It's High Tide Again

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.

Isaac Newton
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Hello Marty
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It matters very little where the vast oceans are. It is a state of quiet satisfaction to me to know that I am not the same person today that I was yesterday nor will I be the same person tomorrow. How can that be? After having stared at life "through a glass darkly" I have discovered something which is virtually inconceivable to me today, but will be part of my certain knowledge tomorrow or the next day, or the next.

I am finding myself indissolubly linked to the four corners of the earth and the universe. The glass though which I look darkly is a window and a mirror. Is the truth I seek in the vast oceans around me? Are those vast oceans already in myself? Am I so connected to the vast oceans that we coexist? Or am I and the vast oceans the same thing, the true phenomenon of reality? I think all of those questions are answered by "YES."

The great adventure of life is to accept the changing nature of ourselves and the progressive movement of our lives. The frightening part is to think what may be discovered in the dark depths of the sea. But the gradual realization of what it is and that I put it there myself gives me the courage to haul it up onto the beach and understand it.

Although I live alone I am not alone. I tread the beaches that others of fame and obscurity have marked with their feet, and occasionally I meet one of them on our mutual journey. And, if we wish, we can stop and share the joy and knowledge of our findings in the vastness. And in sharing we are one. And when we part we are both changed.

The ebb and flow of mentality is comforting to me. The truth must retreat in order to resurge. When the tide comes in it brings me more of itself and wakes up some mystery from the deep. I am secure in knowing it will happen because it always has, even if for years I didn't notice it.

It is at those holy times when I embrace the vastness of the unknown and am embraced by the ocean as I embrace myself.

I look forward to the spinning of the earth, from light to dark to light again. I look forward to the moonlight, the soft whisper of retiring waves and the thunder and crash of the high tide when a new idea. a greater understanding, comes rolling onto the beach with a giant "YES."

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
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AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

3 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I await your answers.
DB
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doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah

Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.

Maxwell Maltz
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I once said to a friend that I don't read books, I eat them. I can't remember the last time I read a book all the way through once that didn't deserve to be read even once. The books I read and love continue to provide me with layers of fascination. wonder and entertainment every time I go back to them.

In these days of Google, Wikipedia, Kindle and email will books ever die. I don't think so. A book is a beautiful thing, it looks great sitting on a shelf or the coffee table and feels very nice to hold in one's hand. But it doesn't mean a thing until you open it.

It takes courage to open a book, especially one you don't know. To open a book takes you into a foreign land, where there are people, events and ideas you may be discovering for the first time. What dangers, discoveries and challenges await you when you open a book and start to read? What is it about a book that it can fill your thoughts, occupy your mind and even change it?

I think it's the same with life. You wake up feeling okay, look at yourself in the mirror, brush your teeth, clean yourself up, get dressed, make yourself a cup of coffee and then what. Will it be an adventure or the same old hum drumity? Will you clean up the mess you made yesterday or will you leave it there? Will you deal with the problems looking you in the face or will you avoid them? Will you stick to your daily routine or will you try something new? Will you seek out the dangers lurking in the corners and face them down or will you hide? Will you be satisfied with your life the way it is or find ways to make it happier?

Life is the great experience that most of the time we take for granted. Life deserves to be lived to it's fullest and most joyous level of wonder, fascination and joy. It deserves to be taken by the covers and opened up. Otherwise what is life about? Or as Duke Ellington put it:

"It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing."
----------------------------------------------------

DB - of the true Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
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SUMMER QUESTION

The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.

It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.

Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

dbdacoba@aol.com

21 interesting answers so far.

You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.

DB
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Were You There

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.

Emerson
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In life's grand quiz show of understanding ourselves called "Who Am I" there will always be unanswered questions.

I moved into my apartment here on September 9, 2001, two days before the attack on the World Trade Center. If I had still been in New York I either would have seen it happen or I would have been stuck in a subway station underneath it.

It wasn't long before the films and video tapes were processed and we could see the results on the ground and how people reacted to it. I noticed that there were basically three types of people. There were those who stood in stunned, shocked silence. I knew one of them. There were those who ran away from it in panic. I don't refer to the inhabitants of the building. They had a perfect right to run away from it. I also knew one of them. I mean the ones in the vicinity who turned and fled the scene as fast as they could. And then there were those who ran towards it.

