Us vs: Them -- Perspectives on Place

[WryAwry]

Let's consider, for a moment, the parallel between the soul journey and the physical path. Forgive, if you will, the usage of "The Royal We" as the precept of this discussion. The mystery for each of us, no matter how we perceive ourselves, nor the method that caused us to have found ourselves at this particular place in this specific time, is the perpetual pursuit of the understanding of the origin and of the ultimate destination. From whence and to whither? How is it that I have found myself amongst these people, and who the hell do we think we are?

Forgetting the spark of the soul, it has been argued that we are mobile bags of water and guts that were cunningly (or accidentally!) designed to transport our big, impressive brains around to find chow and a warm place to sleep so that we might be strong enough to hump merrily and make lots of little copies of ourselves. Fair enough. The biological imperative is most ... compelling, and certainly applies to every animal, vegetable, and semi-sentient mineral like, say, your average politician. The biological imperative foments the family, the family increases exponentially into the extended family, which integrates into a tribe, which then busily describes a methodology for survival and sustainability. Tribes, by necessity, band together and align many individual differences in order to protect and defend themselves from THEM -- the evil ones -- the ones from more different, more alien tribes way outside the realms of decency, normality,  and all reason. THEY are soulless. OUR souls -- that divine spark bestowed upon us by the omniscient Highest Power -- are better. Our souls are "the best", because our HP can kick the flabby ass of any one of those "pretend" HP's that those evil outsiders have invented. Our souls are safe. Theirs? Not so much. As is well known, we will prevail, cuz Good always prevails over Evil. Those poor bastards are doomed, as they should be.

We link our arms, and arm our arms, and together we march, chanting catchy phrases, until we see, glistening in the distance, that Shining City on the Hill, where the Wisest of us reside and issue forth weighty edicts about Who, What, Where, When, and Why. We shower then with Goodness and Light and Shining Baubles and overflowing feed-troughs to enable them the latitude to thereby reward us with such gifts as we are probably not worthy of. Their largess is legendary, it may be said. For we are truly The Chosen. We are exceptional. We know naked power when we see it, and we hope and pray that it recognizes us as the dutiful souls we are, and that it treats us accordingly.

For it is the Soul Journey, in the end, that proves to be the most critical aspect of this game of life. It is our soul (!) purpose to gather our family unto our bosom, to prepare our compound with high, stout walls and a robust gate, to festoon our defenses with the Holy Concertina Wire (but not so densely that it obstructs the field of fire), and to carefully study the ways and means of mercifully and gently eradicating the viral cancer that we call the rest of humanity.

We know they're out there. Let's keep our eyes on the horizon, and our fingers close to the triggers. We must FIGHT for peace! Most closely aligned with our biological imperative is our moral imperative -- to utterly destroy infidels, or whatever you want to call 'em.

Please remember me when I get to Washington, you heathen ex-pats,

wryawry

(I'm wryawry, and I approve of this message.)

Edited December 11, 2015 by WryAwry
grammar, spelling, refined intellectual specification ...

[Bud]

You obviously put a lot of time and effort into carefully crafting your words. Curious as to the underlying motivation or triggering event that resulted in this posting.

[WryAwry]

Sorry, Bud. Just a generic ejaculation. I'm firmly in the camp that current events world-wide carry consequences and repercussions even for lotus-eating expats in paradisaical Chiriqui Province. The evidence of knee-jerk reactionary dialog manifests still on ... other .... "social" sites. Having been hobbled from opining, however insipidly or blabbermouthy, about hot-button issues that raise the ire of good folks feeling affected or afflicted gives me the mental equivalent of the "Jimmyleg". Perhaps I should try to keep the lid on the simmering pot or just pour it into a pressure-cooker and clamp the lid down tight and pray that the relief valve is functional.

I had hoped that utilizing the broader-range category implicit in the "Personal Musings" forum would not cause offense. I will, however, stipulate that evidence shows tender sensibilities afoot, and I can't help but chuckle at the irony of the proliferation of the very opinions, rants, outbursts, bust-ups, clashes, debates, disagreements, rhubarbs, wrestling matches, conflicts, quarrels, squabbles, donnybrooks, sparring matches, scuffles, melees, confrontations, affrays, brawls, tussles, clashes, rumbles, duels, scrimmages, altercations, ruckuses, dogfights, and other various and sundry intellectual free-for-all's that I personally was alleged to have occasionally instigated and which ultimately led to my own disqualification to participate in the day-to-day discourse now re-manifesting as the soup du jour in other places I yet lurk.

My feeling remains that, especially this time-of-year, when emotions can be tricky and can contribute to a variety of fevers and vapors, it is important to occasionally stop. And take a few deep breaths. And be grateful for the simple things. Health, or its recovery. Dear friends and family, and the love and happiness that they engender. Beauty and magic that, even when not smacking you in your face, are always present around that corner, or behind that door, or out that open window, or up in the heavens suspended by who-knows-what. And the unique gifts we have been given: charity, compassion, and empathy -- all of which have the incredible power to overwhelm the natural inclinations to focus on the differences we all have.

I find myself musing about these things, so off I go a-musing. Never to waste a long, windy, polysyllabic word when a diminutive one will prove sufficient ...

 

wry

[JudyS]

Those of us who got to know Wry on ning appreciate his humor and occasional philosophical musings.  He is a breath of fresh air when people start taking their opinions too seriously.  Muse away Wry!  I enjoy your words.

[Brundageba]

Excellent posts...I always enjoy your musings Dav.   As this blue marble spins, we are all in "it" (...whatever "it" is ) together.   Boquete home invasions, San Berny blasters, Boquete charities, bad USA weather and ISIS growing at a menacing pace weezling it's way into our nightmares...on and on...spending the money we don't have then bitching about the taxes we'll need to pay....life.  Others have a smaller universe.  Marion who struggles to regain her health and strength and a "life" for herself somewhere where she can sleep in peace.  She rarely leaves our thoughts for a day.  My husband and I have an enormous amount of things to be thankful for.  For those things, each other and those who we call friends we go to sleep at night feeling mighty blessed. 

[Bud]

28 minutes ago, WryAwry said:

...

I had hoped that utilizing the broader-range category implicit in the "Personal Musings" forum would not cause offense. 

...

Au contraire, Sr Wry.

I was not offended. I was responding in an engaging manner. I see a deep thinker here and enjoy it. Looking for more, either in breadth or depth, or both. Note that my reply was from my personal account, not my Admin_01 account.

[Twin Wolf Technology Group]

Ahh Brundageba you capture my thoughts exactly.   It is these types of post, from Wry and from the community I enjoy so much.   My personal universe is so large and I must remind myself to not make it smaller.   A lifetime hardly seems long enough to explore and enjoy it all.