Pile of Rocks

Porverbs revisited

The Proverb Revisited:


A Proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity.

 A stitch in time saves nine. Let us see the value. How much does this really have to do with
sewing...Sure it works for the seamstress...Hence: Sew the hole up before it gets worse. But this applies to thousands of other things. So thinking its’ application in sewing only is mostly a mistake. That was not why the proverb was created.

The "true name" of any proverb is:  “A key that will make your life easier”...or in this case fix the problem when it starts or pay the consequence later. And this is all self evident and we all know it to be true. But that is not the  problem. The true problem is that these words are just a mere signpost or a direction  just as one would find on a street corner. It has no or little value unless you take action. It must be done, and then do it again and then again until its’ value can be seen and felt. Such as any road that is just seen but never gone down. No expirence no learning.  Our forefathers knew this about how we learn things. We learn little about a road that is never gone down. So a proverb is summation or refined expirence of the road travled because they knew it would be forgotten over time. So in fact this proverb is no more than a signpost in disguise. It seeks to prevent you from becoming your own worst enemy.

But it demands action lest nothing be resolved...Not once but many times. So I can ascertain that for the most part the words are meaningless for they just impart a particular direction and the action is in fact everything. So in fact you can’t learn it unless you do it.
And you have known that all along...

Hard to Teach...

One of the most important lessons of all time.

...But so hard to teach.

Or the 2015 version:   Throw it out
                                    Wear it once
                                    It's broke... pitch it
                                    Time to go to the store.
                                   

At the End of My Life...

  At the end of my life, I imagine some self accountability due to God or a god, regardless of what my religion maybe. That grand event, when it comes due, demands an individual responsibility completely an wholly divested from the group, the many, the populace, the whoever. 

 At the end of my life, I imagine that accountancy containing the words “but they...they...they... In a vain attempt to deny or shift responsibility away from myself. Then I already hear my Gods next question: What about YOU...YOU...YOU???  Yes, it is 100% scary and a painful consideration, hence all its’ suppression and avoidance. And my reply starts with the word “but”... And he then states...  I have no interest in “buts”... And he repeats: What about you?... Tell me about you...And now my life looks a little different.

THE LOST ART OF PONDER

The lost art of Ponder

To ponder = To think over time. It is no wonder in a society of “Got to have it now” that the art of pondering has been forgotten, suppressed [yes time is money] and lost. The fact is, we just don’t have time for it period. It is also true that all answers are not given right away or on the spot. In fact most answers and not given... period. They require an active over time response of searching and digging out. And so it is that any form of impatience works against you.

So it is without doubt that pondering and patience go hand in hand. It is also true that time and thought work together. They are two ingredients that support one another. When thought is left out you are subject fate...Time just moves on. When time is left out you become purely a reactionary...and mistakes reoccur. Then someone finally says... “ Maybe we should think about this a little more deeply!”...So now we justify an act of pondering.

But we live in a society that is impatient, always in a rush with no time. It is no wonder that ponder is such a hard sell. In todays world reactionism is king. Thinking comes in second... [when there is time for it or some sudden loss of money becomes apparent]  ... And pondering will remain a lost luxury.         

WINDOWS

Windows

Each and every man is a window upon the world.
In the house of mankind the windows are many.
To condemn any window for its’ view is beyond foolish for it is
stationary and can have no other view.

And so it is that all windows contribute and not subtract from our understanding of the outside world...And so subtraction here is purely a matter of not seeing. 

So to have only one window is truly limiting and you remain captive to your one and only view.
Hence, now what you do not see and understand is now beyond measure.
And so it is that the man who seeks new windows has a much and continued understanding of the world around him. He who does not hurts and condemns only himself.     

Plates...

Too many spinning plates always leads to disaster.
We only have so much time and energy...And you can't do it all...And yes, gravity always wins in the end. The minute you lose focus something falls...And yes again, you need more hands but you only have two. Only spin what truly needs to be spun lest you lose control...And so what is it that truly needs to be spun?
So in such a complex changing world spinning less maybe the
very best deal.  

Jealousy a dangerous cup of tea

Jealousy a dangerous cup of tea...

