Pass this on…

Reblogging:

https://t.co/oLW4oSn6K1  (from  @my_bitz: )

“Reblog if you think the person you reblogged this from deserves to be happy.”

Peace NOW!

If we’re talking about possibilities (not necessarily probabilities), it’s entirely possible for all of the world’s soldiers to drop their arms, remove their symbols of rank, to stop saluting and just go home. What could the politicians do about it?

The Price of Humanity

Our evolution from the barely aware animal state to our higher human consciousness came with a price. We humans have a need for love just as we need oxygen or food. For us, there is no life without love, merely existence.

The God Game (Yet again…)

One point which it seems I must repeat every once in a while for as long as I do live is this: the religious believers and the atheists are doomed to battle forever if they can't both get one simple idea into their heads. Both sides of that argument are fighting for a faith. The theists have faith that there is some Higher Power that got the machinery of All That There Is running (exactly how is both unknowable and irrelevant). Meanwhile, the atheists have faith that, while we appear to be living in an orderly Universe, there was no Ultimate Power involved in the startup process. These two combatants in the How It All Began conflict will continue their mutually unproductive aggression until the last human breathes the last available lungful of air, unless one or the other side gasps its last. We could end it all today if we could just get the attention of both sides at the same time. A quick blow to the sides of the heads on both sides--with, say, a 2" x 4"--might serve but I'd be happy with whatever works.… Hey, Theists! Yo, Atheists! Have none of you ever realised that NEITHER side has any conclusive, objective or otherwise empirical PROOF in hand to actually and permanently settle this question one way or the other? That is why the pointless argument about whether a supra-natural exists in the first place and why the moronic jabbering--by both sides--has gone on for so long! The issue is the existence or non-existence of a theoretical "entity" completely outside of the realm of direct human experience. One is welcome to posit the existence of such an entity to one's heart's content, for whatever reason that one chooses to BUT no one can EVER prove conclusively that such a being either exists or does NOT exist. The argument may be stupid but one must admit that it is at least fair.…

I say, GIVE IT UP ALREADY!! Go work on climate change or something else useful. Please note that climate change is at least something that WE are most definitely responsible for. As for God(s)? Keep it to yourself. And that goes for you atheists, too. Go and find out what's killing off the bees.…

Philosophy 101-n

Try this on: 

Love is much harder to pull off than hate is.

Hate, in many cases, requires only one predicate for its basis and the person who hates will almost always know what the "why" (or "why's) driving their hate is. Love, though not necessarily, is often based on more than one predicate and the person who loves can often be in a situation where they know that they love (someone or something) but, if asked, might well have some difficulty in naming or explaining why they love. It is therefore no surprise that love and faith are often intertwined. Consider the most straightforward definition of "faith:" "Faith is the choice to believe in something without the benefit of knowledge." It is this definition that lies at the heart of Christian faith and God's refusal to provide empirical proof of His/Her/Its existence. The Christian concept of salvation is based on faith and knowledge makes faith unnecessary, even irrelevant.

There is an abundance of faith in our Earthly lives that has no connection to traditional ideas of religion. One example:

If I am standing in front of you, holding an automobile battery in my hands, and you see me drop it, you will move away to protect your feet. That demonstrates your faith in gravity. Neither you nor anyone else knows what gravity is, what causes it or how it works. But yet, in the complete absence of knowledge, you have faith in the power of gravity and will act in a manner that you believe will save you from pain and possible injury.

Yes, I do believe that speculative contemplation is more fun than betting on the horses.…

A Wish

Tell me, tell me true, who will dream the dream of you and the dream of I, as our spirits fly through the ever-sky, be they remembered or forgot, a part of life or maybe not, that some fragment may live on so that we may never be forever gone.

Suicide: An Exchange of Thoughts

Any news item about a suicide is sad but, sadly too, it's rarely that shocking. For those who harbour the inclination, (and T—a would appear to be one) suicide can actually be contagious. Not that many ever consciously think it through but, it is a kind of “if he/she can do it, then so can I" sort of thing. The people who are "inspired" to copy the suicide of another are the borderline cases. Many end their own lives simply because they have decided to do so. Others need some added external factor to make up their minds, to harden their resolve, and the suicide of someone they know well is one possible trigger that is sufficient to give them the little nudge that they need to go from suicidal ideation to suicidal action. 

