The way to combat noxious ideas is with other ideas. The way to combat falsehood is with truth.
Judge William Douglas
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Hello Sue
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There is a mystical tradition which claims that evil, the Devil, uncomfortable in his own darkness, will flee into light to feed on it and thus encompass it and turn it into darkness. It is an attempt to explain why evil seems to claim rights for itself in a world where good should prevail. It is a noxious idea and I dispute it.
The theory can not hold up under simple observation. .Look at what happens at night. The darkness does not comprehend the light nor does it blot out the sun. Men used to think the sun was a giant chariot racing across the sky from one edge of the earth to the other, thus making darkness the predominant state of being only interrupted by the passage of the sun. But the scientific fact is that the sun doesn't go anywhere. The Earth simply turns it's back on the sun thus removing the light. But when the light returns the darkness disappears. It's not the other way around.
So the devil does not enter our lives on it's own volition to soak up our goodness. It is only when we turn our backs on our good, on our light, that the darkness of evil seems to show up uninvited.
The theory that darkness consumes the light and evil the good is a false idea and there are many others that would try to run and ruin our lives. Truth is a bright, shining light in the darkness of ignorance, but people who have no trouble distinguishing light from darkness can find truth an elusive thing. "What is truth?" asked Pontius Pilate. It wasn't a stupid question But he didn't get an answer. because the answer was lived, not spoken.
For any given issue there may be a great many wrongs, but only one right, and that's the one that should be sought. What makes it complicated is the bundle of theories, traditions and opinions that surround it. Fortunately there is a standard. like the sun, to which all thoughts can relate. The truth is a like a beautiful statue embedded in a giant slab of marble. The more the falsehoods are chipped away the clearer it becomes. Truth is the priceless jewel hidden among the pebbles on the beach. Truth is the correct tone which when sung fills the concert hall. Truth is the result of doing things right.
Dana Bate - The Vagabond
Never give up.
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Kindle One
The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.
Carl Jung
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Hello Lora
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One of the great mysteries about human beings is that so many people don't believe or understand that goodness, virtue, honesty and excellence are really the most important qualities in life to be strived for. Oh, you can call me an innocent fool of you wish, but too many thinkers of the present and past have agreed that we survive only because we shun the self destroying evils that grow in the swamps of ignorance. I often wonder what dangerous weed it is that people suck on to make them oblivious to any wrong doing. Cheating, lying, stealing, infidelity, crime and revenge are justified up and down the stairways of our lives and they leave behind a small but loving group of stunned victims.
I read a lot of philosophy, and the best thinkers have agreed through the centuries that the pursuit of virtue is man's greatest responsibility and when achieved his greatest reward. While hedonism, egotism, nihilism and a false sense of entitlement have been liberally handed out to the unsuspecting non-thinkers. Where do those come from? A talking serpent? ("You shall not surely die.")
When I read the comments iI get about what I've written I always think I'm preaching to the choir and trying to convert the converted. Do the people who really need to read this read it? How much light can one man shine in the darkness and how much compassion can he show for the people living in it.?
People who live in the dark don't care about themselves, even as they appear the most self-concerned, self-righteous and self-important. People who live in the dark are squeamish about true courage, the courage it takes to be good. People who live in the dark are morally corrupt and they don't' know it.
The darkness is always around wherever there are shadows and it's ready to entrap any one of us, even saints. And that is why the light must always be lit, as the ancient Hebrews learned. One match can't do that much, but it can light another and that can light a candle and the candle light can set some rolled up paper on fire which will get the wood stove going. Twigs form the wood stove will light the lamps. So there is heat and light.
If you have one match, one good idea, one simple desire to help, one chance "to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being," there is no telling what can come of it for the benefit of those who aren't listening to my sermon.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
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Carl Jung
*******************
Hello Lora
*********************
One of the great mysteries about human beings is that so many people don't believe or understand that goodness, virtue, honesty and excellence are really the most important qualities in life to be strived for. Oh, you can call me an innocent fool of you wish, but too many thinkers of the present and past have agreed that we survive only because we shun the self destroying evils that grow in the swamps of ignorance. I often wonder what dangerous weed it is that people suck on to make them oblivious to any wrong doing. Cheating, lying, stealing, infidelity, crime and revenge are justified up and down the stairways of our lives and they leave behind a small but loving group of stunned victims.