  If jealousy is your only cup of tea...Then it is that you alone are the cause of your very own self-destruction...You are the seed who taints its' very self. You set yourself beyond the help of your brothers...A useless and wretched path indeed....Is it not truly a form of admiration gone sour?
You say to your subconscious self-... Why don't I have this or that?  Then you proceed to pout?

So then in an act revenge you shall make the world unhappy with you?...because surely you shall not bear this perceived unhappy weight alone. There is no need to be your own worst enemy...
Life is much too short for that...

50% Chance of failure...

 50%  CHANCE OF FAILURE IS A GOOD DEAL!

50%  Chance of failure is a good deal. This is a natural law... A natural equation...Sometimes what you try works sometimes it does not. Your success in life is greatly determined by how you deal with that 50% of failure. Not knowing how to roll with the punches is a recipe for doom. Hence there is a true value in perseverance. It is in the knowing how to make use of failure...It is the turning of the table again and again and again until a new path emerges...Hence perseverance now grants success.

So it is that cheating yourself of an opportunity at failure maybe a bad thing for you never learn to roll with life's punches. Nature transforms all failures into opportunities. It makes use of all punches and turns them into advantages.
So it is that nature is a model for success.
 

Death and Rapture

 Death and Rapture

Death and Rapture equal the very same thing = Gone, Taken
Two different methods, processes, paths, roads that equal the very same reality = Gone.

Death and Rapture both stand knee deep in human ignorance...Both incomplete roads.
But human insecurity gives rise to constant reaching...The need for explanation is overwhelming.
“That which gives life meaning”...But again I preach patience...and you know as well as I that Time will reveal all...Once again it is simple: "Gone" can not exist without the words Where and Why.

Look up into the heavens...There is no star that escapes the words Where and Why. Gone is a mere step in a staircase. And Time will deliver you to the next step regardless of your will, "perceived freedom" or whatever. So do look up into the night sky and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there exist wheres and whys beyond your wildest dreams...And slowly the word “Gone” will start to have new meaning.       

The Atheist

An Atheist is like a small bird who lands on an iceberg...It only understands what it sees. By nature it has no resource for comprehending that which can exist in a different an unseen world...Invisible but is supporting and connected.

Remaining intangible and not perceived the supporting undersea ice is far beyond measure for his small mind. Yet what seen and unseen require each other. One cannot exist without the other. Hence a universe with out God is pure nonsense and silly.  

NO SUCH THING AS A BLACK SHEEP

 There is no such thing as a “black sheep”. The white sheep call him that to justify "their" course. The white sheep say to themselves: “The other "white sheep" are not in defiance to our course and direction. Therefore we label him as an outcast...A  black sheep”... Which separates us from him...Which enables us to think of him as “different”and aberrant because he challenges our way our truth...We have confidence only in the many. For what we truly fear most is being and feeling alone. Our true course is a secondary consideration.

The white sheep shouts: “ Alleluia were all running in the same direction!!!”.The black sheep says... I think that path looks a little dangerous to me. We don’t seem to see or care about the same things here. I think I’ll just go in the opposite direction if you don’t mind. You and you alone choose to run with the crowd come what may. It seems that your choice threatens the black sheeps right to self preservation.   
 

All In All

All and All...

All and all I have to consider that I may be on the wrong road. What is even worse is to consider
that I may have walked down the wrong road a very long ways. This is something that everyone should consider and keep in the back of your head. Perhaps I am on the right road, but that may not be enough. I may need in fact to journey down the right road more than once. Could I have missed something? Things are not coming together easily. I am not yet able to distinguish form to this path. So I wander in the dark.

I hear you say already in the back of your mind. “Bill this is all relative” And I say to you as a man who walks upon the same earth: Yes, there is a right road that is in fact common to all.
Then you say: Where? Then I say “It alludes you”. “You must work to find it.” It is not in fact different for each as it is in common for all. What one man does well or not is not what one man is. You are in fact much more than that. You constantly sell yourself short of your existence and your abilities. 

