30 Oct Nothing Beyond the Horizon
Memory and imagination allows us to see the past and future. However, once we open our eyes, we realize there is nothing to see beyond the horizon....
28 Oct Syoji Iiyama
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 Tadataka Unno
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....
21 Oct The Nose Knows
One day two sushi chefs in New York went to the Fulton Fish Market looking for sushi grade tuna. They both happened upon a fishmonger who had what they wanted. The fishmonger offered them tuna from the east and west coasts. He said that the east coast tuna just came in, he had lots of it and was offering it at a lower price than the west coast tuna of which he had less and had come in a couple of days back. As the two tunas looked alike and the east coast tuna was presumably fresher and clearly cheaper, one of the sushi chefs purchased the east coast tuna. The other sushi chef smelled, touched and tasted the two tunas and purchased the west coast tuna as the east coast tuna didn't feel quite right. Some months later the sushi chef who purchased the east coast tuna closed his restaurant for lack of business. The other sushi chef saw his business thriving. Our eyes and ears often deceive us, but generally the nose knows. Best to engage all our senses to make sense of things....
21 Oct Patience
Early on, humans trapped and hunted animals for food. Trapping requires more ingenuity and patience but is otherwise less taxing and dangerous. Grabbing water from a stream will not quench our thirst as quickly as collecting the water by cupping our hands. We can catch more fish in a net than by rod and reel. But it takes longer to construct a net than a rod and reel. Courting potential mates with wining and dining is not as effective a mating strategy as showing up as the best version of who we are which might get mates to court us. In business, a good product or service sells itself by word of mouth, less expensive than hiring salespeople. Best not to effort running after what we desire but to figure out how to have it come to us....
18 Oct Mary Engelbreit
"Don't look back, you're not going that way." When driving, more than a occasional glace at the rear view mirror is an accident in the making. The past is an illusion our mind makes seemingly real. Focusing on the past distracts our attention from the right here, right now and what's next; limiting our ability to make the best of the present, the present-passed, as it unfolds before us....
17 Oct Once awakened, he went back to sleep
In college I took a philosophy course that was taught by an Indian (dot, not feather) professor. While not part of the curriculum, the professor was always encouraging us to take up Transcendental Meditation. He felt TM changed his life; a bit enlightened, he went from lethargic to energetic, from careless to responsible. One wintery Tuesday at 11 in the morning, the professor didn't show up for class. Funny, odd, as there was no notice on the door indicating the class was cancelled. In any event, after a while we realized he wasn't coming so each of us left to get on with the rest of our day. A couple of days later, the professor did make it to class and explained his earlier absence: "I woke up early enough to make the class Tuesday morning. However, before class I did an hour of TM. It was fabulous, a total awakening like never before; felt terrific; so good that I decided to go back to sleep and missed the class." I guess that sometimes, when we glimpse enlightenment, we choose to return to the sleep state in which we were previously, simply because it feels warm and comfortable. Maybe the professor should have just slept through the morning without the TM interruption....
16 Oct Eye Idol, circa 3700 – 3500 B.C., Tell Brak, Levant
Thousands of these presumably votive "Eye Idols" have been found in a building now called the Eye Temple in Tell Brak. They depict a deity who observes the world but lacking ears and a mouth does not hear or speak. The deity's view is pure, unadulterated by the words of others which could have the deity see the world as they would wish the deity to see it. Lacking a mouth, the deity knows but does not speak; implying that those who speak do not know and those who know do not speak. In the contemporary world, seeking enlightenment, some monks take a vow of silence. To view other eye idols, click here....
15 Oct Ronald Reagan
"Rather than Communists and Marxists on the extreme 'Left' and Nazis and Fascists on the extreme 'Right,' I think the political spectrum should be 'Up' and 'Down' --Up towards individual freedom and Down towards control of the individual by the State. The extreme Up would be Anarchy, no government at all, while the extreme Down, at the bottom of the spectrum, would be all forms of totalitarianism; both Fascism and Communism, Nazism and Marxism, which together in common advocate the abolishment of individual freedom. On this spectrum, I place myself on the Up side, far from the extremism of anarchism, but as an advocate of individual liberty in accordance with a constitutional democracy and rule of law." (1) "Up" is close to heaven and "down" is hell. In a constitutional democracy, a republic, a nation is governed by clear laws, generally well-understood, that brave time as they are difficult to change. A representative democracy often leads to a self-serving government, controlled by wealthy and voting bloc special interest groups; not unlike totalitarian regimes where people in a conference room decide what's best for all which is generally what's best for themselves. (1) Transcribed by Jack Wheeler, October, 1965 at a speech given by Ronald Reagan at UCLA...
14 Oct Funny and Sad
Most lives are funny and sad. Funny when we take ourselves seriously. Sad when that's our life....