There were the first responders from the police and fire departments. But there were ordinary people who ran to see what they could do to help. A temporary clinic was set up in a local church. That church also housed a theatre where I had performed several times. I could have been very helpful directing people to that church and seeing that those who needed it were in and comfortable. I could have helped the medics who were caring for the injured. Who knows what I could have done?

Of those who did not run away there were a great many volunteers, ordinary people, who found some way of helping those who had barely survived the disaster and the police and fire fighters who had been overcome with smoke and exhaustion.

I have often wondered over the past 9 years what I would have done if i had been in proximity to that event. I was only a few blocks away from it waiting for my train. I had a clear view of the WTC from where I was standing. If I had already boarded the train I would have been underneath it when it happened. In either case I could have been very helpful to people who were suffering. What would I have done? Would I have stayed as far away from it as I could? Would I have stood post and pillar still in shock? Or would I have gone towards it and gotten involved?

The answer is: I don't know. It took a lot of courage to be in that neighborhood. Nobody really knew what was going to happen next. The building was on fire. People who could were jumping out of windows to their deaths to avoid being burned alive. I had worked off and on at a firm in the upper floors. People I knew and had worked with were dying, nice people, good people. The surrounding streets were strewn with body parts. Frantic evacuations were taking place in overcrowded elevators and stairways. The building was collapsing. How much of it would fall on the surrounding structures and the people below? It took heroic courage for anyone to go there and stay there. Would I have done it?.

That is a question I will never have the answer to. I like to think I am a brave man. I've faced up to other frightening experiences. But about that one I will never know. I wasn't there.

Dana
The Vagabond
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SUMMER QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)

Who are the 2 (two) most important people alive today? Why?

Only 7 responses so far. Summer is about to close her gates. Get with it. Don't be left out in the heat.

dbdacoba@aol.com

Thank you.
DB
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Basic Bravery

Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring.

Henry Miller
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I know an actor who is moderately well trained though lacking in certain bits of essential instruction. But he has talent. I have performed with him a couple of times. He has a regular office job, working from midnight to the morning. He does shows, now and then, on a very temporary basis, but he would rather be sleep deprived than to give up his job and pursue a career as an actor. He is frankly frightened of the insecurity. One day I tried to encourage him by showing him that even with my vagabond life my yearly income was approximately the same as his and thanks to the union my health and retirement benefits were the same.

So what was the difference? He always knew he had a job and I usually didn't know where my next job was coming from. He made the same amount of money each week while my salary varied depending on the job. He was afraid of being out of work. I could and did take temp work if times were slow. He grew up in a secure middle class family. I grew up in a economically depressed situation where we had to move all the time. I ask myself if any of those issues were really the cause of his reticence at taking the plunge into a career he trained himself for. I don't think so.

He was once let go from a job when an entire department was cleaned out. He lived for a year on unemployment and dabbled in theatre and when the unemployment ran out he got another steady job. Circumstances gave him a chance to get going and he didn't take it.

He once said that every time he thought about leaving his job and trying to start a career it gave him a knot in his stomach. Of course. That's the knot of fear we all experience when we have to face something fearful and uncertain. I have faced things like that many times. I have compassion for anyone who feels that knot, but it is not an excuse to hide and deny oneself the rewards of facing it down and living a life doing what one loves.

A career in the arts is a very big and complicated thing. In the acting world there are many facets, opportunities and requirements. To make a life out of it means not limiting oneself. To go from having a tomato patch in the back yard to suddenly being responsible for a 40 acre farm would be an intimidating thing for sure. It takes courage.

If my friend the actor took assessment of himself and saw his strengths, he's young and strong, good looking, intelligent and talented, has no family to support, he would see what he had to offer and how to sell himself. The one thing he lacks is courage, and that will keep him from the life he could have and will deprive the world of the results of his artistry.

