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 truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
The Big Search
This is the 1,737th edition of Vagabond Journeys. You might think I'm making that up, but I'm not.
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Nothing gives rest but the sincere search for truth.
Blaise Pascal
***************
Hello Jon
***************
I don't read philosophy to discover truth. I read it to discover the ideas of some great thinkers who are also looking for it. I don't know what Pascal finds so restful about it. My search generally puts me in a mental turmoil. The universe of ideas is full of unanswered questions and some of them are vital.
The is the "Merry Month of May" and I am very sad today, not just because it's gray and gloomy, but also because, as one recent commenter wrote: someone stole something from me more valuable than money, and also because there are too many unanswered questions.
Normally facing the ironies and ambiguities of life gives me a chuckle. I haven't chuckled or had a good laugh in many days, make that months. I look forward to some joy in my life. Sophocles writes that there will come a time when we will never know joy again. I summarily reject that idea with a swift and sturdy kick in the ass. I believe we need to eliminate those things that rob us of our joy, and if it has to be done with a scalpel, a bull dozer or a moving van so be it.
The search for truth should be a vigorous activity. It involves, observation, study, investigation and reason, both inductive and deductive, and it's not for the squeamish.
I've heard it said that if you could understand a great work of art, a Michelangelo statue or a Dostoyevski novel, so thoroughly that you knew it better than the artist did, the experience would lead you to truth, because you would be getting in touch with the universal spirit of inspiration.
Another way is to assume there is a total, universal truth and then start looking for ways in which it expresses itself.
Neither of those ways sound restful to me. But maybe there's a third way Pascal knows about, which can be done sitting in a recliner, on the front porch, at the beach. I must read on.
As for that something someone stole from me that's more valuable than money? Money can be replaced, and so can that something. Joy is another thing that deserves a sincere search. I believe it.
Remember, there is nothing that can stop, block, obstruct, delay, deflate or divert the blessing that is yours today.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
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---------------------------------------
Nothing gives rest but the sincere search for truth.
Blaise Pascal
***************
Hello Jon
***************
I don't read philosophy to discover truth. I read it to discover the ideas of some great thinkers who are also looking for it. I don't know what Pascal finds so restful about it. My search generally puts me in a mental turmoil. The universe of ideas is full of unanswered questions and some of them are vital.
The is the "Merry Month of May" and I am very sad today, not just because it's gray and gloomy, but also because, as one recent commenter wrote: someone stole something from me more valuable than money, and also because there are too many unanswered questions.
Normally facing the ironies and ambiguities of life gives me a chuckle. I haven't chuckled or had a good laugh in many days, make that months. I look forward to some joy in my life. Sophocles writes that there will come a time when we will never know joy again. I summarily reject that idea with a swift and sturdy kick in the ass. I believe we need to eliminate those things that rob us of our joy, and if it has to be done with a scalpel, a bull dozer or a moving van so be it.
The search for truth should be a vigorous activity. It involves, observation, study, investigation and reason, both inductive and deductive, and it's not for the squeamish.
I've heard it said that if you could understand a great work of art, a Michelangelo statue or a Dostoyevski novel, so thoroughly that you knew it better than the artist did, the experience would lead you to truth, because you would be getting in touch with the universal spirit of inspiration.
Another way is to assume there is a total, universal truth and then start looking for ways in which it expresses itself.
Neither of those ways sound restful to me. But maybe there's a third way Pascal knows about, which can be done sitting in a recliner, on the front porch, at the beach. I must read on.
As for that something someone stole from me that's more valuable than money? Money can be replaced, and so can that something. Joy is another thing that deserves a sincere search. I believe it.
Remember, there is nothing that can stop, block, obstruct, delay, deflate or divert the blessing that is yours today.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
*************************
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Hunt
The new creature we artists are hunting for will not "live" so much, as like time itself, "elapse."
Lawrence Durrell
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Hello Bruce
********************
The hunt goes on. The original thinker paces out and measures out areas of the mind that no one has visited before. It is the challenge of darkness, the always elusive forms, invisible but adjacent to reality.
"Come and find me" says the Creature, but is it my voice I hear? I cannot tread these dangerous paths forever. Or can I? Can't we trust the eternality of truth? I have forgotten, like the rest, what the truth is made of, or rather how to recognize it. What is it that hides behind the headlines? What was it that deformed the light and then said "What light?" The hunt goes on.
I do not want to live in a time or place when children turn against each other and the world. There is no explanation given but the truthless, lightless one. I have almost forgotten, like the rest, that the light was deformed and thus so was reason. I have not forgotten the creature who hides before me, invisible but adjacent to reality. And the hunt goes on.
The hunt goes on in the dangerous places where human thought has not been before, where time and space are inventions, like gravity or the wheel, where the inevitable measure of earth light is used up by children in their special games.
There and then, when everything is lost, everything will be gained, and I, like the rest, will remember. One of us artists will be there as it passes by in it's eternal cycle. The uncertainty of living truth is accepted, acceptable. Will my mnemonics or yours see the creature hidden there before us? Will you, or I, or one of us catch it in the net?
So far so good. The hunt goes on.
DB - Vagabond Journeys (The Original)
Never Give Up
******************************
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
********************
Lawrence Durrell
**********************
Hello Bruce
********************
The hunt goes on. The original thinker paces out and measures out areas of the mind that no one has visited before. It is the challenge of darkness, the always elusive forms, invisible but adjacent to reality.
