09 Nov

Posted at 01:47h in Observations

With enlightened masters from Jesus to Buddha to Rajneesh to Rebbe  Schneerson to the Dalai Lama and countless others with flocks of disciples, it is curious that when these enlightened ones transitioned from this world no equally enlightened disciple emerged to replace them. Perhaps a disciple, like a drone, cannot turn into a queen bee by following her lead. Perhaps it's hard to see the light under the shadow of an enlightened master. Perhaps the road to enlightenment is a narrow road that doesn't allow a disciple to walk side by side with their master and partake of the panoramic view of life. Or maybe a chick needs to give birth to itself by cracking open the eggshell in which it developed; otherwise, cracked open by the enlightened master, the chick might not survive its birth. That is, enlightenment is not a relay race with the passing of the baton but an individual journey one needs to travel alone. Though a road map, the writings and teachings of an enlightened master, can be helpful; following enlightened masters will never get us to the divine destination where they reside. As Menachem Mendel Schneerson said at his inauguration as the Rebbe in 1951: "Now listen, Jews. Generally, in Chabad it has been demanded that each individual work on themselves, and not rely on the Rebbes. One must, on their own, transform the folly of materialism and the passion of the 'animal soul' to holiness...

06 Nov

Posted at 23:15h in Observations

Those who are smart are best at remembering, quickly analyzing and arguing about matters passed. The wise are best at predicting things to come. The smart shed light on the past. The wise light the road forward. The smart have highly developed senses of seeing and hearing; often with underdeveloped senses of smell, taste and touch. In the extreme, they are idiot savants, able to do one thing extraordinarily well and not much else. The wise ones are generalists. They have more equally developed senses which allow them to know things from different perspectives. Having many perspectives is the essence of wisdom. Especially developed is their nose, the forwardmost of our senses. The nose knows when things smell right or not. It's easier to determine who is smart than who is wise as intelligence is judged ex-post and wisdom ex-ante.  Society is geared to recognize intelligence more than wisdom and elevates those deemed smart to high positions in society. As such, in the short-run the smartest are more successful than the wisest. In the long-run, however, those who are conventionally smart are less likely to survive as circumstances change; for it's not survival of the smartest but survival of the wisest. The wisest are best at seeing changes before they are obvious and can either adapt to a changing environment or change their circumstances where they can better adapt....

06 Nov

Posted at 01:15h in Observations

"We believe we make our choices, but no -- they make us." Our choices reflect how we see ourselves. How we respond to the consequences of our choices defines us. When how we see ourselves is not aligned with how we respond to the consequences of our choices, we make poor choices....

04 Nov

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

An infinite number of drops of rain lose their identity when they form the sea. Proto-Germanic "saiwaz" (sea) is the etymology of the word "soul." speculative....

03 Nov

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

"When I was in college I told my grandfather I had just met a boy and was in love with him. Immediately came the questions: 'He's from a good family; he's white; he's black; he's Jewish; he's Christian; he's smart...

01 Nov

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

Everything is a unique manifestation of God. Therein lies the beauty of everything. If we don't see this beauty, we don't know what we're looking at. If we think we know, we make fools; nothing funnier than that....

31 Oct

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it into fruit salad." Classifications help organize and provide artificial meaningfulness in an otherwise overwhelming universe but often fail to provide insight into the true nature of the objects classified as everything is unique....

28 Oct

Posted at 18:38h in Observations

In November, Syoji Iilyama, a retired eccentric Japanese businessman will receive the Order of the Sacred Treasure, a medal bestowed by the Emperor for Syoji's work when he was 23 as a volunteer probation officer who rehabilitated 2.5 times as many convicted felons as did other probation officers. Most probation officers do their job and represent the system from which felons have revolted. They are not role models, an example to felons of an attractive socially responsible lifestyle. Their job is to monitor released felons and remind them of the stick that awaits them if they behave out of line. While I have no direct knowledge as to what made Syoji so successful as a probation officer, I suspect it was simply showing up as he is: an eccentric who lives outside of social boundaries (like the felons), yet has a wonderful life without harming others (though I'm sure he's annoyed many people in an effort to entertain them and himself and/or wake them up); someone who has realized the purpose of life; an exemplary life that is available to all, including felons who can be awakened to realize their past choices are not who they are and that they could live like him if they choose to do so....

26 Oct

Posted at 02:07h in Observations

Tadataka Unno is a Japanese jazz pianist who came to New York city when he was 27 to further develop his craft. Against long odds, he met with success and was a pianist for several jazz groups. Now 40 and a recent father, on September 27, 2020, returning via subway to his home in Harlem, he was attacked by several young people shouting racial slurs ("Chinese motherfucker") and causing him severe injury which makes it doubtful he can return to his role as a pianist. With stress, medical bills, unemployment and childcare to deal with, Unno went to GoFundMe with the goal of raising $25K. To date, he's received more than $200K. Unno's experience is a horrible, tragic and frightening story. However, just about anything, including this story, can be viewed as funny. Funny in that after working for years as a pianist and receiving relatively little recognition, today Unno is an internationally recognized victim who most likely made more money in 30 days than in the past 5+ years as a pianist. Society seems to value Unno' story as a victim more than as an accomplished pianist. This informs us about the level of sophistication of society (which is also reflected by the mere existence of the attackers), which is contrary to how society sees itself....