The negative effects of a suicide must be kept from spreading, however take care and stay alert: you may be dealing with someone from a family whose members are born with a genetic predisposition for self-destruction, which can express itself in different ways. For example, there are those who can’t kill themselves in one decisive act and so, choose instead some slow yet equally and inevitably fatal method, such as drinking themselves to death or, perhaps, neglecting to take care of themselves to such an extreme degree that their lifestyle is as ultimately fatal as a bullet. In order to contain and hopefully break that fatal cycle, involved survivors mustn't be allowed to feel responsible for the death in any way. The successful suicide is the one responsible for his/her own death and any "if only I had/hadn't such-and-such" thinking will only endanger other lives. “If only” thinking is pointless: whatever the imaginary "if" is thought to be, it is unlikely to have existed, at least in the form an outsider would imagine. It is next to impossible to try to second guess a deeply depressed mind. The internal landscape of a suicide-to-be is an alien world. Were it not so, someone close to whoever finally did blow out their own candle would have acted, we hope, on the basis of recognisable clues and thus prevented the tragedy.

I am not suggesting that anyone is obliged to let themselves be dragged down deep into the whirlpool of another's tragedies, for even empathy is best when practiced in moderation but, should hints surface in a conversation, message, letter or any form of personal communication, that someone, somehow, does feel guilty (that classic "survivor's guilt") over the self-inflicted death of, say, a sibling, lover, friend or mother (whosever suicide it was that put the depressive on that stony downward road which, once embarked upon, is bound to return repeatedly to a state of corrosive self-reflection), don't let the affected person spin alone in their decaying spiral down to doom: assume the rôle of the defender of the accused, which in any suicide scenario is Life itself. No "if's," "only's" or "maybe's." The survivor is not complicit in another’s homemade death. The survivor is basically a bystander, someone who suffered collateral damage and isn’t required to be an angel by anyone, with the possible exception of their own subconscious, which may well be in shock and wandering in the dark. No one living can carry the weight of expected perfection, an expectation that does not come from society but which is purely self-inflicted and driven by that ancient demon: Guilt. The survivor’s greatest enemy is their unfounded sense of guilt which must not be allowed to take root in their mind, because it grows especially well in the dark. 

Over the years we have been putting together a Mental Healthcare System that is meant to be of assistance to those in need and, while we know it is still far from perfect, it is not staffed by incompetent, uncaring idiots. Those who find themselves under pressure should cry out for help, LOUDLY, and, while it may be the blackest of nights, flail about for a helping hand, regardless of where it might be coming from.… 

(A reader’s comment: )

A lot of sense in that. Her mum died of cancer when she was quite young. Her mum's sister was a nurse, who had a stroke and, although she was recovering from it, they wouldn't let her go back to work. So she hung herself in the closet. At least one other person in her immediate family hung themselves as well. Her brother was a meth addict. She is bipolar and has a history of suicide attempts. Her gene pool seems to be a cesspool. 

(Asking after the person behind the above pronouns: )

How is T—a doing? Is she still glued together? Given her family history, whoever is close to her should STAY close to her! They should also watch and listen to her very carefully, especially for the next few weeks. Anything out of the ordinary in her behaviour or in what she says needs to be paid attention to as well as any sign of an increase in her interest in things that are…well, morbid. Even if she had never shown signs of being self-destructive, that wouldn’t rule out the possibility that she may still be a carrier of such tendencies on a subconscious level. After such a series of losses, most anything is possible.

(In conclusion: )

Although it is a common enough reaction, there is no point in T—a getting mad at the dead. There isn't even any logic to it. Those people weren't attacking T—a personally, they had simply decided that enough was enough and that they wanted off of what they saw as the stupid carousel of their daily lives. I say, respect the decisions of the dead and let them go. Nobody mourns for the dead anyway: people mourn the loss of a relationship with someone now unreachable which, in other words, means that the living mourn for themselves.

Night of The Sprite

In the darkness of 

My days 

I was lost, I had

Lost my way;

An endless ramble 

Amongst the thorns and 

Brambles, 

Doomed to gloom.

Then, at the very edge 

Of my fading sight, 

A spark, a glimmer 

Of shimmering light.

As I drew nearer to it 

I saw a slit in a hedge,

I fit my eye to it so 

That I could see through it 

And then I did spy what 

Awoke in me wonder for 

What I viewed yonder

Was the flickering form of 

A woodland sprite!

‘Twas her feminine glamour 

I had glimpsed in my dark, 

Her lithe light was the spark

That had guided my way!

In an instant, nay!, less,

I was enamoured. 

I was fated to stay, 

Drinking in beauty from 

Which I didn’t dare stray.

No longer lost, I was 

Rooted to the spot,

Watching magical dancing, 

Ageless, entrancing…  

But how to get nearer

Without inspiring

Fear in her?

Having found my

Life’s light, this supple

Forest sprite,

I now had to meet her,

Clasp her close, then 

Upon her lips I’d press

A thousand kisses,

More or less.

Let time stop I prayed, 

That to her I could 

Make my way

While still the night

Kept the sun at bay.

For a-feared was I

That the love I’d spied

Would fade away  

With the break of day.…

Camouflage

The best disguise is always love’s:

The iron hand in a velvet glove,

The terror that swoops down from above.

