This Too Shall Pass by OK Go

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Any real record person knows that the number one most powerful marketing tool when it comes to music is repetition.”  – Nile Rodgers

Of course, it’s a good idea to have enough social moxie to get dressed and be civil when you make that run for groceries, collect the mail, or transact whatever business is necessary to maintain yourself and your independence.  A standard presentation of conformity at the right times keeps the SHOULD ADDICTS from getting curious or feeling obliged to come take a look – to rescue you or your soul.

It is hazardous to get so comfortable in your solitude that you forget about the should addicts. Difference is quite scary to should addicts. Mostly, they’ll think you should be more social;  because if you’re more social, they’ll know what you’re up to. And it’s their fear of the unknown that will send them after you – for whatever reason. So take a shower, wear clean clothes and a pair of shoes when you go to town. Don’t growl at the clerks and bureaucrats (too much). Small prices to pay to maintain the illusion that you understand what you should be doing – whether you’re doing it routinely or not.

If you’re lucky, your friends and relatives (especially adult children) will come to accept your hermitic idiosyncrasy. Maintaining at least some level of ongoing dialog nurtures this acceptance.  Presume when they voice their concerns about your situation (alone off in the woods or wherever) it is an expression of love not just curiosity about how you’re using their inheritance. Check in now and then so they know you’re okay and that you still care about them. Eventually they’ll accept you as that rarely-seen character of family lore.

But there is one SHOULD of solitude which I consider a rather important courtesy. Do some emergency back-up planning. Let some trusted other know where to find the keys, passwords, important personal paperwork and mechanical instructions for the property. Avoid burdening your kids or friends with an unexpected, long-distance rescue if something happens. At least try to grease the skids a little in case you exit the scene unexpectedly – whether temporarily or permanently.

It helps to strive for simplicity around the hermitage; but even if you can’t do that, at least finish up that “estate planning” paperwork you’ve been putting off and make sure whoever needs to find it, can find it.

Live the way you want, but try not to leave a big mess. It’s just rude.

The Buddhists say there are eight winds. They are gain and loss, praise and ridicule, credit and blame, and suffering and joy. If you aren’t aware of them, they will blow you away like dry leaves in an autumn breeze. For example, when someone praises you, and that tastes sweet like candy in your mouth, you are being blown away by the wind of praise.

One day in ancient China a young man thought he had become enlightened. He wrote a poem to his master about how he was not blown by the eight winds. Then he sent it to his master who lived 300 miles up the Yangtze River.

When his master read the poem, he wrote “Fart, Fart” on the bottom and sent it back.

The more the young man read those words, the more upset he got. At last he decided to visit his master. In those days, the 300 mile trip up the Yangtze River was a very difficult journey. As soon as he arrived, he went straight to his master’s temple.

“Why did you write this? he asked, bowing. “Doesn’t this poem show that I am no longer blown about by the eight winds?”

“You say that you are no longer blown by the eight winds,” replied the master, “but two little farts blew you all the way up here.”

-  Gary Zukav, Soul Stories, (c) 2000

I was greeted by a very HALesque, pear-shaped tone, male computer voice which asked me to enter the ID number.

Immediately after I did so, HAL admitted sadly: “I’m having some problems. I’ll transfer you to a representative.”

I was impressed and rather tickled that HAL was willing to admit his fallibility so promptly rather than sending me off to a string of endless menus.

Furthermore, I didn’t have to wait for a live representative. Tami came on the line immediately, provided her name and asked if she could help.

I asked if the ID number I’d entered made it through to her.

She said “no” and asked for the Boeing employee’s name.

She looked the name up to confirm she should offer further assistance and repeated her offer.

I described the information I wished to confirm.

Tami replied with: “So this is a Health and Insurance Plan question?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have to transfer you to someone who can help.”

Uh-oh.

And she transferred me back to HAL – who was still feeling ill.

Calm but decisive.  No options: “Our system is not available now. Please call back at another time. Good-bye.” Click.

Well, at least I was never on hold,  HAL never called me Dave and he didn’t fade out singing Daisy. A quick good-bye is always much better than being ejected off into space or something.

Might be a sad commentary on our times, though – I’m now so well-trained at phone call hassles with intricate, unhelpful menu loops, getting nowhere efficiently feels like a kind of victory.

My birthday means my sun sign is not simply Libra.  Having been born near the change date from one sun sign to the next, I’m actually a Libra-Scorpio Cusp.  According to my suitor (way back then):  “Libra-Scorpio Cusps are well-balanced sex maniacs.”

