Ffolkes,
“Your actions prove what you think of yourself.”
~~ Will Limon ~~
Cathedral at Cobh, Port of Cork, Ireland…
I began blogging here on WordPress in August of 2011, during my first year of retirement. At the time, my health was not great; I lived with chronic pain which prevented any sort of exercise, & at one point reached 250 lbs., on a relatively diminutive frame, (5’7″). Blogging provided me with a means of distracting myself from what seemed to be a long, uncomfortable road toward death. To avoid allowing this to become either excessively lengthy, or excessively maudlin, I’ll merely say the production of a Pearl of Virtual Wisdom each day became both the focus of my everyday routine, as well as a life/mind saving grace….
Long story short, six years passed, during which time I was fortunate, or stubbornly persistent enough to evolve toward a more joyful existence, until, thanks to having resumed personal responsibility for my health & well-being, (achieved by kicking doctors and the AMA in general out of my life….), I am again living in much better balance. My weight is hovering around 175#, (very acceptable…), my arthritis is much better, with concomitant pain reduction sufficient to allow physical exercise (I walk 2+ miles/day….), and, most significantly, spend a LOT less time worrying about all of those things which compelled me to require distraction. To continue the policy of long story short, blogging has become a secondary, or auxiliary, part of my life. Where once I would have felt great angst at not having written, or posted a Pearl, I now feel satisfied, if only at the lack of angst…..
There…. Having once again said much, to little purpose, I feel as if I’ve gone a little way toward making it up to my neurotic tendencies by doing so, though I’m well aware it’s merely another way to distract myself from things I don’t wish to consider right now. If I didn’t keep shortening what could easily become much longer by the addition of sarcasm, nonsense, or blather in general, we’d never even get to the music, much less the old-school pearls. Goodness forfend! As a means of guarantee, here’s a rather abrupt ending to this rather ambiguous opening. Watch closely….
Shall we Pearl?
“The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal
depends not on what he feels, but on what he does;
just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.”
~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, ix, 16 ~~
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Despite having more than enough time to choose & find some proper music by which to read, I’m going with one of our default choices here on ECR (Exploring Consensual Reality, for those in the pre-coffee darkness…), to wit: a collection of some of the finest classical music on Earth, by some pretty talented composers. All of it has stood the test of time, and, I suspect, will do so again today, here…. Enjoy!….
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Premises, premises….
Tricked, I stumble, and I fall
dreaming, through an abandoned palace.
Frightened and wary, unheard my call
fading into memory, no cup, no argent chalice.
The people, crushed, cry out to be freed
asking only to take part, or travel.
Nascent oaths spotlight such bursting need
fed by treachery, deep from our well.
Only the wicked shall find their way blocked
justice seeks them, snug in their hole.
Faint praises never touched, but naked, stalked
singing no gospel, no soul, no rock and roll.
Only the promised will remember the way
from unforgiven trails of sorrow.
To live life, and give death no sway,
saving grace for our only tomorrow.
~~ gigoid ~~
12/19/2014
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Naked Pearls
More Signs on the Path….
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“The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment,
o appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.”
~~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~~
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“Hang sorrow! care ‘ll kill a cat.”
~~ Ben Jonson — Every Man in his Humour, Act i, Sc. 3 ~~
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“There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man.
The true nobility is in being superior to you previous self.”
~~ Samuel Johnson ~~
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“It is a good thing to be rich and strong, but it is a better thing to be loved.”
~~ Euripides ~~
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“Education is not a preparation for life;
Education is life itself.”
~~ John Dewey ~~
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“Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
~~ Tao Te Ching ~~
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“No matter where you are, there you are.”
~~ Oliver’s Law of Location ~~
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I love it when a plan, even an ill-considered plan, comes together…. I wish to point out the rather ‘perfect’ status of our final pearl today, for it perfectly says all there is to say at this point. Not that it matters at all where we are, but, here we are. And, now, we’re not…. or, about to not be. Hmm… That might just be a little TOO subtle, even for me. I’ll just say, be well, ffolkes, and happy as you may be. Being strange is also an option, one I strongly recommend…. See y’all in a day or three…
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, the dubious
The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.
PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.
“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch
À bientôt, mon cherí….
gigoid 