This oil painting entitled,
"Dances with Wolves," was done by David Reeves-Payne, who currently lives and
paints in North Devon, England. I like it, both for itself and for the concepts
it symbolizes. As for the music, what you see and what you hear depends entirely upon who you are .... really are .... really are ....
Whatever will be, will be, will be ....
The future is not ours, to see ....
The future is not ours, to see ....
I
always have considered myself to be a generalist -- which is to say, I never
have wanted to be or thought of myself as a specialist at anything. I have a
"smattering" of knowledge in many areas, but a great deal of knowledge at
nothing. Sort of like the old cliché: "Jack
of all trades, master of none." That is one point.
Incidentally,
the "Jack of all trades" idiom evidently originated in a 1592 booklet in which
the writer, Robert Greene, referred to none other than William Shakespeare in
that manner. Shakespeare was a struggling actor in the process of becoming a
struggling playwright. It is said to be
the first known written mention of the bard.
Back
on track: Another point is that the older I grow, the more I realize the
vastness of my ignorance about the world in which I live and the absolute
impossibility to know the future or even to anticipate it in a logical manner.
Random chance and mentally unbalanced people play too great a role in the
scenarios of life and living.
Drifting
a bit now: A Seventeenth Century Jesuit priest named Athanasius Kircher is
claimed by some as the last man (or, should I say, the last individual) to know
everything in the spheres magic, arcana and dogma. Kircher had the intellectual
capacity and the organizing genius to prospect a route through knowledge and
its accumulation, to its expression and distribution.
There
are, of course, others in competition for the title of "the last" to know
everything. Thomas Young, a British polymath and physician, who was walking the
Earth for a few decades before and after 1800 also is said to be "the last" who
knew everything.
My
vote for the distinction of "the last" to know everything probably would go to Aristotle
-- the "Old Greek" philosopher and scientist; the student of Plato; the teacher
of Alexander the Great; the writer on a myriad of subjects. Think about it for
a while.
By
the way, when I write "the last to know everything," I am not considering he/she/it
to be someone with a computer-like mind and insatiable memory banks which can
record everything ad infinitum. I am thinking of it as an individual not only
with vast knowledge, but as someone like Kircher who has the ability to know where to look for data and, once
found, how to understand it and to explain it.
Once
again, back on track: I always have said that should time travel suddenly be
available, my curiosity would utilize it to go back in time to witness past
events so I would know with absolute certainty what happened at a given moment
at a given location.
Now,
however, I am beginning to believe I have been wrong in that regard and my
thoughts are shifting forward to the future. I am becoming increasingly
frustrated knowing the future will come and go and I will not be here to
witness it beyond a certain point in time.
Learning
the past is an imprecise study; learning the future is an impossible study.
8 comments:
Goodmorning Fram!Fascinating post!
Today I am excited about your music choice and what it tells about us??
I think music is a "feeling thing"
One day we like rock the other classical and then the blues and then country and yes it tells about our moods,,but not necessarly who we are?
I like the first and the last..the number two is classical and I love the genre too ..But not all of it are my fav.
The first because it suits my mood.Today...The last because I just have wached Christian Bale in Hostiles..and it reminds me of our Sami people.. singer Mari Boine..https://youtu.be/p6IyVzmetPg
The painting is very beautiful.Love it Fram!
Wish a a very nice weekend!
The more we are able to observe other individuals, the more we are able to learn about them and their likes and their dislikes. Music is one way to quickly determine if we are similar or opposite in nature. I do think opposites attract, but I also think long-term relationships usually are best formed on similarities.
I think of the relationship between music and moods as sort of a two-way street. On the one hand, an individual's mood can set the type of music he will seek to listen to; on the other hand, what type of music the individual encounters will influence his mood.
In the first instance, if I were driving to a party, I would choose to listen to classic rock music on the way. If I were driving to a philharmonic concert, I would be listening to Bach or to Beethoven.
In the second instance, if I walked into a saloon and the music was loud and boisterous, I would head for the dance floor. If I walked into a saloon and the music was soft and mellow, I would go to the bar.
I also think music tastes generally are learned from our environments and through our connections. I grew up in a household where all forms of music were present, ranging from polkas to operas, due to the varying tastes of the people who lived there. From these forms, I arrived at a few favorites of my own .... and, among those, there are both some songs I can listen to over and over and some songs I do not care to listen to at all.