My reply:  “If one is going to be a sex maniac, it’s probably best to be well-balanced about it.”  Whether this fellow and I further explored this interesting label is none of your business, and whatever happened was billions of years ago anyway.

My online research today was a quick check to see if there is any astrological basis at all for the sex-maniac comment.  (I’ve long been aware of the Libran balance part of the equation.) Here’s Astrology.com’s initial paragraph about Libra-Scorpio Cusps:

Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac; Scorpio is the eighth. After Libra’s intellectual exploration of other people, Scorpio’s interest is in discovering other people’s emotions and how they respond to the world around them. Scorpio is the sign of sex and death, the beginning and ending, and they explore these ideas from an emotional standpoint. Libra/Scorpios strive to create balance and harmony between self and other through investigation and probing. They are often strongly intuitive and penetrating. They have a need to be liked.

So since Scorpio is the sign of sex and death, and Libra goes for balance and harmony, there is some astrological legitimacy to my date’s synopsis.  Of course, I might be a well-balanced death maniac – but that was less relevant to my date’s objective.  No, I do not remember what his astrological sign was, so who knows if we were astrologically compatible – which probably didn’t really matter to either of us. I also don’t remember his name – take that little nugget of information off to wherever you wish.

Like most healthy human beings, there was a phase of my youth in which hormones and curiosity combined to rank sex quite high on the motivational priority scale of my life.  I don’t think I was ever particularly maniacal in its pursuit, though.  I think my sexual philosophy was then and is still quite well-balanced:

1. Best when pursued within the context of a caring emotional bond, though not without its merits as an emotional-bond initiator and cultivator.
2. Enjoy fully (both physically and emotionally). Sex is a celebration of life. If you aren’t incorporating a fair amout of smiling and laughing  (well, at least giggling) into the exchange, you may be taking sex (and possibly life) too seriously.
3. Not worth risking your life over.

I don’t think I’ve ever been particularly maniacal about anything really:  not sex, death, money, love, politics. I lean toward the well-balanced side of the cusp – which is undoubtedly astrologically verified by the fact that my birthday’s on the Libra side of the cusp not the Scorpio.

Astrology.com”s “need to be liked” sentence seems a little off. Sure, I like to be liked, but I think my love of solitude takes me at least one rung down from NEED.

Ah-hah!  Maybe I’m maniacal about solitude?

Nah – I’m even a balanced hybrid in the hermit arena.

My wanderings into astrology today confirmed that the descriptions are general enough to apply to (and flatter) almost anyone who’s curious enough to follow the path – a worthy choice for an hour’s entertainment.  I am not passing judgment on those who are serious astrology buffs. I realize there is much more to the whole deal than simple sun signs and birthdays. If that’s where your interest takes you – go for it.

An interesting curiosity surfaced though: one of the most astrologically compatible mates for a Libra-Scorpio cusp is a Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp.

Coincidentally, my true-love, Griz, is a Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp. How about that? Worth a ponder…

“In the magical universe, there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen.” – William S. Burroughs

]]> http://blogfromahermit.com/2009/10/25/life-on-the-cusp-the-well-balanced-maniac/feed/ 0 http://blogfromahermit.com/2009/08/31/the-eek-in-geek-biting-heads-off-live-chickens/ http://blogfromahermit.com/2009/08/31/the-eek-in-geek-biting-heads-off-live-chickens/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:35:48 +0000 Trish http://blogfromahermit.com/?p=2290 I’ve been periodically giggling about this all day, so I’ve decided to share. When working on that last post, this gem surprised me -

Who’d have thought the No. 1 definition of geek at Merriam-Webster Online would be:

1. a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake

You have to get all the way down to definition No. 3 for:

3. an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity <computer geek>

Ponder the irony.  How’d the No. 3 definition ever evolve from that No. 1 definition? Just curious.

And, silly me. The reason I  looked it up was I thought maybe the EE in geek had something to do with electrical engineering. (Don’t take offense, Griz, the “technical geek”  is much less derogatory than it used to be – more like a badge of excellence, now.)

There’s lots more on the word “geek” at Wikipedia.

]]> http://blogfromahermit.com/2009/08/31/the-eek-in-geek-biting-heads-off-live-chickens/feed/ 0 http://blogfromahermit.com/2009/08/30/upgrades-and-the-tao-of-geekdom/ http://blogfromahermit.com/2009/08/30/upgrades-and-the-tao-of-geekdom/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:32:40 +0000 Trish http://blogfromahermit.com/?p=2259 Computers and associated realms are a relevant part of my life, but not the most significant part. I am not a computer engineer, designer, programmer, gamer, seller, or even frequent buyer. I’m even a bit stand-offish as a blogger and social networker.

