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Monday, June 27, 2011

perhaps

In retirement one is afforded the luxury of thought.
When employed life is filled with the urgency of maintaining the good graces of the employer as well as the need to maintain the health of the body and cleanliness of the homesite, whether it be a one room efficency or a sprawling extravaganza celebrating good fortune.
 
Much can be said about the years spent earning a living and the web it weaves about the individual, Many never see any time for themselves during their pursuit of the dollar and the things it can buy. Many never see enough dollars to buy themselves any free time either while they are employed or to able them to retire. For those individuals their thoughts are more of the present and immediate urgent fight for survivial. for those persons we can wish them the best and hope for them some of the better life while we ponder for a solution to give everyone a better existence.
 
Then for those of us who have fallen into the good fortune of being born in the right place at the right time we have the opportunity to consider the case of humanity. we may choose to accept the way things are or we may choose to search for a way to make things better for everyone including ourselves and those close to us. Not many of us a fortunate or gifted enough to be thinkers, the brains of the outfit. There are not many who truly are problem solvers or great.
 
when considering the entertainment field we see few who have risen to the top, as they say  of the cream, those few who shine above the crowd. the very few who we admire look up to and pay attention to as masters of their craft. there are few very well paid entertainers. of all the people on the planet there are very few who we all know. and it is very amusing that all of us know a very few individuals {that is, individuals with whom we are familiar with as seeing them on the silver screen or hearing them speak or watching them perform}. we all know michael jackson as a master of his craft and celine dion a star in her own right. yet there are hundreds of thousands of faces as backup singers and musicians who are there playing for us every day, and we have no idea who they are.
 
and we, how many people know we exist, and for that matter, how many people care that we exist, yet to us, our existence is of utmost importance. and we live in our little worlds as stars shining forth.
 
odd though, about the superstar, what pivots them into the galaxy of the universe as brilliant beacons, we all search for  the formula, we dream of winning the lottery, we dream of being superstars.
 
religion for some is the solution to all the striving, for few it is reckless abandon and then there are those of us who simply give up.
 
does free will or predestination rule.
 
i have put thee in the center of the universe in order for thee to see better what is there. i did not make thee either a heavenly or an earthly creature, either mortal or immortal; i created thee so as thine own sculptor thou makest thine own features. Thou canst degenerate into an animal: but thou canst also be reborn, through the free will if thine own spirit , into the image of god.
from "oration on the dignity of man" pico della mirandola (1463 -1494)
quoted from, death and westen thought by jacques choron published by the macmillian company 1963
 
wheter free will or predestination, we are included somewhere in the choosing of what happens to us, within the limited framework of what is available to us.
 
we get to be as big as we can be, whether we like it or not.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Fw: NOW


You look at your hands
You see  cracks
 wrinkles where once smoothness
 weathered furrows,  protruding veins
some mottled complexion
an automatic bend of the fingers  no longer straight
 scars accumulated over the years
 nicks of time   marking the tapestry
skin losing  suppleness
 muscles  strength ebbing
 hands, still large
grander and more noticeable than the stature
big for your size
yet smaller than last remembered,
 less obvious suddenly now
unseen for awhile
prominent today
prominent now
unavoidable
No more the youthfulchubby digits with skin so taught
 the knuckles smooth
grand tools still to be mastered
clumsy
Now
 less pliable
 thought needed for their every maneuver
 still
they be quiet
no longer hurried
no longer running ahead of the heart
acting on their own
less active, poised, waiting
with no regret
no need
no urge
no want
silent
Their story a painting
 the textured lines of time
not simple journey
not the direct route
segues
of roads and villages
some intersect
the complicated trail
 a complex of hamlets that neither
lead to each other nor relate
yet evolve as a pattern
that meanders upon old age
success and failure
battles with wounds
ribbons for honours
with a jumble and tumble 
a trifle tribute

meaningless and meaningful
meaning less now
than what they meant then
hurdles lept
jumps made, jumps failed
sprints faltered
things done
and the desires undone
the plunge into life
the fire to live
the thirst of adventure
the burst for independence
all sewn together with the threads a weave
the fine lines of the tapestry of time

painted on each  fingers
of not idle hands
workers hands
tools of the trade
companions for the road
the luggage
containing the will, the strength, the desire
the odd, self conscious appendages
tip-toeing through time
participating, acquiring, experiencing, enduring
anticipating, sensing, feeling, discerning, discriminating
working, waiting
now
they grow white with age the gnarls of time winding cells
into valleys
the deep crevasses drying as we speak
sands of dunes that have washed away the youth
at the instant
it is yesterday
the beginning
the anticipation
 now
it is the journey complete
the road travelled
the fait accompli
the hands of time
attached to the arms
of the passage
with the present
a surprise
for the busy
living the time
not letting it pass
waiting for it to pass
surprise
for the one
who wakes up
now
glancing then
noticing the travel
wondering
was it worth it
was it valuable
was it meaningful
the hands of time
travelling through today
dancing the steps of yesterday
counting the paces to reach today
reflecting
was it done right
was there anything that could have been done better
is there anything undone
how
now
shall and will
the fingers fold the woven fabric of the veins
of then for the blanket of now
the questions
 now the same
the answers
 now unknown

the hands grasp
as the fingers clasp
the hard work done
the rest will come.

