough of almost everything.” — Smart Bee

“No man is free who is not master of himself.” — Epictetus
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The above first section is possibly one of the weakest, yet still reasonably valid pieces I’ve done in a long while. I knew what I wanted to say, but it came out all weird, and rather than try to bring it back, I just let it fly wherever it chose, which turned out to be a bit odd…. Not to say that “odd” is anything new here, but, that wasn’t how it started out….. Oh well, I guess I’ll just go cruising through SB to see what throws itself at me, and sticks…. Hopefully, it will make a bit of sense, but, if not, well, it will fit right in with a lot of what I do around here in the early mornings……

Scimus te prae litteras fatuum esse. (We know that you are mad with much learning.) — Petronius (d. c.66 A.D)

“Back when I was attending the University of Utah, The Daily Utah Chronicle ran a joke ad for a debate between Phil Donahue and Whiskers the Lamb. Over 30 people showed up.  (what they were expecting, God only knows.) — unknown, but not Smart Bee, because SB is a program, and this is obviously the memory of a real person; I just don’t know who, and neither does Google… It is listed as an unattributed joke on some IT website called anvari.com, but, other than that, the only reference on the web was a post of my own, from a couple years ago, when I used it in another Pearl…. Whew!

“A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone’s feelings unintentionally.” — Oscar Wilde

I saw Eternity the other night,
Like a great ring of pure and endless light,
All calm, as it was bright;
And round beneath it,
Time in hours, days, years,
Driv’n by the spheres
Like a vast shadow mov’d; in which the world
And all her train were hurl’d.

— Henry Vaughan — The World

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” — Winston Churchill

Well…. Sometimes, serendipity just astonishes me. It may seem a bit elusive, but, I consider the above to be one of the best five-star pearls that Smart Bee has ever come up with…. The important part of that is that I don’t really know why, it just is…. balanced, whimsical, and ultimately, perfectly real, with some self-deprecation and hope thrown in just for good measure….. So be it, gigoid has spoken, and it is good….
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Okay, I have to see if it is as weird to read as it was to write…. Hmm, well, better than I’d hoped, so, off it goes…. It’s been real, AND fun, so, I’m already in the plus column for the day, and it’s just barely dawn… Time for a nap….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.