But I’m not really a newbie. Computers have always been a part of my work life. We’ve had personal computers in our household (and household budget) for almost 30 years. Griz’ professional life as an electronics and software engineer was the original motivation; but with the tools available, I was a user from the beginning. (Remember DOS?)

But admittedly, Griz is the computer geek at our house. I am a geek lover, geek observer, geek appreciator and sometimes geek user (don’t go there). Griz and I now run a small online business together (Tools-n-Gizmos.com) which combines our compatible computer skills with Griz’ passion for all things tool.

But to me, computers are essentially just that: tools – nothing more. I don’t really have a passion for tools. If the hardware and software are serving my current needs, I’m content. I never lust after the latest, greatest, fastest. The latest, greatest and fastest are, afterall, available next year – perfected and less expensive. I have never been cutting-edge oriented – about computers or anything else really.

I upgrade when I want, in response to whim or need, but I’ve never considered learning new software or adjusting to new hardware a variety of “fun.” It’s just an acceptable part of the process – like trimming your toenails.

But even with a resident geek in the household, I don’t remember ANY computer change – EVER – going as planned. There’s ALWAYS a little OUCH factor somewhere in even the simple adjustments. This last week, with an untimely combination of personal and business computer glitches, I seriously considered the possibility that most computer professions are actually masochistic – based on an eternal cycle of voluntarily-inflicted and subsequently-resolved pain.

I retreated from that extreme as this week’s -isms began to wane. Now I’m back to this: Computer life  is an accurate, unceasing metaphor for life in general.  It’s the Tao all over again.

Consider the slippery slope of a change or upgrade:

YOU START WITH:
What you think you have,
What you think you know,

And for the unwise, what you think you are relative to those.

Add a little wisdom and you realize all of the above are merely your subjective opinions, but, I digress…

SO (wise or unwise):
You decide to make a change, however minor or grandiose.

NOW YOU HAVE:
What you think you have,
What you think you know,
What you want to happen,

SO:
You do some research.

THROW INTO THE MIX
What you’ve been told will happen (expert advice or marketing “truths“)
What you think you’ve been told will happen (the advice and marketing filtered by your subjective receptivity and interpretation of the information).

AND YOU WIND UP WITH:
What you EXPECT to happen.

So you make a CHOICE to invest your time or money or both in pursuit of those hazard-prone EXPECTATIONS.

Drumroll…………………………

And then you have – ta-da:
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS…

…which invariably does not go as smoothly as you’d hoped or expected; takes at least twice as much time to complete or resolve; develops a life of its own which changes other things you never thought would be impacted; and ultimately alters much of what you thought you knew about what you know, what you have, and what you want.

So, if you’re wise, – you learn to enjoy the process – The Tao, the way, the moment – the joy of the journey. Don’t hold out for the ultimate objective – you may never quite get there. The journey may not always be fun, but it rarely needs to be a struggle either.

Which, of course, must be why many of the computer geeks I know are so mellow, philosophical and spiritually enlightened.   (Possibly a facetious remark.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

I really enjoyed this video of Louis CK on Conan O’Brien though I disagree with Louis CK’s specific admonishment of the younger generation. Perpetual malcontent is unfortunately a cross-generational phenomenon. I see just as many malcontents in my own generation (baby boomers). Perhaps the discontent is for different reasons, but whining is whining.

For me,  crankiness in youth is almost more understandable than the perpetual grouch I see in some elders.  By the time you reach mid-life and beyond, you should have gained some  perspective about life’s cycles and unpredictability. So life didn’t turn out just the way you expected – get over it. Stop trying to control others – you can’t. Stop bitching about what isn’t and rediscover the magic of what is.  This moment is what you’ve got.  Live, love, laugh.

