Cosmic Duality

                                                           The Bible is an aid in defining my Existence .  I have THE NEW OXFORD ANNOTATED BIBLE WITH APOCRYPHA (Expanded Edition) [Revised Standard Version] and IT has been indispensable for my Writing(s) .   I can't Imagine my Gentle Readers are without a Bible, since the Bible is an aid to Defining Civilization itself .  Modern THOUGHT has the Bible as Foundation .

                         With regard to the Cyclicity of Existence we can access the Book of Ecclesiastes for Insight .   Recall the Byrds of middle 60's R&R Tradition and their "cover" of Pete Seeger's MASTERPIECE , "To Every thing turn, turn turn" .    The entirety is found in Chapter 3 which begins with "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under the sun".  Note sentence 8 : "a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, a time for peace" ... .    {{{Scary Rite ???}}}

                         I insist ;  We never "left" hitler and hitlerism, we moved away from it, but now look at what is upon us presently, yup, it's BACK, manifested NOW as trump and trumpism .   "The more things Change, the more they stay the same."  

                         Is "IT" a Curse that CANNOT be "outlived" ?   Or is Evolution part of a COSMIC Circularity that NEEDS Negativity, so that Humans can Understand and APPRECIATE the Positive ?   Here's an OLD ONE "Ya can't have one, you can't have one WITHOUT THE OTHER" .  Why, in God's Name does this smell like BULLSHIT and taste like VOMIT ?   One Word ;  Cosmic Duality .

SIZE Matters ... .

                                                           I had to ask the Universe if Time was 'linear' or 'circular', meaning, is everything a "one-off" {"one and done"} or is there a circularity manifested as 'Seasonal Change', that is, does Time move forward and ONLY forward or is there a "one step forward and two steps backward" 'Agency' that correctly depicts Time's Movement, OR, Is Time >Cyclical< as I have just noted ?  For BuddhistS, the answer is a "no brainer", because Life itself, manifests within the CYCLE  of Birth-Death-Re-Birth, it is OBVIOUS that ALL LIFE is subject to this Universal Cyclicity and therefore Time IS Cyclical in Nature .   We say, "What goes around comes around" and the ever prominently hateful, "The  more things change, the more they stay the same."  As Humans we can detect Change because of our own experiences and even more importantly, the Experiences of Others ESPECIALLY those of History .    We say, "Time marches on" with the Belief that we are moving FORWARD in a Correct Direction, but this may be inaccurate, if we locate ourselves on a Timeline of a CIRCLE .   Marching >forward< is ACTUALLY marching on a course of >Return< .   Even this THIS is less than, meaning it is far more SAFE to argue that we are on a circular MOTION that resembles a SPIRAL whose 'end' is the Goal of Humankind, Utopia .   It is necessary to see this "Spiral" as going >UP<  where UP is AWAY from Earthly Corruption and TOWARD  Heavenly Virtue .   Please, "Try this on for size" .

"iron rusts... "

                                                          It would behoove my Gentle Readers to engage the clutch of a 'search engine' and locate both Hesiod's "Ages of Man"  and those of the Roman Great, Ovid .   Hesiod's "Works and Days" house the Ages and Ovid's "Metamorphoses" contain his .   I find it Necessary to introduce these >Ages< because they provide an Academic >Context< for the Present Conditions of Civilization .   I KNOW that "Understanding" is NOT >Enough< for the Mind to achieve Peace, but 'it' DOES provide a framework or scaffolding with which to VIEW our Position within Political Evolution .   It seems awkward  that a View of the Present can offer a View of the Future, but what is Important is that the GOAL of Civilization, which I contend to be UTOPIA, can be "Seen"  and the Trajectory of Humankind's Effort can be adjusted or altered to ensure that the Goal can be Reached .   

                           Thing is, WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE LOOKING AT HERE ?   Hesiod and Ovid are LONG-SINCE DEAD, didn't their "Iron Age" die with them ?  If not, WHY not ????? !!!!  

                            Good Question ... .

Hesiod

                                                           Below is Hesiod's description of the "Iron Age", one of his "Five Ages of Man" ( The Historical Stages of Human Existence ) =

          

                                The Iron Age :   "During this Age Humans live an existence of toil and misery .   Children dishonor their parents, brother fights brother, and the social contract between guest and host is forgotten .    During this Age , Might makes Right, and bad men use lies to be thought good .   At the height of this Age, Humans no longer feel shame or indignation at wrongdoing .   Zeus will end this Age when babies are born with gray hair, and the gods have completely forsaken Humanity ;  'there will be NO help against evil' " .

