A Feel for the Human Condition Unsurpassed in World Literature

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The commentary I quoted does not say that Dostoevsky is the best at writing stories with a feel for the human condition. It simply says that » nobody does it better.

I have not read enough world literature to determine if indeed this statement is valid. I mean, I feel that Victor Hugo's Les Miserables would certainly be included in the running for stories that are told with a world-class feel for the human condition.

There are a number of key things that sets Dostoevsky apart. One of these items is that he was not a rich boy.

He did not come from a wealthy, privileged family like (the land-n-serf owning Count) Tolstoy, and many of the other key writers of their day.

Normally you had to have money in order to write. Or just love it so much that you couldnt help yourself.

I am getting a little off-track, but these life-factors play in so prominently that I would be remiss to not at least mention them.

My point here is simply to say that a poor boy is going to see things that a rich boy will not.

No disrespect to the talents and the dedication of Tolstoy and the writers who came from wealthy families ..

.. but the reason why (I can see now) Dostoevsky is able to write with a feel for the human condition that is 'unsurpassed-in-world-literature' .. is because he did not come from privilege.

Spreaking of writers who are unsurpassed in world literature .. I should probably note here, dear reader, that Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Kafka all place three titles on the Bokklubben list of the One Hundred Greatest Books Ever Written in any language. But only Dostoevsky places four.

(In case you were wondering.)

There are many such lists out there of the 100 greatest books ever written .. but I prefer this one generated by the folks at the Norwegian Book Club because it was derived from the input of 100 different writers, who hail from 54 different countries.

This is naturally going to produce a list that is more broadly based .. than one that is generated by people from just one country, or from just a few countries.

"How does one go about acquiring himself a world-class feel for the human condition?" you might be wondering. I know, I certainly was.

Well, you are going to need a wide range of human experiences .. no? Human experiences from which you will undoubtedly derive your 'feel' for the human condition.

In order for your feel to be truly accurate and broadly-encompassing, you will need a broad range of human experiences. You will need a representative sampling of human experiences that span the entire range of moral experience .. from the satanic to the divine.

Now, this is an impressive thing. For me, at least. I do not know if others are also impressed. I can't see how anybody would not be impressed by such a thing.

But folks prove me wrong all the time .. particularly when it comes to things like values and morals and ethics and justice, which all get to the meat of our human existence and experience(s) lived here on planet earth.

This is not the place for me to delve more deeply into the topic of spanning the entire range of moral experience .. with one foot here and the other over there.

(Uh, why am I suddenly thinking about Ananias & Sapphira?)

But I will simply say here that my life-experiences have been such that spanning the entire range of moral experience is a very difficult thing .. for a number of reasons.

Anybody who even gets close has my admiration. Anybody who is even on that road, and headed in that direction .. they know what I am talking about.

The more, and the more diverse, human experiences you manage to acquire .. by whatever means necessary .. the greater will be your feel for the human condition.

I feel like I am simply stating the obvious here.

There is an interesting conversation to be had down this road. (Ask me how I know.)

And these human experiences, if you were simply mirroring the ratios of human experience actually found occurring today in the real-life .. then there is naturally going to be a lot more of the ugly side of life.

Because, for the vast majority of human beings alive here today on planet earth .. life is not a very pretty thing, my friend.

There is not much room for career-advancement up the food-chain of life you might say. (I feel confident that Thomas Hobbes would back me up here.)

» First Entry Since Arriving at the New Digs

You know, dear reader, this entry that you are reading right now .. this is the first rad writing I have done since arriving here at the new digs. The new rad digs. 

I wonder what time it is right now. Hold on a sec. I'm-a go check. Be right back. Dont go anywhere.

Okay, looks like it's still pretty early in the morning. I'll have plenty of time to do what I need to do.

Here's an image from my log-in screen taken earlier today.

I cannot write just any ol' thing today. Not that I ever would write just any ol' thing .. at least, not any more.

When you are young-n-strong, and the hotties are banging down your backdoor every day and every night .. these are the days when you can write whatever.

But when you get old-n-tired, and life has kicked you in the teeth more than a few times .. then the writer needs to be a little more judicious with what he writes. With the things that he puts into words.

Because these things are going to mean more. These things are going to count more. Because these things cost more.

» Giving Thanks for Rescuing Me from the Authority of Darkness

Rather, I want to use this entry as a way of expressing the sense of gratitude that I feel toward the Universe ..

.. for delivering me from the authority of darkness, and transferring me to a much better place. The genuine sense of gratitude that I feel.

Scripture teaches, doncha know, that the believer has already been delivered from the authority of darkness .. from the power of darkness. The rule of darkness.

Scripture also teaches that the believer is to 'give thanks' for this deliverance. For rescuing me out of that place where I felt rejected and even despised at times. For getting me out of a bad situation.

So I was doing what the scripture instructs the believer to do. To the best of my ability.

In the end, this is what it comes down to. At the end of the day. When all is said-n-done. When the cows come home.

Does your life resonate with the teachings of the scriptures? Does it reflect the principles contained there?