“He who no longer pauses to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” – Albert Einstein

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge – myth is more potent than history – dreams are more powerful than facts – hope always triumphs over experience – laughter is the cure for grief – love is stronger than death” – Robert Fulghum

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music: Bad Day by Daniel Powter
Roadrunner Cartoons:  Looney Tunes, Warner Brothers

We were not a wealthy family, but we did have fun together, sometimes even in the gravest circumstances. We were not spared the standard roster of dire events – lost loves and fortunes, premature deaths from misadventure; chronic, serious and terminal diseases – you know the drill. We just used humor to place life’s ups and downs in perspective. I should add that laughter was not used as a weapon in my family, only as shared commentary and commiseration on life’s predicaments

As you grow-up in one of these laugh factories, you do learn to temper your humor when outside the family fold. It’s best to avoid having to apologize for your laughter. There is much to be serious about in life; and many people take offense if you don’t honor the gravity of their station and circumstances. I admit laughter is risky and can be inappropriate in some situations: job interviews; church services-especially funerals; during sex with a new lover, for example.

Some people don’t seem to enjoy laughter all that much. They equate laughter with silliness and unnecessary frivolity. Sometimes laughter is silly, sometimes it is frivolous; most often it’s an intelligent, healthy response to life’s unpredictability.

Griz and I (my current family) have a lot of fun together, too. Laughter is a large part of our bond.  Much of the mate-seeking process for us characters is to find someone who gets (tolerates) our sense of humor – and gets it well enough to live with it day-to-day. If you’re lucky like me, you find another, compatible character.

Taking life lightly is probably my principal attraction to Taoism. Although I do not define myself as a Taoist per se, Taoist teachings do resonate with me. Perhaps I was a Taoist last time around. I like the following description by the late John Blofeld. For a relatively short description, I think Blofeld succeeds at capturing what I consider that “twinkle in the eye” of the Tao:

In one sense, the Tao is the originator, container, substance, and goal of the universe – thus nothing lies apart from it. Shapeless, invisible, intangible, it is the creator, substance, and being of a myriad transient forms, of which you and I are two, Mount Kanchenjunga forms a third, the garden dung-heap a fourth, the moon a fifth, and so on. The Tao seeks no praise, no worship. The Tao is. In another sense, the Tao is the path one follows in order to be transfused by the inimitable perfection which realization of the goal bestows. Moreover, since there are many kinds of sentient beings at various levels of understanding, the Tao comprises different paths, some long, some short. All lead eventually to the goal.

What goal? Blissful consciousness of perfect identity with the sublime Tao. From this consciousness flows such harmony between reality (the Tao) and its transient manifestation (say, you or me) that henceforth one can act with pure spontaneity in dealing with all life’s exigencies, like a tree bending towards the sunlight.  Fear and anxiety vanish; for, in an ultimate sense, nothing can ever go wrong. Light and dark, up and down, health and sickness, life and death are all part of the interplay of transient phenomena whereby the Tao manifests the Tao. Your birth added nothing to it. My death will take nothing from it. Nor, in fact, are birth and death valid concepts, except in a wholly relative sense, for, since every atom of my body, mind, personality, etc., is the Tao, nothing came into being at my birth, nothing will cease to be when I die. So ha-ha-ho-ha-ha! Having realized what I really am, I can face all that may come with laughing equanimity, never sure that a change for the so-called worse (including death, ha-ha-ha) will not turn out to be a change for the so-called better. If it does not turn out that way, that’s fine too, for a realized Taoist is too wise to take opposites such as better or worse, at all seriously. I am soon to become an emperor – ha-ha-ha-ha! I am destined to be lousy beggar – ha-ha-ha-ha! It’s all a game. Any part will suit me fine. You are going to give me a thirty-two course (plus side dishes) Chinese Banquet? Thanks, I’ll enjoy that. We have only a bowl or two of inferior quality boiled rice for dinner? That will go down very nicely. We have nothing on which to dine? Splendid, we shall have more time to sit outside and enjoy the moonlight, with music provided by the wind in the pines.

You see how enviable is the lot of people who have realized the Tao! Nothing can upset them. Youth passes – so does spring. Old age comes – so do winter’s lovely snowscapes and the kettles bubbling over glowing charcoal. I’m bursting with energy, so I’ll jog or climb Mount Hua. I’m too ill to move, so I’ll enjoy my warm bed and meditate. My wife loves me, “O what joys behind hibiscus curtains!” My wife has left me; how peaceful it is now. Old Wang has a delicious concubine. I have a charming blue-eyed cat. Reagan is delighted with his new aeroplane. I have fun with my old bamboo raft. I find that I can sleep in only one bedroom at a time and that my old wadded gown sits lighter than fur. While you sit watching pictures on your color TV set, I stand gazing at ripples in a moonlit pond, thanking the gods for not interrupting with commercials.  You are a funny creature; so am I – ha-ha! Who isn’t?

(c) 1983 John Blofeld, from the Introduction to The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain translated by Red Pine