It seems to me that the music among many, if not most, indigenous groups is very similar. I am sure it originated along the same lines = hitting sticks and rocks together, imitating the sounds of birds and animals, creating horns and flutes. I did listen to the link you gave me, and to two other Mari Boine songs. I like her music.
Yes, the painting is beautiful. To me, it also implies magic and mysticism.
Yes, I think it will be a nice weekend. I hope your weekend will be peaceful and pleasant, Anita. Thank you, for being here today .... you are a very special lady ....
Lovely painting. It tells of joy and freedom, from coexistence with nature.
I agree with you about knowledge.
Something superficial I know.
Information must be sought elsewhere, it is not self.
It is still the question of which information is acquired, whether it is always true.
Really interesting message. It raises a lot of thoughts. I apologize when I am weak to write.
Musical taste of different ages varies.
It is natural, tied to the situation of life.
First video, I enjoy relaxation with the audience and performers.
I like the calmness and melody of music.
In the second, the mood of intense work. It's a transport to orbit.
Exciting.
In the third music, the atmosphere is much like Sámi music.
They have mystery, magic and purity.
https://youtu.be/Or-5T2ilMOI
I have heard it said that only in Nature is humankind able to renew the spirit, and I very much believe that is true. I know it is for me. Yes, Liplatus, joy and freedom from coexistence with Nature is clearly evident in the painting.
Sorting out truth from lie, fact from fiction, reality from fantasy often is difficult and sometimes is impossible. That, I think, is where our intuition and the lessons we have learned from living life play an important role. Beyond them, all that remains is instinct. I always attempt to look before I leap, but sometimes it is not always possible. There are times when all we have to rely upon are innate instincts.
I could see two aspects to your thought: "Musical taste of different ages varies. It is natural, tied to the situation of life." The musical constant throughout my life has been variations of rock 'n' roll, but my interests and tastes have expanded beyond them as time goes on and I grow older. In terms of musical differences between generations, I can understand them, too, and I think much of the reason for that is because music is as much of a social experience as it is a personal experience.
I think the first video is an example of a mostly social experience, while the second illustrates mostly a personal experience. The third lies deeply in the far/far/far distant past to the roots of us all.
Another variation could be the differences in music throughout the ages. I suppose I see that in an evolutionary sense. Much of the music from the times of the Egyptian pharaohs or the Roman Caesars or other eras can be enjoyed yet today, but, again, evolution is in play as means and methods of performing music change. Social mores change, too, which means what goes today probably would not have in past times.
I did watch the song you left for me. It was very hypnotic and drew me into it. It brought back memories of canoe treks, especially on Lake Superior, where often, when weather permitted, the line of travel would be from one point of land to another. Absolutely fantastic experiences is a mellow way of describing those canoe excursions.
The first dancer to appear, who also was the last dancer visible, seemed to be the leader of the group. I took her to be a young lady and tried to see her face behind the darkness .... but .... I could not see her face and could only imagine it. Poor Fram .... always a romantic ....
I am glad you came here and wrote here, Liplatus. Thank you. I think you see our existence and, perhaps, question it in ways many people do not. I very much appreciate your presence and I greatly value your thoughts ....
Boa noite Fram!
Que bela imagem. Demostra um ar de liberdade... Lembrei-me do filme a dança com lobos ao ver essa imagem. Tudo que vem da natureza é perfeito. Eu gosto dessa ligação do homem com a natureza, principalmente homem e lobo.. Ao contrário do que se pensam, os lobos são um exemplo de inteligência, dignidade e respeito para com os seus iguais. Além disso, os lobos deram ao ser humano o seu melhor amigo, o cão. Ao invés de exterminá-los, deve-se aprender com eles – aliás, muitas pessoas já se deram conta disso. Os lobos não falam nem escrevem, mas se comunicam de diversas maneiras tão eficazes quanto à fala. Eles usam a linguagem corporal, e uma enorme variedade de uivos e sons. Certa vez eu lia que os índios que convivem com os lobos nas reservas e os cientistas que estudam o comportamento dos lobos deitam-se de barriga para cima ao deparar-se com eles – ficando numa posição submissa e demonstrando respeito ao canídeo, têm certeza de que ele não lhes fará mal algum. Eu realmente não teria coragem de me arriscar dessa forma, mas tenho respeito por eles, pela forma que age na natureza como se comunica nos bandos.