This deliverance ties in with what I was writing last fall on the topic of » Soul Capture (1 Oct 2020).

Soul Capture is not an easy topic to discuss .. for a number of reasons. I think that I was actually flirtling more with Elena ..

.. than I was addressing the topic of soul capture .. of soul liberation. Of the thing that scripture calls the "saving of the soul."

The preserving of the soul. The safekeeping.

The saving of the soul is a process. A life-long process. Which can get ugly, at times. Probably more times than you would care for.

That is really the deal right there .. the saving of the soul. This is a challenging thing, a difficult thing. Not far from impossible, in my humble opinion. Not far at all.

After the property manager let me into my penthouse suite here with the commanding views of the skyline, he placed the keys in my hand and left.

It was not the most ceremonious thing I have ever done, but I was suddenly feeling like a new man. Like it was a new day. Suen LEE knows what I'm talkin' 'bout.

I still hadnt moved my stuff in, but I had the keys in hand. I have paperwork in hand that says this place in mine.

I think it's a year lease, but I am not really sure because at this point .. I was just signing shit fast as Federico could slide those papers across the table to me .. both of us wearing our circa 2021 Covid face masks.

While pointing to different parts on the page, he would say stuff like, "Initial, initial, print, date, sign."

I would watch and repeat what he did -n- said to verify that I was was indeed doing it right(ously). I would say, "Initial, initial, print, date, sign."

He would nod his head and say, "Right."

This went on, dear reader, for quite some time .. despite my best efforts to expedite the process.

"Why was I in such a big hurry to finish the signing party?" you ask? Wouldnt you like to know? (You wouldnt believe it, anyway.)

You can bet your ass I was well-medicated that morning, my friend. If I had it, I took it.

Except for the benzos, the Ativan. I did not take (need) any of that. Ever since I started taking Welbutrin (150, lowest dose) I have not even felt a desire for the Ativan.

My favorite time is about an hour after I take the Welbutrin (AM, morning, with food). This is where I can feel it kicking in. It is time-realsed here-n-there. "Don't chew," says the bottle.

That is some nice sweetness right about here. My meds guy suggested the Welbutrin because I was already max'ed out on the Zoloft (200) and I was still not feeling like a happy camper.

A few months after I started on the Welbutrin, I told my meds guy, "You know, I dont even need these Benzos anymore. I still have about 12 or 13 that I havent took. We can go ahead and cancel that script."

They do not like you taking the benzos. Because coming off of them can be nasty as fuck. (Ask Jordan Petersen.)

He would only give me five pills a month .. which I would take "as needed."

But when you are in the middle of a panic attack, or experiencing a severe bout of anxiety, and you can see no way out of your existential predicament .. and you would be willing to pay anything to be able to get your shit back together .. nothing works like a benzo.

It is just so remarkable how life life can go from intense soul-fucking torment so badly that you literally cannot even breathe .. to blue skies and sunshine. In mere minutes.

"Oh, maybe I'm not having a heart attack after all. Eat your heart out, Kevin Smith."

I also have some edibles, but I am not in a celebratory mood just yet. I still have to move my shit into the penthouse suite, and I have been beyond exhausted for three or four days now.

But I have climbed to top of Everest before, dragging along a number of people with me. People who want to see me fail in my attempt to summit new peaks.

I don't understand why they want me to fail so badly .. to die on the mountain, so to speak.

A French proverb says that "A man can go a long ways after he is tired." True that.

I admit that I was floating along nicely, on my way to new environs. To new pastures. To places more suited to me and my needs and my interests and my desires. To something that would be a better fit for me.

Speaking of things that fit me better than things that don't fit me at all ..

.. remind me to tell you about the time I said to myself (while I was a party on a Saturday nite with cousin Karen, taking to this person and that) .. I said, "I like this place. I like this town. I like these people. And they love me, too. I like the vibe here .. the laid-back vibe. I like the healthy lifestyle. I like this place. It feels like a natural fit for me."

I didnt even care what the terms of the lease were .. because I only really care about the keys. Because the keys get me the things that I really want.

"What kind of things?" you ask? (I might need some encouragement in order to proceed down this path.)

"Jingle, jingle" went the keys in my hand. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

Standing there in that empty place, I was unconsciously weighing the keys in my hand, tossing them up-n-down ever so slightly .. thinking about what I had just accomplished.

Here is where I felt like I had the authority of the universe in the palm of my hand.

I thought, "Yesterday I was blessed in the country. Today I am blessed in the city. Here I will be blessed both coming in and going out. Every thing I set my hand to do here will prosper."

After the property manager left (on April 1st) I slowly ran the tips of the fingers along the entire length of the walls. And I said a prayer. A little thank-you prayer.

I gave thanks to the Living God .. for getting me out of that bad situation.

With the words of my mouth, I gave thanks to the Living God for getting me out of, and for rescuing me from, that tight spot that I was in right after the Judge died .. when I instantly became persona non grata extraordinaire.

This theme continues in an entry titled » The Darkness Didnt Get It (19 June 2021).

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