As you lay back, begin to relax, 

Love cleaves you in two with its axe

While Cupid stabs you in the back 

And your beloved sneak attacks….

In the sultry mists of night 

You’re defeated without a fight,

Without dignity or even the chance

To pull up and buckle on your pants.

Practical Religion

Is some protecting deity for you more than just a may-it-be? Then before you sleep, in all humility, while upon your knees, beseech your deity to stop the hearts of those whose prey you be. If it don’t work, you’re just a jerk.

Coup-de-grâce

When you’re faced 

With 

Your end of days, 

Take up an 

Axe

And hack your past 

To tinder and splinters,

Then

Set it ablaze. 

For by the light of 

That fire, as the flames 

Ever higher climb, you 

Will find that the pyre

Clears out your mind and

Soon, 

Despite your dread,

Your purified head no

Longer sees an end to 

Days. Instead,

That hazy vision,

Naked now, is revealed

As what it always 

Really was: your 

Phoenix soul, reborn to 

Soar in fiery flight,

Putting

An end to both your 

Personal night and your 

Crippling daze.…

Holy Utility

Why is it that our human race has so contentedly marched forward with the yoke of theology hung about its neck, for all intents and purposes like some communal albatross? In all other human relationships some manner of equality is the ideal that we aim for, a zero sum game in which both parties come away from it satisfied. We appear to have chosen that this principle need not be adhered to in the Religion Game.

When one cracks the nut of religion, what constitutes the meat within? What is it that we want from our gods (of which we’ve had a plethora across our literate ages and, no doubt, some “plethora to the n-th power” across all of the pre-literate æons of our existence)? Do we request our divinities to provide an extension for our egos? This is but a particular wording for our desire for a so-called “afterlife,” and what is an afterlife but a means of denying the existence of death? We find the concept of the dissolution of our egos to be distasteful at the very least, so we choose to deny death its due by choosing to believe that our egos shall carry on unperturbed, even though the form of its future container remains an unknown. But do these overtime periods of our lives require the intervention of a superhuman entity? No. So what is it that we desire of our gods? In fact, what do we want of our gods so badly that we have chosen over the ages to bribe entities (of which we possess no objective, empirical knowledge whatsoever) with gifts that the gods do not need and the sacrifice of which (by some means guaranteed to render any given sacrifice useless to the person making the offering) only serves to impoverish the believer. Let’s take just one instance as a class-action example: a shepherd wishes to please the theoretical entity of his/her choice by making a burnt offering of a newly born lamb. The lamb is killed and then its corpse is burned (there may be special instructions for conducting this voluntary descent down the ladder of economic well-being but they are irrelevant to the principle of the process). Has the shepherd now satisfied the hunger of the supernatural recipient of the sacrifice? Has the Being been saved from death by starvation? Does the family of the shepherd now have less to eat? The answers are: No, No & Yes.

Humans who dispose of the profits of their labour in a more-or-less voluntary manner, either directly or through individuals who have specialised in acting as the A&R personnel of some specific Higher Being, are in point of fact attempting to get a service of some kind from one or another of these Beings. Letting any and all activities having to do with the state of a human ego after the demise and decomposition of its original fleshy vessel slide, one is left with nothing to desire of one’s god(s) except protection from the ills, ill wills of others and the multitude of accidents that any person may experience during the course of their life. 

If you spend some time paying attention to the events that happen all around you, by using the data source(s) of your choice, you will very quickly realise that Higher Beings are not spending much of Their time or effort protecting anybody from anything. No matter how thick the pillars of smoke may be from the would-be bribers of gods, or how loud the chants, how numerous the prayers of the faithful, life goes on just as it always has: day by day, chance by chance, and with no Shielding From Above over anyone anywhere from the ubiquitous arrows of Chaos. Chaos is not another direction to turn to if you are still looking for the Why of it all, because Chaos does not have even a walk-on silent rôle in the play (or interplay) of Life. Chaos just hangs around and, when so inclined, it will fuck shit up. 

So save your sheep. Or eat ‘em. Or whatever. 

Movies and Manhood

This: of all of the films that end with me in tears, I am fairly certain that according to how our society views males, I cry during the wrong ones. There is still, in fact, a sizeable percentage of the Western population that believes that males don’t have the right to express their feelings at all. They may well feel that way but they don’t realise that the only emotional outlet that they have left for those men is psychosis. 

My apologies to the Western world but, I would rather shed a tear than become a sociopath.…

Irony In The Fire

What a jest,

That the love who

Left and left 

You dismembered, 

Should be the one 

That you remember 

Best.

The Limits of Genius

Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks show that he predicted many inventions long before they came to be but, the parking ticket wasn't one of them.

So She Shines

Her face, her eyes:

The perfect disguise 

For a soul so bright

I could see her at night 

With no moon or stars 

Dripping light.

