Pay No Attention

nothing to see here

When I set out to write a Newsletter, I hoped to explore being creative. Each time a post is complete, I sometimes wonder how I got from the beginning to the end. I guess that is how this works sometimes. Anyhow, this post is more unusual than most. You see, when the day for it to post approached, I decided to check it before it was published and to my dismay, only the first 150 words or so were ready to go! I decided to just cancel the regular Monday post fully expecting I’d just rewrite it or figure out if the body of it was backed up in a previous version. Alas, the only hope was remembering generally what I wrote. Now it gets kinda weird. I prefer writing these posts in advance and scheduling them. It turns out I had the two subsequent posts ready to go. Being stubborn is not necessarily a bad thing. I didn’t just want to forward schedule the other two posts “in the can”. Instead, I figured recovering the old would be “easy”.

Try as I might I could not remember how it was “supposed to end”. Alas, those thoughts are gone somewhere in the recesses of my mind. Today’s post will run the gamut. Old movies, tried-and-true lessons, and finally, and most importantly, the realization that the only constant is change. I thought a while before naming my Newsletter and I settled on the title “Why Living Today Rocks”. It is my SINCERE belief that to be born in our time is beyond amazing. What makes it so great when the news dwells on all the risks ahead? We are equipped like NEVER BEFORE, to adapt to the world we live in and cope and thrive in the one around the corner.

So while we will start with The Wizard of Oz, we will end someplace completely different. I hope you enjoy it. I promise if I can somehow remember the original post I will resurrect it. My sense is my sixty-year mind may have lost that story forever though.

And Now, the Wizard

There are many theories regarding what the story of The Wizard of Oz is about. It is a classic movie that holds up well. I also happen to believe the lessons of the movie recur. I love the expression:

History does not repeat itself but it rhymes.

The quote is attributed to Mark Twain and I thought of it recently as I was enjoying a new-fangled old Newsletter titled Noted. It is an interesting take on the world through the eye of the notes taken. Recently, the author Jillian Hess highlighted Mark Twain and his notebooks. It was that post that led me to write the first few paragraphs of this post the night I read it. If you are unfamiliar, I encourage you to take a look as it is well-formulated, entertaining, and educational. That is a pretty good trifecta of qualities in my book.

Mark Twain's Inventions

Whaddya Know

In a recent post (my last one in fact) titled “Buckle Up”, I asked my readers as usual to play along with the poll that I try to tie to the subject. Many of you tend to shy away from the polls and that is fine. Tonight I am repeating the poll from that post. You need not answer this one but it is provided for context. The Wizard of Oz is one of the earliest movies I remember watching as a child. It’s an unusual movie for me, as I see a little something different when I watch it. I doubt my description thus far is enough for many of you to watch the movie.

A Bit of Opinion

In case you usually skip the polls, you may not have noticed that I always provide “Something else” as an option. It would be arrogant of me to assume I can provide all the possible answers. What’s the use of growing, reading, and changing if all the possibilities are understood? While we all might enjoy the idea of certainty, I happen to have embraced the view that this universe of ours is complex and beyond an individual’s understanding. I can understand the appeal of certainty and have clung to it at times in my life. While technically a spoiler, The Wizard of Oz was made in the 1930s so if you are unfamiliar, you’ve had nearly 100 years to watch the movie. For me, it is the rarest of movies with something new to grasp each time I watch it.

Connect the Dots

So what connects the fear of change, certainty, The Wizard of Oz, Mark Twain, and seeing a pattern? The characters that accompany Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow) are us. Four people on a journey, each in their way afraid of something and doubtful of the future. What keeps them from moving forward? The “all-powerful” wizard exploits each of them in different ways. He exploits weaknesses we all might have by highlighting them to others. What’s in it for the Wizard? We discover in the end he is a sad and manipulative old man, nothing like the power he wields over those he can exploit. How sad it is to “help others” by demoralizing someone else. It is all manipulation to stay in power.

People who deal in “truth” often use it to control the rest. I think we all have (1) things we have been told by authority figures (2) things we came to believe in our youth (3) things in the “daily news” that can get us worked up. How do we react when we discuss such things? Are we simply open-minded all the time? Why is it so important to many of us to be “outraged” by something and feel the need to forward to a bunch of other people? Feeling heard, and being part of a tribe are part of he human condition. In ways this can be positive, but as in nearly everything, too much of a good thing is not so good.

In this way, I think certainty in almost anything is dangerous. While it seems many things are true, rarely is that the case. For lovers of science, many consider Newton and Einstein as amongst the “smartest of all”. Newton seemed to provide certainty to how things move. Nevertheless, despite the elegance and simplicity of his explanation, Einstein refined it further with special relativity. The speed of light, something Newton likely never considered turned out to be a special speed. I am sure many people embraced the certainty of what Newton revealed. Likewise, the brilliance of Einstein’s refinement has led to many believing in the absolutism of what he revealed.

This post is not about Newton and Einstein. They provide us with a much more important lesson today. While “On the Motion of Heavenly Bodies” and “Special Relativity” are profound concepts, the point today is they were IMPERFECT and could be improved. Letting go, and choosing to not be enslaved by the past is the way to find a more serene future. While trite to some, once we let go and embrace that we cannot change the past nor control the future, a new sense of self to make the most of the present becomes possible.

Even though there are periods in history when scientists were ostracized for their beliefs. It seems the Reformation and Enlightenment began to put such approaches in the rearview mirror. Today, the same is not true for some doctrinal arguments amongst the great religions. Conversion at the sword. Narrow definitions upon which 95% plus of the world’s inhabitants face damnation because of what they embrace as truth. Absolutism in belief is dangerous in many ways. It may very well be that what is pressed is the unvarnished truth. Nevertheless, for the ongoing cooperation of our modern world, it is certainly not a positive way to press an argument.

Losing a longish post and replacing it with a shorter, quite different result is a seasonal gift to all of you. This gives each of you a bit more time to enjoy the busy season. The very best to all of you and thanks for reading. I hope that each of you enjoy the Holidays and awakened refreshed with a new outlook only two weeks from now as the calendar turns to 2023.

The Poll & Music

Whether you “normally” answer the anonymous polls, this one would be a big help to me. Even though, as I purport we cannot control the future, having a roadmap would be nice. What shall I write about next year? Here is your chance to tell me what you like. Your answers are ANONYMIZED. I only get the counts. Please take a shot this time around and vote. If you decide that Something Else is the answer, send me a message and tell me what you think. Thanks in advance to all who take the extra fifteen seconds to vote.

As the year winds down, I want to share what the music in this Newsletter means to me. When I look back on former posts, I find that the music that invaded my perception helps me remember my feelings when I wrote the post. Not that many of you click through to the music and it doesn’t matter to me. I lack the skill and creativity to create music. The next best thing is to remember the music of my consciousness that reminds me of a given tale. Tonight, for me, is all about training myself to navigate change. It is always easier to stick to the old ways. Nevertheless, the unexpected joy of a new experience is pretty cool. Here is a line from tonight’s song. I don’t try to hint at the music very often so I hope this doesn’t spoil the surprise. Here’s the song and the quote follows.

“If you’re tired of the same old story, turn some pages.”

Enjoy the Holidays

Enjoy the extra time we all get as the year ends. Take advantage of the time you get with the people who get you.

What’s Next

My next post is titled “Umami”. How do you feel about anchovies, ketchup, and fermentation in general? Come back next week and let’s talk about it.