"Come and find me" says the Creature, but is it my voice I hear? I cannot tread these dangerous paths forever. Or can I? Can't we trust the eternality of truth? I have forgotten, like the rest, what the truth is made of, or rather how to recognize it. What is it that hides behind the headlines? What was it that deformed the light and then said "What light?" The hunt goes on.
I do not want to live in a time or place when children turn against each other and the world. There is no explanation given but the truthless, lightless one. I have almost forgotten, like the rest, that the light was deformed and thus so was reason. I have not forgotten the creature who hides before me, invisible but adjacent to reality. And the hunt goes on.
The hunt goes on in the dangerous places where human thought has not been before, where time and space are inventions, like gravity or the wheel, where the inevitable measure of earth light is used up by children in their special games.
There and then, when everything is lost, everything will be gained, and I, like the rest, will remember. One of us artists will be there as it passes by in it's eternal cycle. The uncertainty of living truth is accepted, acceptable. Will my mnemonics or yours see the creature hidden there before us? Will you, or I, or one of us catch it in the net?
So far so good. The hunt goes on.
DB - Vagabond Journeys (The Original)
Never Give Up
******************************
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
********************
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
*********************
"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
************************
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
************************
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Inimical Inspiration 7/01/09
It is dangerous to speak the truth. It is more dangerous not to.
DB - The Vagabond
*****************
Come in, sit you down.
---------------------------
"He who'd make his fellow creatures wise, should always gild the philosophic pill" wrote W. S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan).
Why is speaking the truth so dangerous? Because many people don't want to hear the truth and they would rather kill the messenger than listen to the message.
Why don't they want to hear the truth? Fear. The truth may upset their preconceived notions of the way things are, and their habitual ways of thinking. Or the truth may go contrary to what they have been told by someone they love and respect. Or the truth may expose something of which they are ashamed, something that is hiding. There is even the compassionate need sometimes to avoid speaking the truth so as not to hurt someone else.
Then why is it more dangerous to not speak the truth? Truth has a way of revealing itself one way or another. Sometimes the truth is a warning. If I don't speak the truth someone or something will, and thus take the blows.
I was walking down a street in lower Manhattan one day. There was a man approaching me from the other direction. As he got close I noticed another man coming out of the ground floor of a warehouse building with two long, large, sharp, metal beams on his shoulder. The two men could not see each other. I could see a potential injury about to happen, I held up my hand to the man on the sidewalk and barked at him to stop. a second later I did the same to the man with the metal beams. They both looked at me as if I was a mad man. Then I motioned for the man with the beams to come forward. He did and when the two men saw each other they realized what I had done and thanked me.
Over the past several years intelligent, knowledgeable people have been warning about the follies of bloated mortgages, insecure loans, junk bonds, skyrocketing interest rates and the instability of the market. Many people treated those warnings as just so much negativity and anti-Americanism, while so-called authorities were preaching the opposite. But some people heeded the warnings, which were not pleasant to hear, and converted their assets, opting for frugal living and low risk investments, thus averting the dangers. Others drowned in debt.
If you see a crack in the dam and you tell people, most of them will laugh at you and accuse you of being a lying troublemaker. But someone may listen, investigate and plug up the crack. If you see the crack in the dam and don't tell people, someday you're going to drown your neighbors.
DB
*************
Have warm thoughts, but not too warm.
DB - The Vagabond
*****************
Come in, sit you down.
---------------------------
"He who'd make his fellow creatures wise, should always gild the philosophic pill" wrote W. S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan).
Why is speaking the truth so dangerous? Because many people don't want to hear the truth and they would rather kill the messenger than listen to the message.
Why don't they want to hear the truth? Fear. The truth may upset their preconceived notions of the way things are, and their habitual ways of thinking. Or the truth may go contrary to what they have been told by someone they love and respect. Or the truth may expose something of which they are ashamed, something that is hiding. There is even the compassionate need sometimes to avoid speaking the truth so as not to hurt someone else.
Then why is it more dangerous to not speak the truth? Truth has a way of revealing itself one way or another. Sometimes the truth is a warning. If I don't speak the truth someone or something will, and thus take the blows.
I was walking down a street in lower Manhattan one day. There was a man approaching me from the other direction. As he got close I noticed another man coming out of the ground floor of a warehouse building with two long, large, sharp, metal beams on his shoulder. The two men could not see each other. I could see a potential injury about to happen, I held up my hand to the man on the sidewalk and barked at him to stop. a second later I did the same to the man with the metal beams. They both looked at me as if I was a mad man. Then I motioned for the man with the beams to come forward. He did and when the two men saw each other they realized what I had done and thanked me.
Over the past several years intelligent, knowledgeable people have been warning about the follies of bloated mortgages, insecure loans, junk bonds, skyrocketing interest rates and the instability of the market. Many people treated those warnings as just so much negativity and anti-Americanism, while so-called authorities were preaching the opposite. But some people heeded the warnings, which were not pleasant to hear, and converted their assets, opting for frugal living and low risk investments, thus averting the dangers. Others drowned in debt.
If you see a crack in the dam and you tell people, most of them will laugh at you and accuse you of being a lying troublemaker. But someone may listen, investigate and plug up the crack. If you see the crack in the dam and don't tell people, someday you're going to drown your neighbors.
DB
*************
Have warm thoughts, but not too warm.
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