Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Drop That Foolish Delusion???

I.  Introduction


This writer is a voracious reader without the time or visual strength to read voraciously. Thank God for technology that spawned CDs, MP3 players, public libraries and www.onthegobooks.com!  


The current read/listen is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.  Have you read it?  Or, perhaps, you may have read her Atlas Shrugged.   Both of these mammoth works of fiction are fraught with critically thinking idealists ("CTI"), on the one hand, and sorry-butt sluggards who never seem to transcend a state of group mentality ("Slugs"), on the other.   My dilemma is that while I tend to agree more with the CTIs rather than the Slugs, I find the CTIs to generally be a cold, unfeeling, dispassionate bunch.  That makes me a little uneasy, as my cold, unfeeling dispassionate self is quite a bit smaller than my warm, feeling, passionate Andrea -- at least so I believe.  [Some folks may beg to differ; so be it.]  Still, the Slugs tend to trample on my last nerve with their whining, conniving, manipulative, selfish-in-the-name-of-the-people and deceitful ways.  Oh, but for a bit of balance!  It is my sad acknowledgment that Slugs tend to outnumber CTIs in all areas -- family, work, school, whatever/wherever (perhaps the 80/20 rule applies here?).  


The Slugs of the world would have us all believe that the only way to make it in this little world (it is, indeed, quite small when you look at the big picture) is to follow the masses in all respects.  And to the extent one's dreams, desires, ambitions, aspirations, and even opinions and thought processes are skewed from those of the masses, there is no place for that kind in the world.  


The Slugs of this world -- the ones who would dare say drop that foolish delusion -- be damned!  There is a price to pay for that kind of edict, and many CTIs have paid dearly.  Still, if one who is a peace-loving, nonconforming traditionalist, often misquoted and misunderstood, still refuses to march to the beat of anyone's drum except one's own, as led by one's God, then so be it.   What for most is a foolish delusion may be a solution to a problem that benefits not the CTI so much as it does the masses -- including the Slugs.  It is the lack of confidence and downright slothfulness of the Slugs that stifle the nurturing, growth and development of the masses.  And the masses are too blind, starved and stunted to see and understand their deprivation.


In the coming blogs we will examine some CTIs and and Slugs -- some from works of fictional and some real*, with the intent of trying to find some balance between the two.  I hope you will stick around for the next few entries.    


Grace & peace,


Andrea


*Out of basic human respect, no real person will be labeled "Slug" or "CTI."  Then, again, if it looks like a Slug, acts like a Slug . . . well, you get the point, don't you?

Sunday, September 5, 2010

It's Time

A few week ago, I watched a video shared on Facebook by Kathryn Paterson (watch for her new book -- I don't know when, but just google her every now and then [and, yes, this is a plug for KP]) -- images of surprise family reunions of U.S. soldiers and their families.  If only my ophthalmologist, who recently treated me for an extra-severe case of dry eye, could have seen the tears flow!  They were so flushed out that day that I thought (briefly) of foregoing the evening's eye-wash ritual.  The images themselves not only evoked the tears, but thoughts of how easily we (yes, all of us), take for granted the folks in our lives who mean (or so we say) so much to us.

Similar thoughts came to me on September 11, 2001, when 2,995+ people arrived for work, appointments or errands, at the World Trade Center in New York, for the last time in their lives.  I know of no official count that takes into consideration those who perished sometime thereafter, with the events of that date being the proximate cause of their demise.  My thoughts then, and the ones that continue to haunt me, not only about that situation, but those happening everyday are unanswered questions:  What if?  Did they? Why?

What if a hug was offered that morning and rejected?
What if an apology was tendered and not accepted?
Did they resolve that conflict and depart in peace?
Why didn't he/she/they try one more time?

Why is it so easy for us to tend to the inconsequential while we allow some of the most important aspects of our lives -- our relationships with others -- to languish?  Who/what do you blow off while making sure your nails, hair and/or makeup are flawless?  Or while you find just the right tie, shirt or cologne?  Or who did you disappoint and keep waiting while you had one more drink?  To whom did you utter empty words of endearment just to have your way with him or her?

There is no need for a soapbox speech or sermon here.  One would hope that any marginally thinking person of the least modicum of discernment would have had a light-coming-on experience if having read to this point. So, how about it folks?  Do you have a relationship in need of repair?  Attention?  Nurturing?  Resurrecting?  How much time do you think you have to start working on it?

What if . . . ?
Did you . . . ?
Why . . . .?