Trotting Arguments

I'm going to have to start saving the captcha nonsense phrases used online to make sure a user is human. I got the title of this post from one. Spam robot e-mails used to generate the most sublime dada haikus with their subject lines. I wish my file of those baffling gems had survived the move from desktop to laptop.

My friend Narges has taken to posting wonderful quotes as her Facebook status updates. Today's quote was so good, I had to do it the honor of straight-up theft (with attibution):

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”
Tom Bodett

Google will tell me who Tom Bodett is. I like to imagine I can run into him at Wee Willie's, brunching on steak, eggs, and gravy.

Don't Look Now

"In many ways, the thing that lasts is like a nautilus shell: it’s lovely, but it’s not what the nautilus thought was really important at the time." -- Abi Sutherland, "Making Light"

This is a similar thought to what John Lennon said, that "Life is what happens while you're making other plans."

What we are sure is vitally important to us in any moment or over a period of years may not be the real story of our lives -- and it is not likely to be what is remembered about us.

This was Konstantin Stanislavski's stroke of genius, too.

"In many ways, the thing that lasts is like a nautilus shell: it’s lovely, but it’s not what the nautilus thought was really important at the time." -- Abi Sutherland, "Making Light"

This is a similar thought to what John Lennon said, that "Life is what happens while you're making other plans."

What we are sure is vitally important to us in any moment or over a period of years may not be the real story of our lives -- and it is not likely to be what is remembered about us.

Making an Entrance

Step onto the stage, step into the circle, step into a new life. I have been remembering lately how during my childhood, adolescence and young adulthood my bursts of honest and exuberant self-expression were stamped out, brushed aside, or ridiculed. I think two things have happened in the evolution from then to now; one is that I have developed the skill of listening first, strategizing my expression based on compassion for not only the immediate moment, but for what can arise from the immediate moment. I suppose you could call this extending my desire for self-expression to involve matters beyond my self-interest.

The second thing that seems to have happened is a huge change in other people -- what are they eager to hear? What interests them about life and its possibilities? A convergence is at hand: my ability to shape my expression, and a general interest in what I have to say.

Of course I must earn that interest. But this is a spotlight, a circle upon the stage. I am ready to be here.