Friday, September 25, 2020

In the mood .... for a bit of dialectic thought?

This is the view looking toward the southwest from the Dakota house. This particular photograph was taken about ten minutes after sunset on March 13, 2015. The shutter clicked at 7:44 p.m. It is a moment in time never to have been seen in the identical, precise manner before or since. Every breath we take is just as unique, every sight we see is an instant never to be duplicated in exactness. My point to this is to never take anything or anyone or any moment for granted. Back to the photograph .... the body of water is Lewis & Clark Lake, a 26-mile long reservoir created by dams on the Missouri River. The distant land beyond the lake center left is Nebraska.

Never the spirit was born;

the spirit shall cease to be never;

Never was time it was not;

End and Beginning are dreams!

Those lines are some from the "Bhagavad Gita," a collection of Hindu verses which form a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Vishnu, the Supreme God, incarnated as Krishna, disguised as a charioteer.

Never was time it was not

Part 1 ....

This easily could be two posts; probably even should be. But, I seem to be in a hurry these days without rhyme or reason or a goal or even a destination. It puzzles me why this is, but, because it is, I am doing this in a single post.

I once wrote a short story about a "mad scientist" who found a way to "see" to the end of the universe and a bit beyond it. He learned by eavesdropping within the beyond that the universe is nothing more than a test tube, a petri dish in a laboratory. He also learned that if he shattered the dish -- which he has the ability to do -- the universe would end with it. Liberating a bit from "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells, this scientist gathered some friends for a dinner to tell them about his discovery and to ask for their advice.

The dinner goes on and the discussion ensues. Skipping over the elements of the discussion and going straight to the tale's end, the scientist has not yet come to a decision: Will he or will he not destroy the dish, which also means destruction of the universe and everything in it? Or, will he end his own life, which, in effect, make the necessity for a decision more or less a moot point for him personally and leaves it to become a dilemma for his friends to ponder?

The story still rests with that question and has no actual ending.

Part 2 ....

I usually look over the entire page of those I encounter on the sea of blogs. I have no idea how many look over my page, but, if they do, they will notice a quote by Will Durant: "The most interesting thing in the world is another human being who wonders, suffers and raises the questions that have bothered him to the last day of his life, knowing he will never get the answers."

Durant was a historian, philosopher, teacher and prolific writer, among other things. He and his wife, Ariel, compiled a number of books during their lifetimes, including the comprehensive 11-volume, "Story of Civilization." The series was written over a span of more than five decades. It totals four million words across nearly 10,000 pages, with two further books in production at the time of the authors' deaths within two weeks of each other in 1981.

Durant, who studied to be a priest for a while, once said words to the effect that he could not find the answers to all his questions through either religion or philosophy, so he turned to the study of history. There, he claimed, he found most answers.

Part 3 ....

Here we have the dialectic thought: Part 1 is the thesis; Part 2 the antithesis; Part 3 the synthesis. Part 3 is yet to be written. In all likelihood, it never will be written and will be left dangling in a state of oblivion as so many aspects of life are left ....

While you are waiting for a synthesis which might never be written, try to watch a few sunrises and sunsets while allowing your mind to drift. You might not find answers to your own questions, but you will experience many memorable, never-to-be repeated moments and, if you are lucky, find peace of mind and the patience to wait and (maybe) to see ....





11 comments:

Anita said...

Hello Fram.Amazing music today!!Ilove that last opera.where do you find thatmusic??So calming.Also love the new version of Led Zeppeling song whole lotta of love,She has a great ,strong voice.

I have to reread your post again later I did not understand it well today.First I thought it was Lawrence Durrell(My fav) but I see it is not.

I see your blogging post are superb

Very nice photo from 2015.

See you later !

Fram Actual said...

Dakota and life and living there have been on my mind a great deal recently, Anita, and I have been looking at slides and photographs taken there. My current neighborhood and "big city living" offer many things, but due to towering trees I cannot step outside the door and have a view of either sunrises or sunsets .... or, for that matter, pop off a few rounds with a firearm.

This place is a mecca for concerts and a vast array of other activities, and having many trees is idyllic, but I miss woodlands and water a great deal and being able to watch the sky -- especially seeing things like clouds and gathering storms –- always has been key to my existence. To make a long story short, I have been thinking I am overdue for another change of scenery.

I do try to attend an opera performance each year. My mother had season tickets to a few things, such as the Minnesota Opera, which is an offshoot of the Walker Art Center, and the Minnesota Orchestra. I do not get that carried away, but I try for a balance. Speaking of which, think dialectics in terms of these two pieces of music: There are two pieces of music opposing in style .... think of one as the thesis and the other as the antithesis .... it does not matter which is which .... then find a synthesis, if you are able ....

I pretty much think of myself as a synthesis ....

No Lawrence Durrell today, but his books do keep drifting through my mind ....

Thank you, Anita, for coming and for writing a comment. I enjoy your company, Norsk jente, and hope you always will be near ....

Kelly said...

Lots to think about in your post today, Fram. (especially that short story) Lots of lovely offerings, too. The sunset is gorgeous, as is that second musical clip.

I'm one who usually looks over an entire blog the first time or two I visit. If it's on blogger, I often click "view my complete profile", as well. While I do have a few tabs for additional pages on my main blog, both of my blogs are fairly minimal. I'm not sure that's truly reflective of my life.

Fram Actual said...

If I had a theme song, it probably would be, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" ....

The musical selections were chosen for two reasons, Kelly. One was because there is a sharp, undeniable disparity between a 20th Century hard rock song and a 17th Century Renaissance love poem set to music. Through them exists a thesis and an antithesis. I am not certain it would be possible to resolve the two with a synthesis, although I suspect many would put something together and pronounce it as such.

The short story was written when I was 22 or 23. I no longer recall if the concept were original or "liberated." I do believe the words of the individual who wrote Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun, so I will concede to most likely "borrowing" it.

Two clichés which are absolutely on the mark are, "I guess I never really knew him," and, "I did not believe I was capable of doing something like that," or words to those effects. There are elements within me which are capable of doing both bad and good, but to what degree I probably never will know.

What I am saying is that I think most of us have three personas: The one we display in public; the one we keep in private to ourselves; the one which is hidden deeply within us and is not known even to ourselves under ordinary circumstances.

What I am saying with that is that I think none of us ever gets to know another fully/completely/intimately because we never even are able to get know ourselves.

Thank you, Arkansas Kelly, for putting in an appearance and for writing a comment for me. I think in life you must be a combination of the "salt of the earth" and the "queen of the Nile" and Marie Curie .... hmmmm ....

Liplatus said...

Gorgeous symbolic photo.
Sunset is like life, it descends slowly behind the horizon.
Choice of music is a strong contrast, a difference.
Lightness and pregnancy can go together. We are like onions with layers. In different situations, something new may hatch.
Every moment is unique in quality, it doesn’t come back.

Happy weekend!

Fram Actual said...

Thank you, for the complimentary words, Liplatus ....

All we experience and see is mimicry. Our lives are an imitation of the sun, rising at some point and traversing the heavens, just as we rise and begin our daily activities. What the sun then encounters and what we do day in and day out might often seem to be duplication, but no two moments ever can be the same. In its journey, the sun passes over distances and has varying experiences. As our day passes, we often encounter differing things as we move along -- some good, some not so good. At some point, the sun sets and our day ends. At some point, we die and at some far/far/far distant time, the sun, too, will die.

The vast difference in the two songs is by design to illustrate a dialectic example. In practice, a synthesis of the two should emerge, but I doubt this could be done to more-or-less a "universal" agreement. Of these two songs, some people like one type or the other; in this case, I enjoy both styles.

Among my favorite songs is, "Once Upon a Time," in which the final line is: "Once upon a time never comes again." So true, and I keep reminding myself of that and, in another sense, of the reality that there is nothing new under the sun ....

I have a tendency to over-think and to over-write things, it seems ....

Thank you, once more, Liplatus, for coming to visit me and for writing a comment for me. I very much appreciate your presence. Take care, stay safe, be happy and do not allow Michigan to fade from your thoughts ....

Anita said...

Du er meget filosofisk for tiden hih hih
Men det er bra og du har mye rett i det du skriver.Jeg håper du /dere vil bygge ett nytt lite hus i Dakota i nærheten til din sønn.Livet er for kort til å bare drømme.Jeg syns du må gjøre dette ønsket ditt.Jeg blir glad da.Det er så fint å lese bloggen din.Håper alt er bra med dine barn,din familie og deg selv.Pss.Har du ingen søsken?
Ha det fint da 😊

Anita said...

Once upon a time er fantastisk!

Kelly said...

Hello Fram the Fortunate :)
To behold such a moment in time as the stunning sunset you have posted must have been truly magical... I can imagine how good it felt to be a part of the universe in that colorful and peaceful moment. Your voice is stellar in your post today, truly beautiful.
I think the state of bewitchment can be extremely bothersome and bewildering! I had to smile at the emotions portrayed in your comment above. Hence, I understand the Nymph's Lament. What a gorgeous piece! I would love to see that performed live in an opera. The translation is beautiful. One translation, "And so it is that in the heart of every lover
Burns, side-by-side, love’s flame and ice." Very true, very bewildering, and the love dance is always bewitching. Monteverdi's passionate music is beautiful. Whole Lotta Love, a rambunctious rock and roll classic! This post is very Framish :) The multiple sides of Fram...the puzzle of Fram that I very much enjoy. :)
In your last post, you left some very nice comments. I did not comment back because I know you like to be the last (smiling) but I am happy Fram the younger is following after her father and I appreciate the Idaho and Tennessee comments for my travels. Our paths in many steps are in sync only we have experienced them in different plains of time. Wislawa Szymborska's beautiful and wise words, "Time retains its sacred right to meddle in each earthly affair." How true...time retains...
As an aside, I do read all parts of blogs, headliner to the bottom. I find, as I do in your blog and many others, some of the best quotes, thoughts, poetry, and wisdom are contained in the side and bottom columns. Readers are missing out on so much of the essence of a person by not reading top to bottom. I feel bloggers often show themselves in those bits and pieces...a glimpse into the psyche of the writer.
I send you a hug and a kiss over the moon :)
Stay well, safe and inquisitive...stay you :)
Kelly, a thoughtful and kind woman of substance, definitely NOT a Femme Fatal :)

Fram Actual said...

It is my nature to be philosophical .... no escape from that for me, Anita.

My son and I periodically talk about me "setting up camp" on one of the Dakota lots, so there is a possibility it will happen at some point in time. The main question is how well we would get along living so close to each other. Neither one of us is sure about that ....

Yes, all is well and fine with me and for me, and the same is true of my delinquents. I hope the same is true for you and for those you love. And no, I have no siblings. How could an individual become so spoiled as I am if he were not an only child?

History can repeat itself, but only in a generic sense and not in an exact manner. It perhaps is best that "once upon a time" can only occur once.

Thank you, for your return visit and your return comments, Anita of Bergen. Take care and be safe and give Pelle a treat for me ....

Fram Actual said...

I lived in a country house on the plains near one city and in four country houses near another city during my South Dakota years, Kelly. The house on the plains, in particular, provided spectacular sunrises and sunsets frequently, plus bonus views of magnificent storms with marvelous clouds. I took many photographs there and learned what a real blizzard is compared to a snowstorm. Snow mixed with dirt driven by incredible winds will pack snow so hard it literally has to be chopped out.

As a side note, at the plains house the nearest neighbor as about a half-mile away and raised Belgian horses, which are huge animals whose weight averages about 2,000 pounds. Early one morning, we were awakened by a roaring sound and the house literally shaking. (You know where this is going, right?) My first thought was an earthquake, but a look out the window revealed a large herd of the horses which had escaped the neighbor's coral and were galloping by and around the house. I helped with the roundup ....

One thing operas have in common with any musical event is that the quality of the production varies with the caliber of the performers. My "informal" step-father had lived on Long Island in New York for a few years, and was acquainted through attendance with both operas and Broadway shows. He was my advisor from time-to-time on which show would be good and which not so good. Now, my technique is to ask others for opinions and advice and, as a last resort, to flip a coin.

I never have seen the "Lament of the Nymph" live, but watched several performances on video and there are some I would like to see live, while others do not interest me at all. The same is true with good old rock 'n' roll. I have seen the Rolling Stones a few times and Bobby Dylan several times, but would have to be paid to attend a concert by Rod Stewart or Kid Rock -- and, there are some whose concerts I could not be paid enough to attend.

"Whole Lotta Love" is present for a couple of reasons. One is that I think it is both a bit strange and more than a little interesting to hear it sung by a woman with the lyrics pretty much intact. The guitar guy, I think, could hold his own with just about any guitarist anywhere. Daria Zaritskaya and Sergey Sershen are from Kiev, incidentally.

Yes, Ms. Fram the Younger has a few of my traits and characteristics. She is an avid kayaker, including ocean excursions. She reads extensively and really could qualify as a "gun nut." Unlike her father, she plays the violin and is an accomplished painter .... and, she is a devout Christian .... for which, in a way, I am glad.

I like to give the last comment not because I want the last word, but because I think it is polite to respond to anyone who takes the time to write a comment for me. Fram the Fortunate also is Fram the Gentleman and a couple of other "Framsonas" ....

It is not unusual to read that an individual who often portrayed a villain in films was one of the nicest people imaginable, or the other way around. I think among those you actually know, observing them closely and their noting their actions among others generally "tells the story."

Kelly mentions in relation to Idaho and Tennessee: "Our paths in many steps are in sync only we have experienced them in different plains of time."

Fram replies: I also have "drifted though" places like Haifa and Paris since our initial blog encounter, and probably a few other locations where you have been. I have mentioned them not by name, but subtly, in posts. And, I still have a few more places to drift through before I "cash in my proverbial chips."

I will have to think about you before I describe my thoughts about you, Mermaid .... in the meanwhile, take care, be safe, be happy and always stay as you are now -- young and beautiful .... later ....

Something special ....