It is actually still only the 30th of September right now.
It won't be the 1st of October for a few more hours.
I was outside a little while ago and it was still very warm. The air is warm and dry and still. It reminded me of the nights I spent in the desert.
Hotel California weather. Colitas werent the only thing I was smelling those nights.
» Held Up Again by Super-Hotties
You know, I tried to capture this image here at exactly 10:01, as a way of mirroring the date, which is also 10-01.
(It's a quirky thing of mine.)
But I missed it. I was late by a minute. I was busy flirting with a super-hottie, and she wouldnt let me go.
I said, "I need to go. I need to go chronicle the end of the world."
She said, "Just five more minutes."
I said, "You said that an hour ago."
She said, "I know, but this time I really mean it."
I am not making excuses here, and blaming super-hotties .. but this is why I am late.
I won't mention any names, but she knows who she is.
I will try not to let it happen again .. because I know how important timing can be. (Eddie Glenn knows what I am talking about.)
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••• today's entry continues below •••
» Well-Prepared and Ready for the Impossible
Anyway, I just want to set up camp here .. HTML camp. I want to be prepared for things to come. As much as possible.
I want to be ready. (Tay knows what I am talking about.) I want to be ready for whatever. For whatever things might need to be said.
I am talking about things to come tomorrow, the 1st of October .. which just so happens to be the October full moon.
I could not let the October full moon pass without giving a howl.
» I Know Where I Want to Go with This; I am Just Not Sure How to Get There
Actually, this type of entry, addressing this type of subject, things like this never really end. Or at least they continue on for a long time. And sometimes for a very long time. Far longer than you ever could have imagined.
I would not come with today's title if I wasnt prepared to tie-the-bow on this thing. So to speak. If I wasnt prepared to bring the thunder.
If I wasnt prepared to kick ass and take names and look good doing it .. with style and grace .. making it look easy, of course. (Izzy knows what I am talking about.)
I have considerably better vision into this entry than I normally do.
Some of my entries feel like » "Just head out in this general direction and we'll figure shit out when we get there."
Such entries come with a degree of hesitation. Call it fear-of-the-unknown, perhaps.
Such entries give me pause ..because their is a voice in the back of my head saying, "I would gladly tell you where we are going today .. but then you wouldnt want to go. Because then you would be too scaird. Because this is not for the faint of heart. No pussies are ever going to want to go where we are going today. You'll see what I mean. Trust me. We are going to have so much fun today .. me-n-you. You are going to see shit you've never seen before. I can't wait to see the look on your face."
» To Work from an Outline You Need to Know Where You are Going
Regarding the topic of possessing the entire picture and final outcome of your literary endeavor .. I am talking about before you ever begin. Before you write your first word ..
I once had an English professor tell me (and the class) .. at Franklin-n-Marshall college there in Lancaster, PA. I heard him say, in a tone that immediately dismissed all forms of contention as contemptible ..
I heard him declare authoritatively that "No serious work of literature has ever been done without the use of an outline."
His statement had an impact on me because an outline implied that you knew everything in advance.
I could easily go into mind-numbing detail .. because I have thought about it a lot .. but I simply want to mention here the concept, the idea, the position, contained in his statement.
Perhaps I will return later to elaborate. You never know when the spirit might move me .. to take up a challenge previously thought to be nigh unto impossible.
» Special Birthday Wishes to Everybody Who Might have a Birthday Today
But before we wade into those deep waters .. I want to wish everybody who might be having a birthday today .. I want to wish all those people a happy birthday.
You never know who might be having a birthday today. But whoever that might be .. please accept my best wishes .. which I offer here on the 30th of September. [ "Better late than never," they say. ]
And extra-special birthday wishes if I have ever written anything about you.
» Here We Are .. Welcome to October 2020
Okay, it is now the 1st of October.
Notice how I was able to grab the time at exactly 10:01.
» Let's Do This Thing
Now that that's out of the way .. let's do this thing .. this never-ending thing. (Girly knows what I am talking about.)
I couldve easily named today's entry » Soul Liberation. But it is often easier to approach a topic, and address a topic, from the negative perspective.
This approach allows you to cast negative images, which most people tend to be more familiar with. And negative images tend to be more striking.