Anticipation

In dreams, you feel and find

My touch as fine as 

A spider's line. 

Both thrill and fear, 

You know I'm near and 

Quiver as I bide my time…

Questions, Questions, Questions

I woke up today filled with a powerful sense of self-loathing. I realised that buying anything is disgusting and wasteful unless one has a plan for living forever. Why must we be born at all if we are here for only a moment? Evolution is a trick, a clever illusion that makes life seem to make sense by covering up the real questions with an appearance of order and inevitability that causes a response in us, the observers, of something like, "Aah, yes! Of COURSE!!" We get so dazzled that we forget what we came to ask in the first place: why is there any life at all? Here the creationists have the edge since their view of the question allows them to answer that "why" with a self-consistent "because." They have no need to go any deeper into it because only a fool would claim to know the mind of God. But science leaves us with a Chinese box-puzzle that offers up a new question right after we have solved the previous one and there are those who thought that we had just reached the end of the chain and now we knew it all. No. That was a delusion and only a temporary one at that. Science offers no Final Solutions, no end to the flow of inquiry. In large part this may be because science is unable to give us a beginning, either. It is no surprise to me that there are scientists who possess a deep religious faith of some kind: since their calling has no chance of ever being perfected to the point where it can answer the "why" questions that bracket our existence, it is only natural that the human who is a scientist would also want to have a measure of peace. Since Creation and science are not mutually exclusive, you can have your peace and pick away at it on weekdays as well.

Steaming Dreams

Moist, hot, asleep 

Upon my cot, your 

Animal soul a promise 

Of a bowl of 

Coals aflame, too hot 

To hold, too dear to not.

What Weird Desire

What weird desire 

Makes it rain, putting 

Out itself on fire? Else,

The tender tinder 

'Tween thy thighs'd

Burn ever higher

With every sigh…

Finnish Society: The Naked Truth

What do you think you know about the functioning of the Finnish social safety net? Let me give you a clear picture that is many levels above my desire to improve the quality of my life. I am referring to my fight to have the treatment of my ADD restarted.
There is a local woman who is alive because she had a liver transplant some years back. Since the operation, she has been on an expensive drug which prevents her body from rejecting her "alien" liver.
She has recently been informed by the social insurance agency (KELA) that they are no longer going to subsidise that drug that is keeping her alive. KELA made a very American decision: pay for the drug yourself or die. Any idea that you may have that Finland is a socialist country is a lie. Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland are, but the government of Finland has been carrying out a program aimed at making this country the little U.S.A. of Europe for some years now and it seems that the program is in the process of being accelerated.
If you could freely choose what country you lived in, there is only one logical and reasonable choice: Sweden.

Creeping To The Final Sleep

Is this the dark through
Which I must creep
To reach that eternal sleep
My sick soul so badly needs?
A gasp, a cause
(A swift-slit wrist)
Unlocks the door
And without a pause, across
The floor and sill of which
The blood's spill does
Drip and flow, as the
Heart does slow until
It, at last,
Does finally stop and life is
Lost.

Don't waste a call
To some sleepy doc; ring up
Instead the local cops and
If you're also keen to clean,
Call up a hearse
To your domestic scene,
All tacky and incarnadine.

Money: A Rant

N.B.: money has NO value in and of itself. Any value that it has resides in what it represents in its rôle as a tool for facilitating trade.

And the New Testament is most always dangerously misquoted. It's "the LUSTING AFTER money that is the root of all kinds of evil." Not money!

No surprise, really. These days, most twits couldn't distinguish between the original carven tablets of the Commandments and a meme of them.

Yet there's no reason for despair, because should you feel so inclined, you can imbue money with intrinsic value by, for example, filling a sock with coins to make of it a weapon, or by starting your campfires with Benjamins….

( https://youtu.be/-0kcet4aPpQ :Pink Floyd's original video for their song, "Money," which is probably the most famous modern example of the misquotation of the Biblical phrase referenced in the above four statements.) Notwithstanding the ubiquitous nature of Bibles (due in no small part to the righteous evangelical perspiration of the often spoken of, though never seen, legions of Gideon's Ghosts), especially in the Western World, I find it personally frustrating to the point of hair-tearing that I've not a single recollection of having EVER heard that now-idiotic scrap of idiom quoted as it is written! In other words, CORRECTLY!!!

And why do people make the mistake so often that it has become a cliché? Because they don't really know what money IS!! Anyone with an IQ higher than a mummy's sperm count should be able to grasp the fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE for a manufactured object (which is what any given example of "money" is) to have an intrinsic moral value which, in the case of this messed up quote, suggests that trade tokens are in and of themselves the cause of evil in the world. Wrong! Evil is a concept confined to sentient life forms and their behaviour while interacting amongst themselves. Money is no more "evil" than an ill-fitting SHOE!!