I am more than midway the Nishitani book. It is a challenging read introducing me to literature that I have only heard others speak of. In this quoted passage the author comments upon Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. At this moment 9:09AM Starbucks is busy, almost crowded. I can hear the buzz…
In years past I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. His work is literature that changed my life, with painterly scenes that I’ll never forget. Tolkien’s ideas and ideals are still warm within my psyche. Worth noting too, Peter Jackson captured the power of the Middle Earth saga in cinema…
Thursday. Thursday is halfway to Friday. A compass heading is an orientation of sorts. That’s something I suppose, to believe you are located here or there in space and time. The two guys seated at the table to the right of me are bowed in prayer. I used to do that, so I “get…
Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. Once again at Starbucks, sans the smear of ash in the sign of the cross on my forehead. I do not belong to the Catholic community. I was not raised to believe in the Catholic church or its tenets, a shear accident of birth. The season of lent is something I…
It’s Monday morning. I watched the Oscar Awards event on television with Laura before bedtime. Memories linger. I am fascinated by the exuberance and delight on a face when the envelope is opened. Filmmakers, perhaps a director, a special effects professional, or an actor/actress hears their name called, a singular affirmation of excellence bestowed…
Intermission is timely. At midpoint of a soul stirring performative event one is glad when the lights go up and everyone is invited to stand, and perhaps visit the restroom. Perhaps you’d wait with others at the Bar for a glass of white or red to take as you return to your seat. This…
Nietzsche advocates that I become “the lion.” I offer these lines as a snap-shot of the condition of mind and heart of Lion-like existence. This point converges to our condition in Trump-land, a weak autocrat, elected by a majority of Americans to make their lives better. The question is unavoidable – Who the fuck…
These thoughts have taken me longer than usual to formulate, to write. The second movement of Nietzsche’s vision-story of a camel that changes into a lion is well worth reading/absorbing as one would taste an exquisitely prepared appetizer. Why should one desire, or better, – need to become a lion? So far I am…
Lately I’ve reflected upon the idea of “conversion.” That moment, as if illuminated by a closeby flash of lightning, the lay of the land transformed in appearance, you recognize an alternative, a different course than the one so familiar. Perhaps the conversion, the transformation of view comes upon one gradually, a kind of dawning…
It [religion] consummates one’s dissatisfaction with oneself, and at that extreme point gives one satisfaction in “God.” It pushes weariness with humanity to the limit, and offers instead the image of a divine savior; It takes away one’s taste for life on earth entirely, and promotes the quest for a “higher world.” The Self-Overcoming…
