SCRATCH A MYSTIC, FIND A solipsist.
And Now, A Word From (One Of) Our Sponsor(s)
AS SOME VERY GOOD PEOPLE have been very good to Ann & I during our Long Medical Night, I’d like to partly return the favor – and, hopefully, benefit the 30 or so people who read this blog.
In addition to being gracious hosts, entertaining guests and generally all-around wonderful folk, Marty and Laura Clein run an online company called Conscious Consignment. Based on eBay, CC specializes in Grateful Deadabilia, vintage art, books, CDs, comics, comix, sports and concert/festival merchandise as well as many one-of-a-kind, am-I-dreaming items. Actual quote (by me):
“You guys sell all THIS? COOOOOOOOL.”
With a score of 4765 (100% positive feedback), M&L are also registered eBay Trading Assistants — meaning that, Should The Need Arise, With Times Being What They Are, they can also help you sell your collectibles if you’re new to (or frustrated with) the online consignment game. (And remember — these are my friends, so please introduce yourselves.)
On eBay: http://www.consciousconsignment.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CONSCIOUS-CONSIGNMENT/83822922423
Hometown Haiku
Sonoma Plaza.
Tree-shaded northwest corner.
…is that a fiddle?
Morris dancers leap
Today! Where a month ago
Two Jews laid tefillin!
Diff’rent traditions
Laughing under the same trees.
My town. Sonoma.
Minute Mitzvah: Mind That Credenza
And now, it’s time for another Monday Mitzvah.
Today: Safeguard your home from accidents.
IN ITS SIMPLE VERSION, THIS mitzvah calls for a roof-edge parapet to keep people from falling off. As those living outside a Mediterranean building-climate likely have no such roof (if I did, I’d stick my telescope on it), in practice this refers to any household chore which protects the residents (and visitors) from injury or illth: washing the dishes; cleaning the toilet; maintaining fire extinguishers, electrical/plumbing integrity, etc. We may also take this as a metaphor to safeguard the trust, safety and mutual support of its inhabitants — without which, no house is a home.
Exercise: Inspect your home for hazards — and act accordingly.
Prosatio Silban and the Profound Breakfast
IN ALL THE EXILIC LANDS there are none so pious as the villagers of Imperny. And yet, even within that island of serene certitude, Prosatio Silban found a disturbed soul.
The mercenary cook had parked his galleywagon a-purpose, on the edge of Imperny’s market square closest to the local shrine. but his “COOK FOR ANY PRICE” banner had attracted only one breakfast customer — a serious young man in an orange robe who had picked his way half through a plate of Leisurely Eggs. He sighed and looked up at Prosatio Silban.
“I have not seen you before, nor do I expect to again,” the young man said. “May I impart a stranger’s truth?”
“The eggs are not to your liking,” the cook began.
“No! No, they are perfect,” replied the young man. “But I am not, or rather my understanding isn’t. I cannot decide whether or not my prayer is effective.”
Prosatio Silban, a self-defrocked Sacreant himself who had long ago decided to feed people’s bellies instead of their souls, had ceased to wonder why his gods wouldn’t let him alone. He asked, “What do you mean?”
“I was deep in my devotions this morning,” replied the other. “And a question occurred to me: am I praying because I am faithful, or am I faithful because I am praying? In other words, do the gods grant me peace of mind, or am I fooling my mind into peacefulness?”
Prosatio Silban thought for a heartbeat. “Does it matter?”
“Yes. I think. Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because by one I am doing something important. By the other, I am silly.”
“But that is already true, in the eyes of those who don’t share your particular piety,” Prosatio Silban said. “If you live for others, you will be concerned with what they think of your actions. If you live for yourself, you will be concerned with what you think. But if you live for the gods themselves, you won’t need your service to be public — hence solving your problem to a nicety.”
The young man smiled. “Pass the tomatoes,” he said.
Minute Mitzvah: Praise Wow
And now, another Monday Mitzvah with a side of motivation.
Today: Hold God in awe.
THIS ONE’S TRICKY FOR ATHEISTS, so in the interests of universality, let’s assume we’re not talking about the Cranky Old Man raining smites and frights whom we learned to scoff at in Hebrew school but rather Something a good deal less childish and not at all definable. Whatever It is, one can only ever relate to the what-some-people-call-“God” on one’s own terms. (Mine are at http://metaphorager.net/2007/12/working-definition/ but also includes That Which Inspires Awe Through Beholding.) My rabbi, Jack Gabriel, likes to call It “God As Context.” A good friend and I have been discussing It since high school; he sees It in the elegance of mathematics and the physical world. Ann once said It’s what compels firefighters and other rescue workers toward situations of unforeseeable survival. Although I’ve never heard a final, explains-everything, non-paradoxical description of It, one thing seems certain — everyone’s an expert.
Exercise: Ponder who it is who is pondering Who “It” is.
Fable
MORE THAN ONCE UPON A time, in a land surprisingly near, lived two distinct peoples. Both were composed of friendly, industrious individuals with a long tradition of respectful coexistence in all matters save one: One group took every Monday off; the other, every Thursday.
Ordinarily, this would not have been problematic. But part of their mutual respect was based on a sincere celebration of the other. Weddings, births and funerals always drew a large and mingled crowd, but their different days-off caused the more well-meaning of their members great stress and worry.
“How can we truly share everything if we have to separate ourselves on the weekend?” some lamented. “We are in grave danger of appearing hypocritical.”
In time, as this issue became bigger than everything else the peoples built, either together or separately, each more tightly gripped the other. Neither now exists.