Life

There's an adage in aviation which goes like this: "Air speed is life, and altitude is life insurance." In the day to day world, we are often treated to cliches like: "Time is money." However, ask any child, any lover, any artist, any philosopher, or any person dying from a terminal illness, and you'll hear a fundamentally and radically different song, usually accompanied with vehemence and ferocity: Time is NOT money,

Time is life!

I wrote a poem about this once, but in keeping with today's image, I'll save you the time. 

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe.

Invisibility

To whom it may concern:

I was watching the 1977 cartoon version of Tolkien's The Hobbit last night. While it is silly in so many ways, something stood out which made me question the plausibility of the concept of invisibility. No. I don't think it's really possible. No. I don't want it to be possible either. Given that it's a fictitious concept, maybe I'm thinking about it too much. However, I, and many writers throughout the ages,  have thought about it a lot, and this movie only re-opened the mental quandry again. 

The concept comes up early and often in man's literary history. In my experience, the earliest I've encountered the theme of invisibility was in Plato's The Republic where he discusses the ring of Gyges. Similar to Tolkien's ring of power, this ring, when worn a certain way, renders the wearer invisible. In like manner, H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man, could be characterized as a modern re-telling of the same episode. Here he wages the same argument and yields the same basic answers (While Wells answers clearly the question of what one would do while invisible if he knew he couldn't be caught, he doesn't wrestle the same way Socrates does about ethics. He implies a lot, but doesn't quite tackle, to my satisfaction, the issues Socrates raises). 

All that said, my basic problem is this: when one is in an invisible state, by means of a ring or other device, what actually is invisible? It's been too long since I read about Gyges or the invisible man in Wells. In Plato, Gyges was not, but in Wells, the invisible person might have to be naked. Does anyone remember specifically? I bring this exact point up because it is at this very point that my metaphysically addicted brain becomes over active. 

Let me expand on my question by allusion to The Hobbit. In this version of the movie, Bilbo wears the ring, waves sting (his small sword) around, and it appears, tho it's not stated as such, that the sword was still visible. I really don't care whether it was or not, my question remains, or at least shifts to: what is the basis of invisibility of inanimate objects? Obviously, Bilbo's clothes were invisible, and if you follow where I'm going, what else would be? I'd always assumed his sword or other carried objects were. However, what becomes of objects or people with whom he comes in contact? I.e. what about if he's riding a pony, carrying a basket, a back pack, or throws something which had previously been in his grasp and presumed invisible? Does it suddenly appear? Does the pony, etc vanish when he wears the ring? This is a problem to me because if it's anything he comes into contact with which becomes invisible, wouldn't the entire world (Universe?) by extension also become invisible because his feet are on the ground?

More recently, Harry Potter is also entrusted with an invisibility cloak by someone. As you'll remember, everything which is covered by it is rendered invisible. Of course, this only raises more questions than it answers to me, because, like the problems stated above, and very kin to the paradox of what container can hold a liquid which can consume anything?; why isn't Potter's invisibility cloak, well . . . invisible too? Or have we passed into the problem of the set of all sets? Maybe I'm digressing. 

Seems sort of self defeating to me. Silly I know, but I'm curious. Maybe I've just thought too much about it. Thankfully, it's never affected my enjoyment of stories where such devices grant the user invisibility. As a matter of fact, I can't imagine a good fantasy tale without at least someone going invisible part of the time. It's kind of like Sci-fi without some time travel. It just seems right, even tho in reality, it seems puzzling and problematic. Ah, well, maybe I need something else to think about.

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries (*puts on magic ring*) and remember to breathe

*disappears* 

Interests

To whom it may concern:

Pardon the pun, but "interests" is an interesting word. While I suppose one could parse it down until it's no fun any more, but I'll resist a former temptation because I'm here to inform, rather than debate. So, I'm going to treat the term as synonymous with "things I enjoy": or "these are a few of my favorite things" if you will pardon my tongue being firmly planted in my cheek. 

Seriously tho, typically I place reading at the top of any list of interests. I live for books. To me they are the life of the mind, and certainly the mind of my life. Similarly, given the amount of time I've spent commuting in my life, music also plays a huge role, thanks to the invention of various players for automobiles. And nothing helps me wind down after a long week like relaxing and watching a good movie. However, since Blogger asked about books, music, and movies separately, I'll discuss them separately as well in future posts. Conspicuous by it's absence is Art. Wonder why. I'll likely post on it too, eventually, altho for me, art is a much more difficult topic to pin down or comment on. We'll see how that goes. For this post, tho, I'll limit myself to the interests I have which fall outside these three (4 if you count Art). Thus, for now, let me describe my favorite things in the physical, intellectual, and what I can only describe as the spiritual realms.