Friday, June 17, 2011

REALity

Albert was right
The world a short person sees is very differrent from that of a tall person

VIewing the world from five feet is mostly looking at the dirt or asphalt, depending on where you live

Now that people are grown taller
for a person of five feet
the view standing in a subway car is always the back of a person
usually right between the shoulder blades, and if it is winter, the
inhale of wool from someone's overcoat

At football games, the play is usually missed, unless you are sitting in the
first row, when everyone stands to see or celebrate the move.
The five footer never sees the game, never knows what has happened.

Standing on a ladder is also a different view of the world, more of a 'sky' view
the horizon is higher
the scenery more encompassing

Sitting on the ground
gives you a down to earth perspective
an appreciation for all things that crawl
a closer bond
a greater attachment with terra firma

when standing, we seem to be in control of the earth
as though we can walk all over it
as though we are what makes the world turn
as though we are why it exists

when sitting on the ground
we are small
and the world is all around us
and we are not the center of the universe
but swallowed up by it

depending where we stand
the view is different
like turning a picture upside down
what we see has not changed
only our perspective has

children see things as very small
their world is not nearly as big as they are
and as we age the world becomes larger
and larger
and we finally become very small

our mind has absorbed more and more
of what is around us
and still there is more
and we keep seeing
and absorbing
and still there is more

then, the minds eye becomes filled
and there is room for no more
and we see
and we no longer absorb

and we see
again
what we saw
and again we do not absorb

we are like windshields on an automobile
deflecting all that gets in the way
blowing it off in all directions
and what sticks to the window
we keep repeating
but we do not absorb

and we wander the world
in our own little shell
part of the planet
and separate from the planet

in our own little world
with nothing entering nor leaving

until our little world
closes its doors
and is no more

and what we see and what we saw
is different
than what they saw and what they see
and may not be
at all
what is

therefore

what is real
is only what we think is real
unless we are not sure
whether or not it is real.

Friday, June 3, 2011

tennis

Is there any other profession that tolerates
employees verbalizing grunts and groans
as a sign excessive exertion while performing
their duties

Imagine the dentist that groans for the
strain of pulling a tooth

or the surgeon who sighs and moans
with every cut

how about the pizza maker groaning
while spreading sauce

or the grocer screaming to reach the top shelf

how about Tiger Woods grunting with every stroke
or the basketball player straining to reach the hoop
screaming whoaaaa

the only other groaners we have heard
are the football players as they are hit by their
300lb. opponent with a force to otherwise
knock any other person unconscious

what was once a sport
a pleasure to watch 
individuals tested to their limits
striving for the goal, the best
as commentators laud and praise 
with joy their achievements

now all we hear is suffering
as though they are
travelling through the gauntlet
where they are brutally beaten from
beginning to end

tennis the new sport
where  players
are paid millions 
to express their
suffering as though
they have never
been prepared for a match
as though they are being
punished as Roman gladiators
as squealing pigs sent to slaughter

tennis - the most unprofessional sport
down there, with a fixed match in boxing
a poor example of humanity
performing.

For them and for us

There is not enough
for them
and for us.

Resources are scarce.

There is not enough land
for them and for us.

There is not enough water
for them and for us.

There is not enough food
for them and for us.

There is not enough money
for them and for us.

There is not enough work
for them and for us.

Jobs are scarce!
People are looking for work
People are idle
standing by
wondering
thinking
wishing
hoping
waiting
starving.

Idle time,
the time to think of self worth
the time to measure one's life,
lost aspirations
burdens
responsibilities
obligations
pressures
promises.
Pointless mindless hunger
wallowing in self pity and fear
alone with everyone else
unable to solve the problem
no opportunity
no choice
no where to turn
no one to look to
no solution.

The boom bust economy
the have the have not.
having money with no time to spend it
having time with no money to do anything with
the rules apply
you must succeed
you must acheive

no opportunity
no solution
not enough to go around
empty bellies
idle minds
waiting watching hoping

to frightened to read
to frightened to smile
to frightened to live

waiting watching hoping
no help in sight
no solution

to little for them
to little for us
no more to share
no one to care
no one to help
no one
to solve the problem

we all want to live
we all want to survive
we sit and we wait
the days linger
the nights linger
the time stands still
the air is thick
it is difficult to breathe
there is not enough air
we try to breathe
we are choking
we can not breathe
we are hungry
we are tired
we are alone
it is cold
it is hot
we look but we do not see
there is nothing to see
there is nothing for you
there is nothing for me
there is none for them
there is none for us

time is at a standstill
something must break
you can scream
you can yell
it will not help

there is nothing to eat
there is nowhere to sleep
there is no way to sleep
just stand there
in the twilight
don't move
let the world spin around you
stand there and watch
but do not see
as you stand there
lost at sea
floundering
with no opportunity

THEY
have set up the game
THEY
have made the rules
THEY
have given up
caring
their greed has reached it's peak
THEY
want it all
THEY
will not share
THEY
do not care

as long as they are safe
as long as they are fed
as long as they can sleep

they will not believe
that we have nothing to eat
that we have not slept
that we have no way to feel safe

THEY do not care
and we shall pay the price
WE are expendable
THEY are safe

and that is the way it is

for them and for us