Crispy’s Personal Life Manifesto1) Love All, Do No Harm.2) Treat The Earth And All That Comes From It Like You Would Your Own Dear Mother.3) Music, Words and Colours Are Good For The Soul.4) Don’t Be Frightened To Make Mistakes; They Are As Valuable To Us As Our Successes.5) Remember, You Don’t Need A Reason To Be Happy. Being Alive Should Be More Than Enough!6) You Can’t Control Everything.7) Diversity Is Good.8.i) Get Up And Do Something!8.ii) ....But Sometimes, It’s Good To Just Sit.9) Sharing Is A Great Virtue.10)“Let It Be” What would your life manifesto be? Why not have a go at writing yours.... read more
I do not matter
I am just
a man
And if I were to leave this place tomorrow
The sun would still rise
The waves would still rush to the shore
The world would roll on still
I am not
Important
For I am dust in the wind
A single drop of water
In the vast sea
of life. read more
During your teenage years, it's hard to not feel disgusted with yourself. Wether it be the way you percieve your body, the hurtful comments of others, or general apathy to life itself. Then, in your later teenage years, your self disgust then reaches a new plateau; a rational sense of calm which is neither happiness or anger. You accept yourself, regardless if you still feel insignificant. Self disgust then evolves into vanity, which is fine. As long as it is not at the expense of others.
That's my view anyway. read more
In Emerson, convergence upon a single point is unproblematic because his idea of totality, or the universality of beauty, allows access from that point to larger truths that stand in metonymic relation to the chosen object. Like the professional laborer toiling in the constricted round of his chosen trade, artistic work allows the miniaturization of the universe. In Nature, he writes that "the poet, the painter, the sculptor, the musician, the architect, seek each to concentrate this radiance of the world on one point" (31). Melville, in his depiction of both Pierre and Donjalolo, undermines transcendental confidence that specialization and focus can lead to higher truths. Weinstein writes that "the chapters about Donjalolo suggest that rather than sentimentalizing the idle life, Mardi champions the potential satisfaction that comes from hard work" (93). On the contrary, I would say that as it pertains to the specialized professionalism traced by Charvat, Donjalolo represents the dangers of seeking to understand the world from a single, fixed perspective. Authority confers inaction and limited scope, as in King Yooky, who lives on the Isle of Cripples, and who, like Donjalolo, cannot “quit the isle assigned [him]” (1227). King Yooky is the perfect embodiment stationary and… read more
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Follow the three Rs: Respect for self Respect for others Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each… read more
(Cartoon copyright Joe Heller )A very interesting book well argued. Dawkins rightly points to the failings of any system of appeal to higher powers which can not be reasoned with - the principles and practical rules of which are suggested to be immutable. He is also right to suggest that the appeal to unreason (emotionally charged faith) is not the best way for the human race to develop beyond its current state. However, faith in its highest form (hope in the possibility of life) whether it is tied to science, music, poetry, religion or loved ones is what makes life worth bearable and enjoyable.It did not seem to me that Dawkins made the obvious connection with his strongly held beliefs and the feelings held by those who were his target. To read the God Delusion uncritically might make you think that the world has always been infected with a bad virus until science came along. As an evolutionary theorist he seems to be surprisingly blind to a crucial link. Science has evolved from our desire to make sense of the universe and thereby gain power over it. Religion and art did likewise. Indeed all have to be considered evolutionarily positive… read more
And just a quick foreword: This is not strictly speaking "Philosophy". I suppose it is, in a loose sense, *my* philosophy, but there isn't a "writers on writing" section.
I have always been drawn to starting a poem with "And".
I think it might be worth, largely for my own benefit, discussing for a short while how I view poetry, with the hopes of explaining this tendency.
We can, and must, admit that people like different things. It is a question of taste, and there is no absolute good in poetry to which we may be striving. It is perhaps a common misconception to think that poetry 'evolves' towards perfection. Simply one poet inspires another, who adapts to their taste- their society, their ideas, and gets a little inventive themselves. Its not better, just different.
Similarly though, if we are prepared to accept that differences between people cause them to like or dislike certain things, we also have to admit that their interpretations will be different. Again, it is not that one interpretation is 'more right' than another, as once a poem is free from the poets pen, it is its own thing - to be liked, disliked, and mean a thousand… read more
Yesterday saw a memorable event in the murky quagmire of public protest. Thousands took to the streets of London to vent their frustration at world affairs, intending to bring about…well that much remains regrettably unclear. As one protestor put it, he wanted to see the “fall of capitalism”. When asked why he should declare such an embarrassingly bold statement on national television, he gave a babbled speech about economic meltdown recited from the front page of some hopelessly biased University Lecture he no doubt attended two hours previous, and was finally asked “If you had ten seconds with the G20 today, what would you say to them?” The naïve student gave an awkward glance before inanely shouting “SORT IT OUT”.
Unfortunate choice of words considering the G20 were in the middle of democratic negotiations to achieve just this, but then if you do insist on sitting against a smashed RBS window smoking pot for six hours, you can hardly be expected to keep up with the relentless wave of current affairs breaking in the real world.
So I’m being a little harsh in my argument, but the simple fact remains that the “anti-capitalist” demonstrators were completely misguided in their efforts.… read more
It was a beautiful day and I had gone for a walk in the park. I was strangely amused by the joggers going back and forth - I was never one to put myself out. I watched the young families having fun. It's easy to feel happy when the sun is shining.
Suddenly, I felt a prescence beside me on the wooden bench. He didn't introduce himself. He didn't need to.
'Hey, how are you?' he said.
'I'm sorry I haven't been in touch for a while. I've been busy' I said somewhat apologetically, staring straight ahead.
'Stuff comes up', he said blithely.
It had been a very long time. As children, we'd been best friends - but he was right, stuff had come up. Stuff that had made me want to find new friends, people with more exciting things to do. But, hey - I was older now and didn't need that kind of excitement any more. I think he knew it too, but was obviously too polite to say. I silently stared ahead. I could feel him looking at me. I could tell he was just sitting there, smiling. Waiting for me to say something. Finally I took the bait and decided to break the ice.
'As I remember… read more
I came to a realisation today, and I imagine it speaks volumes about my personality.
We are the product of a great many people filtered through the ages, almost impossible probabilities of becoming people at all, and yet we are thrown into life just as they were, clueless as to what it all means.
I don't mean the reason of life, and such, life is random, its humanity who is so desperate to see a pattern in randomness, like clouds, and coffee foam, and smoke. What I mean is, you were born. You don't remember much of your childhood. You went through the great travesty of misunderstood situations and uncomfortable bodies of puperty, just as your ancestors did. You've been told you need a job and need a life, you have to be interesting and you have to learn about things.
Maybe your father died in a war, maybe his father died in a war. Maybe you worry you'll die in a car accident, or through an accidental overdose of prescritption medication. Maybe you've realised you're actually nothing. You're a fortunate string of cells that has been granted consiousness by chance for an amount of time that… read more