Fram sua postagem é bem curiosa, me fez pensar e refletir em muitos de meus pensamentos. Sei que nada sei, mas sei que tento saber algumas das coisas que movem o mundo conforme segue a vida, esse é profano e profundo, e sei que tenho que ir até o fundo para no fundo tentar encontrar o que preciso saber os porquês, os que, os para quês, e um dia quem sabe, eu encontre finalmente, eu sei, disso, daquilo. Acho que essa resposta eu nunca vou ter. Mas não me preocupo em ser especialista em alguma coisa. Tão pouco o que o futuro me espera. São respostas impossíveis de obter.
Gostei das músicas. Cada tipo de música nos fala de uma maneira especial. Se não existissem as músicas, o mundo seria muito triste, um pouco vago. Tem muitas músicas que é meu para-raios. Às vezes quando ouço eu gostaria que não terminasse nunca! Ela tem o poder de me transportar pra onde sentir vontade de ir. Cada dia tem estilo que as vezes ouço.
HOJE EU OUVI BASTANTE ESSA MÚSICA AQUI, QUE GOSTO MUITO.DEPENDE MUITO DO MEU DIA
Boa semana Fram!
Um punhado de sorrisos pra você.
I am pleased beyond expression to discover you here, Smareis, and to find your words here. I have visited your blog and your new post, but it might be my tomorrow before I return to write a comment there. We shall see how my evening progresses ....
I agree with you: "Everything that comes from nature is perfect." I have a great deal of respect for all wildlife, especially wolves, and I do not fear them. I have encountered them twice in the woodlands and written about those experiences in earlier posts.
The first time happened when I still hunted and my quarry that day was black bear. I was in what I describe as my "hunting trance" -- sort of a half-sleep with all senses acutely aware -- when I heard something walking a nearby trail. I hoped it might be a bear. I saw two feet pass an opening in the brush, then two more, and then a wolf appeared in a clearing. Absurd as it might sound, we exchanged thoughts. I watched him until he moved along down the trail. He knew I would not shoot him because I was hunting bear.
The second time took place while I was hiking atop an embankment with a Lake Superior beach about a dozen feet below me. A wolf was walking along the beach. I stood still and watched him. I sensed something watching me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw another wolf standing only a few feet away. We looked at each other a few moments, exchanged thoughts and then he walked on by me. He came so close I could have reached out and touched him, but I did not.
There are two types of knowledge, I believe: Knowledge of oneself and knowledge of the exterior world. I suppose I could be wrong, but I think you know yourself extremely well. I continue to be struggling in that regard, knowing myself, I mean, but I hope I will come to some satisfactory conclusions before my time runs out.
I know even less in terms of knowledge of the exterior world. There is no human capable of possessing complete knowledge in that sense. This is an age of specialization, and specialists must consult with each other to solve problems here and to make progress there. That is why turmoil exists to the degree it does in the world today, I believe. Too many factions, too many fanatics, to reach real solutions about anything. When I was a college boy, I would argue that the "benevolent dictator" was the best form of government. I probably should not admit it, but I still believe that to a degree. The only problem is that such a person almost certainly never has existed, does not now exist and never will exist .... hmmmm .... so much for that idea ....
I am glad you liked the music, Smareis. I like it, too. I think music might be the most powerful force in the world in terms of emotions. Music certainly has the power to dictate my moods and, sometimes, to control my actions.
I might add more to these remarks later, but, right now, to borrow words from John Keats, my "teeming brain" is drained and needs to wind down a bit and to rebuild its energy.
Thank you, Smareis, for coming and for writing a comment. You are heaven-sent .... no doubt about it ....
Same here. I content myself with general knowledge, no matter how superficial it can be sometimes. It helps in social situations, including awkward ones. :-) I can go from talking about boxing to discussing the latest exhibition at Tate in a matter of seconds. :-)
Greetings from London.
I could/would argue for a long, long time that is the best way to be, CiL, however, it usually means real wealth will never come to you .... unless you happen to marry it. Trying to be funny with those last few words.
There have been people who have told me, for one reason or another, they did not believe I had been in the Marine Corps. There are some preconceived notions about what type of individuals are in the Corps. There have been other people who do not think I have been a journalist because I want to hear all sides of a particular story, rather than simply "go with the flow." My position is the more places you have been and the more things you have done, the better equipped you are to discuss many topics.
Thank you, CiL, for your presence and your comment. Again, I think it is a shame you had your bicycle stolen. I once had a 35mm camera stolen from my car, and I still am angry and frustrated by it.
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