One's Own Truth

A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace.

Tennessee Williams
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How far must we search or how deep must we dig to find those small but priceless pearls of innocence, righteousness and grace? Every word we type and every movement of the mouse across the page is recorded somewhere. Our movements down the street are seen by a camera and stored up in some electronic vault. Our medical records are available in many places. We have numbers, a Social Security number, credit card numbers and a phone number that connect us to encyclopedic records of our lives that can become public information. We have a DNA number that tells what we are like, what we are liable to do or suffer from. It would seem that no one owns himself. How, under the tyranny of past behavior carved in stone, could anyone possibly redeem himself from his past?

The subjective part of my life is my own business and no amount of statistics piled up to describe me can possibly define what that is. Can it? What is an appalling experience to one is a way of life to another. What to one is a shocking event is a party to another. We can reach out to help someone and sometimes regret that we did. We can walk past and ignore the one who needs help and then regret that we did. Whether the nightmarish situation is thrust on us, or we have made it for ourselves, we have choices to make. To strike out against difficult, often unbearable circumstances in fear and rage. To rationally and intelligently dismantle the outragous circumstance. To quietly and courageously bear it until it clears up on its own. To accept and condone the misery even to the dangerous extent of destroying our sense of decency.

Each person must find his own truth on the battlefield, the torture chamber, the court or the side walk. The important question is, when it is over and done with, what will I think of myself?

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?

Only 6 responses so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

Thank you.
DB
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