When it comes to living in the physical world, I do, or have enjoyed a long run on a brisk winter morning, falling into rhythm with my feet and breathing, keeping mental cadence as I rap to myself about issues in my mind. The spring reminds me that I'm in step, no pun intended, with nature as I run thru the budding foliage. Summer pushes me to the limits as I finish exhausted and soaked, not a dry nano-meter on my body, but feeling rewarded for a job well done. Autumn simply helps me recover and enjoy the slowing down of life. In many ways, running was my life. There are and were so many analogies which naturally flow from the experiences of long distant running. I hope to take it back up soon.

When not running, there's nothing as exhilarating or rewarding as a 50+ mile bike ride where I can almost put it on auto-pilot while cruising with the wind in my face and nothing but the sound of nature all around. Throw in some challenging climbs and the accompanying descents, decent so fast that the tears roll out of my eyes uncontrollably, and I'm a happy man.  

Give me a bit of technology and another crisp winter morning and nothing awakens me like boring a hole in a clear blue sky after having brushed the frost from the wings of a two place airplane. The thrill and freedom of riding the currents and whims of my heart as it mirrors the winds, makes life take on a different quality from the world below. At times like these, I feel like the luckiest man in the world to be able to fly. Maybe sailing does the same thing for the sailor, sans the cold winter air, but as I don't sail, so I'll leave it to you sailors out there to contemplate the comparison.

Or back on earth, pack my bags, fuel up my car, ease my loved one into the passenger seat, and drive all day brings an ease which is hard to duplicate for sheer ease and comfort. No where in particular, just go "that" way until we've both talked ourselves tired. Then stop for the night to sleep. Next morning, get up and do it again in a lazy meander across the country, stopping at interesting places with no particular agenda in mind. And no schedules! Again, freedom of the best kind. Maybe all my endeavors center around that theme.

Moving into the intellectual realm, I love board and card games with a near fanatical passion. My mother always said that Chess was my first love. Of course, she also said that about flying. Regardless, nothing beats a quiet, comfortable room, a worthy opponent, a few hours to kill, and one colossal clash of minds and wills. The stronger and better matched my opponent is the better I play, the more fiercely I concentrate, and the more deeply I enjoy the competition. And yes, a draw is typically more satisfying than a win, and carries none of the devastation of a loss.

I'll not elaborate much here, but I love, in much the same way as games, and for many of the same reasons, the challenge of Theology and Philosophy. While this might be confused with reading books by some, one actually "does" philosophy to hear the philosophers tell it. However, the main tools in the bag of the thinker are simply his brain, time, patience, and a few lucky breaks from books and experiences. Most of my serious opinions were forged over a drive home from work or on a long run. This is an activity which cannot be done merely by reading books. Altho, books can and do lend fuel and often clarity to the practice, at the end of it all, like learning anything, both fields must be "done" individually and internally. While both disciplines can be researched, and much time is saved in reading the great thinkers who've gone before, generally one contemplates the mysteries and struggles alone. Yes, it can be a bit lonely at times, but the rewards of self-discovery are astounding. Maybe these are my true first loves. I've done both for as long as I can recall.

Next comes music. It's a field which is difficult to assign. It's highly physical, acutely mental, and deeply spiritual. So it spans all the categories I'm using today. So I place it here for lack of a better place. And while not overly musical, I do play meditative music on Whistles of all sorts (including Recorders), the Shakuhachi, and the Indian Bansuri. While not terribly good at them, the breath control required helps me center and relax.

Lastly, the category I have no adequate name for. Maybe we can agree to call it spiritual so long as we don't push it too far into the realm of religion; altho, I've been there a lot and might go there again before all is said and done. It could simply be that all I do naturally and intuitively, innately even?, gravitates towards the spiritual. At least I'm seeing a pattern here. Nevertheless, I have no other word for what follows, so we'll lump the remaining items under the rubric of a generic spiritual consciousness since I do them for no other reason than that intangible something far superseding the acts themselves.

To begin, while I would not ever claim to have written anything good or wise, I do enjoy that side of the life of the mind called writing. Francis Bacon once said, and I'm hyper-paraphrasing here, something about writhing enabling one to focus and articulate what one thinks. Another has said that "writing allows us to talk to one another over distances and over time." If nothing else, it's helped me to do those things. I do love stringing words together. There are times when the cadence and or the sounds become more important to my ear than the meaning to my mind. Maybe there's a bit of poet in me. Maybe I just enjoy playing w/the sounds. Maybe I just enjoy typing and seeing what resembles a meaningful pattern emerge on the page. Maybe there's something I can't express in and about my writing. Maybe I enjoy being purposefully ambiguous? Many writers have been. I'll never tell. Whatever it is, I've been curious about, and interested in writing all my life.

A corollary I find necessary to writing, I love deep wonder and imagination. Flights of fancy capture me like nothing else. Give me fantasy, give me what if's, give me possibilities and I'll ponder them all day. Many will inspire and result in stories or articles. Give me anything of interest to chew on and I will turn it over until something spills out of either my mouth or my pen.