Let me set this in very simple terms. When you find the right and correct road you will know it.
It is in fact a glove with the perfect fit. Words will fail to describe it...And yes, language falls short. But you will not fail to recognize it for what it is. It is then that the pieces of the the puzzle
that have alluded you in the past start to grant you vision.

The right and correct path requires first and foremost a journey down it. It is only then that you can tell me of its’ value. Then it is glued to your very being for all time. That’s some pretty heavy stuff
  And so it is he who searches shall someday find. Leave no rock unturned! 

REALITY THE PROPER VIEW

Yes and No really do occupy the very same space.


The country is going to hell. Yes and no.
Gun control is a great evil. Yes and no
Doctors can’t be trusted. Yes and no.
John Smith is an evil person. Yes and no.

The proper view is that two or more realities can and do occupy the same space.
In the very same way that a jar of dirt or earth contains varying degrees of rocks and minerals.
In the very same way reality contains varying measures of truth.

Therfore when you state: “The country is going to hell” Yes, you are correct in that a measure
of the country is going to hell. But there also exist another measure in that, the country is in part
flourishing. They may not in any sense be equal but they are present in their measure.
Your particular perspective may identify one or the other but confirming the measure is different
thing altogether. Hence I have learned to see your views as very valuable in containing  measures of truth...And now you add to my perception of reality in place of standing in obstruction of it. 

This photo represents how two different views occupy the very same space.  
   

LEVELING

Leveling a term for making all equal.

In a depressed and deprived society there exist a lot of unhappiness. It will so happen that someday your neighbor, friend, brother, spouse or whoever will somehow arise into some good fortune. This will in turn make him very happy. He will want to shout it from the roof tops [not the best idea as we know] .

And so the rest of us contemplate: Why should he be happy if the rest of us are not! Why does he deserve to be happy and not me? I work hard and suffer... Where is my reward?!... This causing a re-evaluating of thyself- merited or not- it seems to happen. Hence for every pile of good dirt we accumulate... there is somewhere... a hole in the earth. And if we archive a painting of pure white that makes a painting of dark all the darker.

In that way the  happiness of one shall manifest as sadness and depravation in others. Hence we see the value of modesty as opposed to shouting from the roof tops. And so it is that the many care not about the merit of your achievements or your good fortune...How could they have any proper vision of that? They are not you and will never be you. They lack your frame of reference.

Yes, you have inadvertently caused them to look inward and now they see themselves as lacking.
Now more hurt and deeper in sadness they now search for an escape. So now they look to bring you down... and if in bringing you down  raises them up a bit...all the better!  Hence they go and report you to the group...[the government, the company, the administration, the CEO, the king, and so on] In short anyone with the power to bring you down...The leveling force. They care not about your merit. It is foremost the reduction of their own pain and inadequacy which your success has tormented.                

This was once your picture...Oh... How things have changed.

There is no doubt at all that “thinking” causes you and me to paint the wrong picture! But I hear you say: “That’s silly Bill we can’t stop thinking.”  And I say to you yes and no. There is a time for thinking and a time for doing for and each has its’ place.

You need to accept the fact that you are indeed going to paint the wrong picture with your thoughts...And yes, it would be wrong to try to stops your thoughts. The true errors in the thinking process come in two forms. The first is to assume that your picture is the only picture. The perspectives, views, cameras, and paint brushes are many. And yes, you have a right to your view for it belongs to you. Does it belong to others? The answer is no. It shares commonalities such as the leaves on tress but no two trees are exactly the same. They are different and unique unto themselves.

The second problem is a matter of development. The thoughts of a 5 year old child and the thoughts of an adult do not belong to the same world. One shall be plagued by many trials and tribulations. The other shall have developed competent measures of success. It is foremost the experience of the road traveled...[and this implies???....] And yes, any words and reasoning will be of little value for those worlds are truly different and separate by necessity. Hence smiles and walls maybe the only and best form of communication between the a adult and the child. Hence it is a matter of development...that road traveled, that water under the bridge.