                                The Dates of Hesiod are 750 to 650 BC .   Hesiod, himself, believed he was in the "Iron Age" .   Call me Hesiod, I stand with HIM .

                                   

"Last of the Red Hot Burritos"

                                                           I know the past 2 weeks have been dour .   Webster's defines dour :  1 hard; stern; severe    2  obstinate    3  sullen' gloomy; forbidding .   I have transmitted  my Negativity with obstinance, and demanded my Readers to FULLY Acknowledge that We are at War .    My demands are those of War itself, those of "Situation Awareness", appropriate Strategies , and useful Tactics that MUST-BE "deployed" if We are to SURVIVE trump and trumpism, and make ANY "Headway" against his brand of FASCISM .    War DEMANDS >Changes< in the Human Psyche and these Changes require a steadfast Devotion to "What is Right, What is Good, and What is Virtuous" .   Perhaps I should have listed "Devotion to the Truth" as being FIRST,,, Freudian slip =  I took "Devotion to the Truth" as "taken for granted", although THAT is clearly suspect .   No matter  {{{at least for now}}} .

                           I awoke with a song from the Flying Burrito Brothers bouncing around in my head , the title is "My Uncle" and one  of the stanzas is as follows :   

                                             "A sad old soldier once told me a story

                                              About a battlefield he was on, 

                                             He said, "A man should never fight for Glory,

                                              But know what is Right and what is Wrong" .

                        That's "IT" rite there, the difference between Right and Wrong .   I wondered WHY that stanza had "arrived" and it's the topic of this morning's consideration .

Mountain Man

                                                            It is written that the Sage IF LUCKY, brings about Changes that Benefit Society  and if UN-LUCKY retires from the world to establish, maintain, and further Develop those Qualities that will be required, {If Humankind is to Advance} in the Future .   I'm no fan of "Luck" .   "Luck" is featured in the Musical "Guys and Dolls" but the song, "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" was most notably performed by Frank Sinatra in the early and middle 50's .   The Implication is that Luck is NOT always a "Lady" with manners and ALL the "Social Graces" but is instead a DEMON GODDESS, somewhat resembling the Hindu Goddess "Kali---the Destructress" .   In this, Luck, can be both Savage and Brutal .   

                            There's this from the I Ching :   "When the wind blows low on the Mountain, it is thrown back and spoils the vegetation .   This contains a challenge to improvement .   It is the same with debasing attitudes and fashions;  they corrupt Human Society .  To do away with this corruption the Superior Man must regenerate Society... .  The Superior Man must first remove stagnation by stirring up public opinion, as the wind stirs everything, and must then strengthen and tranquilize the character of the people, as the Mountain gives tranquility and nourishment to all that grows in its vicinity."   

                                                                       Ku  /   Work On What Has Been Spoiled 

                           I LOVE this .

                            This is me... .

Ten Years After

                                                            I sat in Chairy-Chair and let my Mind wander.......this "arrived" :  

                                     " I want to change the world, but I don't know what to do."

                 I had to think about the Source or Origin of that lyric, none was forthcoming, so I had to "Search" .    The title of the song is exactly, "I Want To Change The World" --- it was composed by Alvin Lee and performed by his Band "Ten Years After" circa 1971 {I was a Freshman at U. Conn.} .   Previously, I had no familiarity with Ten Years After until Woodstock, the Movie, was released, and Ten Years After became Famous .   The Song "haunted" me then, does so now .

                You Qids know I am an old man, some days Recall is instantaneous and VIVID, other days "IT's" a fucking Blur, wrapped in Fog and smothered in Clouds ---- .   I "Searched" for the lyrics and ... .

                                       "I want to save the World , but I don't know what to do " =   A statement of which ALL of US can relate,, but guys like me feel >IT< egregiously .   The 3rd stanza is Special :

                                        "World pollution, there's  no solution, institution, electrocution

                                           Just black and white, rich and poor, them and us

                                           WE'LL STOP THIS WAR !!!

                                           I want to change the world, but I don't know what to do

                                          SO I LEAVE IT UP TO YOU...

                                         It's called luck .

                    You can see it rite ?

                               You an see it r