Someone I know recently criticized me for not having the courage to stop and give up. "Be brave" she said. I laughed. It takes courage not to give up. It doesn't take super intelligence to know that.

To live a full and successful life it seems to me one has to face the fear and the stresses and go for it. We need the daring of Hannibal to take our elephants across the Alps and attack Rome, the daring of Washington to move our army across the freezing Delaware in the middle of the night to liberate Trenton. the daring of Eisenhower to invade the beaches of France to cut off the German Army. Life is no part time business.

A few years ago I was asked to play Zorba in the musical. Everything said I shouldn't do it. I'm not a singer, I'm not a dancer and I don't do musicals. So naturally I said "yes." I used to sit backstage 5 minutes before the curtain and wonder how I was going to get through it, even though I had done it the night before. It was a huge role, like running up a mountain with a pack of elephants. I was frightened. I had a knot in my stomach. But the music would start, I would go out and throw myself into it. If I still had the knot in my stomach I wasn't conscious of it. 2 hours later I had done the job. If you do the thing you fear you destroy the fear.

To be brave, to have courage, to dare sometimes feels like we're shaking our fist at destiny, but if we take the risk and strive for the results nature itself can come forth with forces to assist us. "Whoever strove to show her merit that did miss her love" Shakespeare wrote.

DB - The Vagabond
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New Improved Weekend Puzzle

Straighten out these titles please.

AABIILRS

AAOTTW

ACEEGHNNOP

AEHNST

AEIJKKRVY

AGHINNOSTW

AIPRS

BDILNU

CHKLMOOST

DLNNOO

EHIIKLNS

EMOR

(dgoo cklu)
DB
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Leaving The Nest

A man with outward courage dares to die. A man with inward courage dares to live.

Lao-Tzu
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My good friend Marty once described me as a bird who has lost some feathers but is still flying. That's a statement that can be made about many people. The rough winds and fierce tussles of life can pluck off the feathers but if the wings still work it doesn't matter how scrawny the bird looks.

Lao-Tzu's wise words at the top have a particular significance to be currently. It was recently said of me that I lacked courage because I wouldn't fold my wings, nest and take inventory of my missing feathers.

To be sure it must take courage to face the end but if one is not there why put up the false acts of bravado. Every missing feather becomes a quill with which to point out pretences and inscribe the wisdom of a life still being lived.

I recently wrote in the pages of this journal about "casting," the diabolical urge that overtakes tightrope walkers, marathon runners and others. When the fear and pain become so great the suggestion comes, which seems to be one's own mind talking, to just quit, drop into the net, leave the race and lie down on the cool grass and rest. Because it appears to be one's own reasoning it's a very tricky thing to resist.

Every day is different. One of my journal friends recently commented that she looks forward to discovering what the day will bring, ready to be surprised, pleased or annoyed, whatever. That's a great attitude. Life is an adventure. Suit up, gas up, start flapping those wings, jump out of the safety net and take it all in.

DB - The Vagabond
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SUMMER QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)

Who are the 2 (two) most important people alive today? Why?

5 responses so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

Thank you.
DB
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Careful Composure 7/21/09

Nothing great was ever done without much enduring.

St. Catherine of Siena
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I'm standing by.
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Anyone who often reads Vagabond Journeys knows that I am a champion of the common man, a believer in the value, beauty and genius of the ordinary, everyday, average human being. I do not underestimate the remarkable achievements by remarkable people. But I am willing to recognize that my friends and neighbors are capable of remarkable things if the situation demands.

Yesterday I watched the celebration of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The three astronauts involved all spoke. I noticed that none of them were very good public speakers. There were no orators in the group. But then I thought Why should there be? They are scientists, engineers, technicians and pilots. Oratory is not their game.

When Neil Armstrong came forward to speak he received a standing ovation from the audience. Again I wondered why he did and not the other two. Was it because he had done something remarkable that the others didn't do, or was it simply that he was the first person to do it. His name will go down in history as a great explorer. And yet when he spoke he showed himself to be an ordinary guy, like me.

Frequently the astronauts speak of the many thousands of people involved in the space flight history, of the thousands of nameless workers, ordinary folks like me, whose contributions made it possible for someone to walk on the moon.

Something else is talked of also, and that is the spirit of the Apollo program which inspired people to do their best, to dream, solve problems, design and build equipment and to make sure all the procedures were correctly carried out.

In his talk Armstrong uttered an amazing and troubling fact. He revealed that it was a mere 66 years between the Wright Brothers first flight at Kitty Hawk to the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. That's a amazing time line. Only 66 years. But it has been 40 years since the moon landing. What has happened since? The Apollo astronauts are old men now but they say they expected the program to continue to the moon and beyond.

I guess the International Space Station is a grand accomplishment, but, as someone pointed out, it's basically a political one. It doesn't have as much to do with space exploration as the Hubble Telescope. Why have 40 years gone by without further exploration? What happened to the spirit of Apollo? And what was that spirit in the first place.

Watching the Apollo 11 astronauts speak I wondered what it was that motivated those men to stuff themselves into a minute flying machine to go on a long journey they might not survive. The answer came listening to them and to others speak on the subject. There were two qualities that all explorers have had since humans first went where no one else had been: curiosity and willingness to risk one's life.

It is clear that taking off in a spaceship is risky business no matter what, but is risking one's life to install a battery in the space station the same as risking one's life to step on the moon? I don't think so.

Another quality the astronauts have is endurance, sticking to the job until it's done. In the case of the Apollo flights, it meant living in extremely cramped quarters for many days. A trip to Mars would mean living that way for months. How many people have the composure to do that? I don't think I do. I don't even like being on a bus for more than an hour. How long did it take Columbus and crew to travel on small, wooden bottomed boats to get here? We know what year he did it but I don't know how long it took. Do you?

(There are still some blank headed people who believe, like the Holocaust deniers, that the moon walks never happened, that it's all a hoax, . Sure, and Columbus never set foot on a new land either. His ship fell off the edge of the earth and we are not really here.)

Curiosity. Courage. Endurance. Those are the keys to our future. And we should get on with it.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
_________________________
Pardon my polemics, please.
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Weird Ways 3/02/09

One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing.

Morris West
???????????
Here we go.
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One of the strangest places I was ever in was a small city in the Southwest that was built literally in the middle of the desert. There was a road that came into town, but it didn't go through it. I walked to the end of the road and I was on the edge of the city, There was a sidewalk. Houses were built along the side walk. It turned a right angle and there were more houses, with back yards, trees. bushes and children playing in the yards But when you stepped off the sidewalk you stepped immediately into the desert. If you turned your back to the houses all you would see in front of you was desert. I don't remember the name of that city or what state it was in, but I imagine it has expanded out into that desert by now.

I often think of that experience of taking a single step from civilization into wilderness. To me it was the same as taking a step from the safe and known into the dark world of ignorance. Ignorance is not a bad thing. Stupidity is bad, ignorance is not the same thing. When able to admit my ignorance about something, I am poised to step into the wild world of darkness and doubt. If I take that step it could be scary. What some people call foolishness, other people call courage. One has to agree to walk in darkness before one can see the light.

If some did not have the courage to peer into a telescope or a microscope, to crawl around in dark caves or on the ocean floor, or peek into the machinations of the human mind, we wouldn't know anything.

I once visited a Museum of Philosophy. In it there was a computer program that asked me a series of questions about my beliefs and opinions. Then it came up with a list of philosophers whose writings, more or less, conformed to my own philosophy of things. I thought, how nice, I can read the works of great writers who agree with me. I could bask in the easy sunshine of coordinate thinking.

It didn't take but a few days before I became bored with that idea, and went searching out the rare and troublesome works of thinkers who were antagonistic to my easy, sunny, back porch studies and who posed ideas that were difficult to understand and even harder to harmonize with what I thought was true. I began to grapple with new ideas. Some of them were very ancient, but they were new to me. And I found dark and doubtful places in my own thinking that needed to have a microscope trained on them.

Oh, I'm still ignorant. Who isn't? But that part of my vagabond journey has been fascinating, fulfilling and infuriating. And I won't stop until I know something.

DB
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May you hear the silent, distant winds of Spring.