I read a lot of philosophy, and the best thinkers have agreed through the centuries that the pursuit of virtue is man's greatest responsibility and when achieved his greatest reward. While hedonism, egotism, nihilism and a false sense of entitlement have been liberally handed out to the unsuspecting non-thinkers. Where do those come from? A talking serpent? ("You shall not surely die.")
When I read the comments iI get about what I've written I always think I'm preaching to the choir and trying to convert the converted. Do the people who really need to read this read it? How much light can one man shine in the darkness and how much compassion can he show for the people living in it.?
People who live in the dark don't care about themselves, even as they appear the most self-concerned, self-righteous and self-important. People who live in the dark are squeamish about true courage, the courage it takes to be good. People who live in the dark are morally corrupt and they don't' know it.
The darkness is always around wherever there are shadows and it's ready to entrap any one of us, even saints. And that is why the light must always be lit, as the ancient Hebrews learned. One match can't do that much, but it can light another and that can light a candle and the candle light can set some rolled up paper on fire which will get the wood stove going. Twigs form the wood stove will light the lamps. So there is heat and light.
If you have one match, one good idea, one simple desire to help, one chance "to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being," there is no telling what can come of it for the benefit of those who aren't listening to my sermon.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
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Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Walking In The Light
I speak the truth, not as much as I would, but as much as I dare, and I dare a little more as I grow older.
Catherine Bowen
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"I know everything about art, but I don't know what I like." James Thurber paraphrased the old saying. I astonish myself when I think back upon how many years I spent trudging through mental thorn bushes thinking I was in the clear light and proudly, smugly telling everyone what was true but never being forced to explain it.
Growing up is a process of throwing out all the old evidence and seeing more clearly the difference between the shadows and the light. It's a long, slow, difficult process and requires courage, commitment and humility.
But there is a comforting and encouraging part to it. As your little patch of wisdom grows you begin to realize that there were certain things you knew way back at the beginning that were true and still are. Perhaps you couldn't explain them, perhaps they were only the result of intuition or conviction mixed in with doubt and confusion. How carefully we trod on those stepping stones across the flowing ignorance. When we gathered more stones we made a foot bridge and then eventually built a roadway across the mist to reach some solid rational conclusions.
There comes a time when we are given permission and the daring to speak the truth because we know why it is. But then a danger arises. We find that people don't want to hear the truth. They will turn away, set up barriers and some will even try to prevent us from speaking. .
The light is on or the light is off. No one can tell you you are just imagining things if you see the light. Walk in the light if you see it and pay no attention to those who walk in the dark.
I speak the truth.
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Never give up.
DB - The Vagabond
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SUMMER QUESTION
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
7 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Catherine Bowen
*********************
"I know everything about art, but I don't know what I like." James Thurber paraphrased the old saying. I astonish myself when I think back upon how many years I spent trudging through mental thorn bushes thinking I was in the clear light and proudly, smugly telling everyone what was true but never being forced to explain it.
Growing up is a process of throwing out all the old evidence and seeing more clearly the difference between the shadows and the light. It's a long, slow, difficult process and requires courage, commitment and humility.
But there is a comforting and encouraging part to it. As your little patch of wisdom grows you begin to realize that there were certain things you knew way back at the beginning that were true and still are. Perhaps you couldn't explain them, perhaps they were only the result of intuition or conviction mixed in with doubt and confusion. How carefully we trod on those stepping stones across the flowing ignorance. When we gathered more stones we made a foot bridge and then eventually built a roadway across the mist to reach some solid rational conclusions.
There comes a time when we are given permission and the daring to speak the truth because we know why it is. But then a danger arises. We find that people don't want to hear the truth. They will turn away, set up barriers and some will even try to prevent us from speaking. .
The light is on or the light is off. No one can tell you you are just imagining things if you see the light. Walk in the light if you see it and pay no attention to those who walk in the dark.
I speak the truth.
---------------------------
Never give up.
DB - The Vagabond
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
7 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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