** So don’t stop thinking...Always know that there are new and different perspectives.
Know that you picture is not prefect...Know and understand that it is foremost unperfect and
that "walking the path" is always better than running the mouth. **   

Practice is -

And so I go back to proverbs or simple sayings...How often is the simple neglected?! I know with confidence that it is a lack of practice that sinks us every time. Repeat after me:
Practice is Everything...! In every sense of the word. Anyone who proclaims that you should retain and have mastery with “ a single coat of paint” is a fool. The teacher, the spouse, the boss,
the preacher all say “Did you not hear my words the first time??!!” Self evident only unto themselves... They understand not the true value of repetition. Never in school in their lives did they not hear and comprehend all the words that were spoken to them!.. Why is this societal flaw constantly perpetuated time and time again.

 As a teacher I have learned to expect and force questions. They are in fact just the beginning sparks of interest. It is my job to fan and fan and fan them into a flame of learning...
And yes again that flame aways need more wood! It’s a continuing and ongoing process and nothing less. And yes there are some who get it the first time through. Their ears perhaps better attuned than others and they are not the many as one would think. But getting and perfecting are miles apart and practice is the only guarantee that the required knowledge is maintained close at hand when needed.

**Listening is only a sign that the ears are accepting words. Understanding is the manifestation of a work in progress and nothing less**           

The Modern Money Fallacy

The modern money fallacy

You do not eliminate money problems by acquiring more money, hence pouring more sand into a bag with holes in the bottom is a “container problem” and not a sand -problem... And who is it that is fundamentally responsible for those holes- those holes which your hard earned money constantly pours? You can’t figure out what the holes are? ...and how to close them? Is it that you have been led astray? Is not the equation: Close the holes and the money accumulates???

So it is that you are on the road to fortune. The rich say “Our supply of sand is so large that we need not worry about any holes in our bags”. “Hence our leasure is so great we now seek to make the holes in our bags even larger as in a competition”...and yes my coffee table is now larger and more opulent  than yours! Somehow I fail to see this train of thought as intelligent...More so another form of ignorance?...

 Final note: You need to find, and control those holes that keep empty your nest egg.
In addition you must farther seek ways in which to close and eliminate those holes in
every way possible. Make no mistake the deck is stacked against you in every way and at every corner. Media, work, friends and even your spouse will work against you in their ignorance.
 You need to stop being your own worst enemy. It’s not easy but you need to resume control of
your destiny...lest you sink.

The Buried Dangers in Specialization

The Over Specialized Lone Woodsman...

Let us now envision our modern form of specialization in the life of the “lone woodsman”.

We shall restrict him to the task of only collecting and cutting wood for his fire place. He shall do nothing but collect wood everyday,every week and every month. He now becomes out of balance. The varied  life sustaining jobs like getting food maintaining his shelter are out of the picture and now they are completely neglected. It is written in the book of nature that neglecting of this life balance any of these skills shall end life. So how important is this?

 He now the custodian of and ever growing pile of wood. He now has no food, water and soon will starve. Now let us farther narrow and focus into cutting and gathering only oak trees a particular kind of wood. He now becomes his very own worst enemy. Loosing scope and vision of what life requires he now practices insanity. Now we will farther increase the insanity by adding competing oak tree cutters into the very same woods. We have now increased his difficulties by ten fold. He has been beaten badly before he takes a single step into the woods!

Nature demands a group of skills for life and never just one. 

Foundations 6

 Specialization The Double Edge Sword

If I lived in the woods alone it would be life sustaining to be proficient at certain skills. Growing food, hunting, building shelters... hence there is variation built into these basic life sustaining jobs from the very start. Specialization is a necessity and life sustaining function.

The theory was that specialization could only grow to become the number one system for all. The basic set  life skills could now be farmed out to others. The trouble was no one thought that there could be a downside to all the promise of good that specialization archived. In short specialization is a fruit vine out of control or like a child not kept in check. Painful to prune the vine or discipline the child but so very necessary.

What is it that would grow neglected by the farming out of skills? Why is it that ones life focus should grow to become so narrow? What is the danger of ones life becoming too narrow? Limiting the scope of your vision is walking down the road toward blindness. Farther and farther limiting choices. Becoming more and more cog- like in the grand societal machine...ever narrowing in function and scope. Does this sound familiar?  Can not you reach deep down in inside yourself and feel that something is wrong?