Which leads me to conversation. The Russians claim that it's not what one eats at the table, but the company with which one shares it which makes a good meal. I couldn't agree more. That's why I love long road trips, eating out, and generally conversing with articulate people. After a long day, come relax with me in a dimly lit room, drink a bit of wine to clear out the cob webs, start with something innocent for discussion, then let our minds sound and explore the depths of whatever flows from that subconscious stream. Then weave oral poetry with me until one of us falls asleep.

To me, that's a good time, and these are my primary interests. 

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe.

Work/Occupation

To whom it may concern:

Why do we measure ourselves, or maybe more destructively, describe ourselves, and please don't ever value yourself, by what we do to earn money? Maybe the human race hasn't really discovered the teleological answer to the question, "what was I designed to do?" just yet. No less than Aristotle wrestled with it, and countless others, maybe every, philosopher and guru since the dawn of time has too. So don't feel alone if you can't answer it. However, in my humble opinion (and you're entitled to it), until one comes to grips with this singular issue, one really doesn't have an occupation or vocation. One merely has a way of earning money. One can work all one's life and never find fulfillment or a true calling without some idea of what he's about in the world.

Having introduced the problem that way, far be it from me to tell you what it is. However, I'll begin by sharing with you what I have discovered and taken as my occupation, my vocation, my calling. It's the only one which consistently meshes w/my personality, gifts, and pardon my boldness, reality; one which Allan Bloom suggests in his work, The Closing of the American Mind. While the book is primarily about the state of education in these United States during his time of writing, in it he makes statement suggesting that the purpose of man is to know. Yep, as simple as that. It, at least to me, explains everything. When I began viewing my life and experiences through that grid, almost everything became clear . . . er.

The Hebrew people have a saying, "Everything has to do with either bread or death." In the final analysis, even bread is a means of staving off death in its own, humble way. But almost everything human kind is known for, while living at least, has to do with our insatiable curiosity. The scientist will conjecture, hypothesize, and experiment often insanely sounding propositions just to find out if they are really true. Often they learn more by disproving their original hypothesis than by the contrary. And nothing can compare to the hilarity spouted by conjectural philosophers. Lest you imagine that this urge is confined to the intellectual only, consider the test pilot: higher, further, faster. And have you ever heard of a little race called the Iron Man or the Tour de France? Both were begun to test the limits of human endurance - the organizers wanted to know if the human could endure such tests! In spite of the text, experiment, or contest, all of these were instituted in  pursuit of exactly the same goal - to know.

Thus, my occupation is to know, to learn, to discover. Now that won't pay the bills. I'm made aware of that fact regularly. I know that one must do something to buy bread, in order to stave of death, ad infinitum. However, with a stated objective firmly in mind, working becomes a bit more tolerable, productive, and possibly even a field of discovery itself. While I hate working for some mindless team oriented, goal directed program designed only to fatten the bottom line for some faceless share holders in some distant ivory tower, I do find meaningful labor satisfying regardless of what it pays. Some of my best loved jobs would be considered menial by most, but provided some essential need for the customer, not to mention satisfying work and meditation for me. Such jobs had no motive beyond the service it rendered. If it came to it, I'd wash dishes for a living. It's necessary to eat from clean dishes to stave off disease after all, and thus would hold its own reward. Remember our bread and death goals above. Maybe this is what causes some to be care givers or stay at home mothers, since the rewards can be immediate.

In my past I've done everything from running blue prints, making keys, sharpening knives and scissors, framing pictures, to imprinting books and Bibles. All have a useful and immediate service in common life. Even the entertainment industry has a part to play. Just don't try to sell me on up selling or procuring personal info from a customer just so we can "market" to him better. This only serves the business's ends, rarely the customer's, and never mine. If a firm sells something the customer needs to survive or otherwise improve his standard of living, he'll shop with you, or a competitor if he receives better or more convenient service there. The point is, I need something meaningful to do and I can live happily and pay the bills. This type of gainful employment buys me time to pursue my true end - to know.

So, no matter what I happen to be doing at any one time to earn money, I can always, and typically do, pursue my true calling. I constantly seek to know. In doing so, I ponder these types of questions:

• Why is there something here vs. nothing?
• Can God be consistently omnibenevolent and omnipotent and still allow evil to exist in the world?
• If there is no God, how can anything make sense (who invented the laws of logic)?
• Where do I come from?
• Where am I going?
• Where is my home?
• What does it mean to be human? (I love this question and ponder it most often)
• What is my function (if other than above)?
• When is life worth relinquishing? To be or not to be/That is the question

No doubt you can think of others. Please do! However, ponder these things and discover if the asking enriches you life. Whether the answers are as important as the process of discovery I'll leave for you to decide (btw, I don't have good answers to the above questions myself).

Regardless, contemplating the big questions is my work and occupation. To know is what drives my search.

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe.