I Do Not Sleep

or Happy Halloween (Happy Samhain)

I Do Not  Sleep

Samhain (pronounced /ˈsɑːwɪn/ SAH-win or /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/ SOW-in) is a Gaelic festival celebrated from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November. It comes at the end of the harvest season about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.

It the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend

and a place set at the table for them.

Thiller

Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep is a poem written in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Frye. The identity of the author of the poem was unknown until the late 1990s, when Frye revealed that she had written it. Although the origin of the poem was disputed until later in her life. Her claim was confirmed in 1998 after research by Abigail Van Buren.

Mary Elizabeth Frye (November 13, 1905 – September 15, 2004) was a Baltimore housewife and florist, best known as the author of the poem Do not stand at my grave and weep, written in 1932. She was orphaned at the age of three and moved to Baltimore when she was twelve. She was an avid reader with a remarkable memory. In 1927 she married Claud Frye, who ran a clothing business, while she grew and sold flowers. The poem for which she became famous was originally composed on a brown paper shopping bag. Because people liked her twelve-line, untitled verse, she made many copies and circulated them privately. She never published or copyrighted the poem. (Wikipedia)

The "definitive version" from Frye's obituary, November 5, 2004 as published by  The Times and The Sunday Time,

Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush...

I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Happy Halloween

Enjoy

© 2013 MU-Peter Shimon

The Gift

or To whom does it belong?

The Gift To whom does it belong?

There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. His reputation, extended far and wide throughout the land and many students gathered to study under him.

One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the great master.

Along with his strength, he had an uncanny ability to spot  and exploit any weakness in an opponent.  He would wait for his opponent to make the first move, thus revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force and lightning speed.  No one had ever lasted with him in a match beyond the first move.

Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly accepted the young warrior's challenge. As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit in his face. For hours he verbally assaulted him with every curse and insult known to mankind.

But the old warrior merely stood there motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself. Knowing he was defeated, he left feeling shamed.

Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students gathered around the old master and questioned him. "How could you endure such an indignity How did you drive him away?"

"If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it," the master replied, "to whom does the gift belong?"

Enjoy

© 2013 MU-Peter Shimon

Natural Values

or For What It's Worth

Natural Values For What It's Worth It is the greatest truth of our age: Information is not knowledge. Caleb Carr

"The means by which we live have out distanced the ends for which we live.

Our scientific power has out run our spiritual power.

We have guided missiles and misguided men."

Martin Luther King Jr

Will The Rigid Model Of Our Success Be The Cause Of Our Own Extinction? or Will We Find A Metaphysical Solution? Has Our Technology Over Run Our Wisdom? Since that old campfire over one million years ago (see Hominid Innovation), fire has made a good metaphor for our gift of intellect... illuminated or enlightened, we have learned a lot about a lot of things. A great many answers to "What?" Have we always been wise about only focusing on what? Then what about who, when, where, why and how we use our knowledge? A blade or a laser can be used as either a weapon or a healing tool. Easily sequenced DNA can help cure disease or it can lead to GATTACA. Ultimately it seems it is the wisdom of the wielder who decides, not the technology that determines how or why it is used. But apparently we are technologically inclined by nature. The latest research indicates we developed our digital dexterity before bipedalism. The research information for this comes from examining primate brain development. Dexterity not only demands motor skills, but a degree of intellect as well if used for technology. Our survival depends upon it. We value it a great deal. And speaking of value, perhaps if we pay a little more attention to our natural values, they can guide our nature more wisely. The sticking point, is wisdom. And... wisdom isn't the same thing as knowledge. You won't get it from a teacher, or cleric. No doctrine, dogma, media, internet or book can give it to you. It is a self-realization. No authority but yourself can help you with this. Today, many, many millennia since the days when our lineage gained fire, where is the wisdom in those that bear the name sapiens? Once our ancestors gained the knowledge of the use of fire, a technology that gave us a tremendous advantage, we continued to successfully hunt, to herd and we learned to farm. The abundance of farming gave rise to settlement, instead of movement and city-states became a center for exchanging wealth and knowledge. We learned to do things differently, efficiently. Eventually, very efficiently. Even killing each other, and every thing else on this planet. Our abundance of information now makes civilization and everything else possible. But have we used this headlong rush into information wisely? Is new or more, always better? And if you can do something, does that always mean you should do it? Is there no time for consciousness anymore? How often now do we reflect on what is best? Or even reflect on our definition of best? The answer to that will not always be economic.

Value in Use vs Value in Exchange In "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", Adam Smith notes the differences in the concepts of value in use and value in exchange: "What are the rules which men naturally observe in exchanging them [goods] for money or for one another, I shall now proceed to examine. These rules determine what may be called the relative or exchangeable value of goods. The word VALUE, it is to be observed, has two different meanings, and sometimes expresses the utility of some particular object, and sometimes the power of purchasing other goods which the possession of that object conveys. The one may be called "value in use;" the other, "value in exchange." The things which have the greatest value in use have frequently little or no value in exchange; on the contrary, those which have the greatest value in exchange have frequently little or no value in use. Nothing is more useful than water: but it will purchase scarce anything; scarce anything can be had in exchange for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarce any use-value; but a very great quantity of other goods may frequently be had in exchange for it." That was the paradox he presented. "The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it." Thus Smith disconnects the relationship between price and utility. In his view, price was a matter related to production and not the consumer. The labor theory of value took this as the resolution of the paradox of the diamonds and water. The labor theory of value however has since fallen by the way side in favor of the theory of marginal utility. We'll see if this really is a better measure of value, that is, if there is any virtue in it. Or if it too, will eventually prove to be of marginal utility itself. Perhaps a mix of labor and marginal utility is more in order. Another paradox appears...  There is one thing that increases with use... The use of wisdom does not diminish it. It can only ever add value.

Markets Must Have Moral Values Adam Smith said so himself in his first book, the frame for the second on capitalism. In order to decide what money should and should not be able to buy, we have to decide what values should govern various aspects of social and civic life. A market, "agora", is an assembly of people. Markets have a place but it's not necessarily in hospitals, daycare centers, schools, or families. In a society where everything is for sale, money can be used for political influence, superior medical care, safe neighborhoods, access to elite schools, and even the right to cut in line. Making certain things in life a commodity can corrupt those things themselves. Markets are not value-free. They are not some frigging invisible hand. They are people. On the contrary to the machine model, they don’t just allocate and consume goods, they express, promote and imbue them with certain human values... with every intercourse, with every exchange. Money is a secondary movitator, food is a primary one. Wisdom will tell you, you can't eat money. Perhaps it is the values that bear greater scrutiny. Not societal values, not market values, yours... Own them!

Value is not based upon cost but that costs are paid because of value.

Nothing But Flowers Talking Heads

Enjoy

© 2013 MU-Peter Shimon

The Arrogance of Authority

or "See this badge?!"

The Arrogance of Authority Any acceptance of authority is the very denial of truth. Krishnamurti

No Man Has Any Natural Authority Over His Fellow Men

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas, and talked with an old rancher. He told the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs." The rancher said, "Okay, but don't go in that field over there.....", as he pointed out a distant location.

Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence:

he is just using his memory.

Leonardo da Vinci

The DEA officer verbally exploded, saying, "Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me!" Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher. "See this badge?! This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish.... on ANY land!! No questions asked or answers given!! Have I made myself clear...... do you understand???"

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of the truth.

Albert Einstein

The rancher nodded politely, apologized, and went about his chores.

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led,

and bearding every authority which stood in their way.

Thomas Jefferson

A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams, looked up and saw the DEA officer running for his life, being chased by the rancher's enormous Santa Gertrudis bull......

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.

Kenneth Blanchard

With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that the officer would be gruesomely gored before he reached safety. The man was clearly terrified.

My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility.

Dalai Lama

The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs.....

Ultimate authority resides with the people.

James Madison

"Your badge........ show him your BADGE!!"

Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence. Leonardo da Vinci It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority. Benjamin Franklin

"The trouble with quotes from the internet is you never know if they are genuine."

Mahatma Gandhi

Enjoy

© 2013 MU-Peter Shimon