» What is Kierkegaard Talking About Losing Oneself and Why is it the Biggest Danger?
The folks at School of Life begin their 14-min intro to Kierkegaard and the "existential problem" with the following image and text.
I am going to hang much of today's entry on this thing that Kierkegaard says .. that losing oneself is the "biggest danger," and that it is surprisingly easy to do.
Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is considered the father of existentialism .. the first existential philosopher.
I have not yet studied Kierkegaard enough to feel qualified to discuss him .. but I am familiar with many of the concepts he puts forth.
Sometimes I come upon these concepts from a different location, from a different angle, from different circumstances. But I know what he is talking about from various experiences in my own life.
» Existentialism as a Philosophy for Living a More Meaningful Life has been Embraced by both Believers and Atheists
Kierkegaard was a believer. I find it interesting that existential principles are embraced by both believers and atheists.
I have found, and it has been my experience, that your average atheist is simply a better human being that your average christian.
They are less likely to fuck you over, less likely to steal from you, less likely to take advantage of you .. than your average christian.
I was surprised to learn of this irony, this moral irony. But do your own research and I am confident you will concur.
» What Does it Profit a Man?
I do not know for a fact, but I feel that Kierkegaard must have come across the questions posed in Mark's gospel:
What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
» The Spirit and the Soul are Not the Same Thing
I have heard it said by people smarter than me .. that the spirit and the soul are not the same thing.
They cite where Paul talks about the ability to divide the soul from the spirit. If they were the same, you wouldnt be able to divide them. You would be able to separate one from the other.
The interface between the spirit, where the Spirit of the Living God resides forever, and the soul of man .. I am interested in exploring this interface.
I would gladly tell you what I found .. while exploring this interface .. but it would probably sound crazy.
"You are a spirit," they say. "You have a soul and you live in a body." You are a 3-part being.
Scripture says that God is a spirit, and that we are created in God's image .. so man must also be a spirit-being, according to scripture.
» The Soul is Comprised of the Mind, the Will, and the Emotions
If these folks are correct, and the soul is indeed comprised of the mind, the will, and the emotions .. then losing your soul would mean losing (control of) your mind, your will, and your emotions.
In other words, you wouldnt be able to control your thoughts, your decision-making apparatus, or your emotions.
You would think about things you didnt want to think about. You would make decisions to do things that you really didnt want to do. And you would feel things that you didnt want to feel.
You would still be a spirit-being on the inside, but your interactions with the outside world would gradually become increasingly corrupted to conform to the ways of the world. I bet that Sara knows what I am talking about.
How and what you think about things, particularly things that contain a moral element, would become corrupted. It is a slow, life-long process, and like a frog in a graduaaly heating pot of water, you barely realize the changes overtaking you.
This is what Kierkegaard is talking about when he says that losing oneself can pass off as though it is nothing. I know exactly what he is talking about.
This is because the moral corruption of the soul takes place gradually over many years, over decades, over the entire course of one's lifetime.
» You Escape the Corruption in the World by Participating in the Divine Nature
For those who have ever spent time studying the scriptures to learn for yourselves what they actually say and what they actually teach ..
.. and then tried to incorporate into your life the principles and the patterns you find presented there .. then you know that it is not as easy as you had imagined it would be.
My experience has been that it is surprisingly difficult .. to put these principles into practice in your life. I found it to be not far from impossible. Not far at all, my friend.
Now, along the lines of actually putting into practice the principles and the patterns you find there .. I want to cite here for you a couple of verses from Peter. (You know Peter; he's the guy with the boat.)
If you were to distill down the scriptures to the juiciest of the juicy .. in regards to actually putting them into practice .. you would likely end up with these two verses from Peter.
In particular, notice that last clause » so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Participating in the divine nature .. that's what it's all about. And what this divine nature gets you is » escape the corruption in the world.
It is not easy to escape the corruption in the world. No. It is terribly difficult. "Impossible," some say.
You cannot escape the corruption in the world without participating in the divine nature .. and even then some still arent able.
They are not able to escape the corruption that is in the world.
Right now would be an excellent time (zeitgeistly speaking) to discuss the corruption that is in the world .. because it is on display so unabashedly .. as if corruption is actually something to be proud of .. and not the thing destroying the country on a daily basis.
To be cont'd...
The end for now. ■
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