Those ten things...

1. Solitude. Being away from everything human, everything created by humans, no noises that don’t come from nature, no words, just pure blessed silence.

2. Water – Long wide expanses of water. Oceans, lakes, rivers. The sound of water, rushing, waving, lapping at the hull of my boat. The crashing of waves putting me to sleep and waking me in the morning. The gentle swishing sound when I swim. Water goes with solitude…people can’t talk underwater… this is a good thing.

3. Eyes. People sometimes underestimate the power of eye contact. The human eye can say more than words could ever hope to say in one millionth the time. Eyes convey thoughts, feelings, and truth. They are the only single source of two way communication we as humans are afforded.

4. Imagination. The power of the human mind to rise up beyond reality and convention, to surpass what we know in favor of what could be. In imagining we give birth to characters in books, lands and creatures we’ll never see here on earth, and lives we will never live, but may still be a part of if we so choose.

5. Promises kept. From the simplest to the eternal, a promise kept is a sure footing in every situation.

6. Music. I’m of the opinion that music is the original means by which all sentient life on this planet could be controlled. If you ever question the power of music simply take it out of any situation where emotion, especially high emotion is involved. Would movies be half of what they are with no score? Would Jaws have been so terrifying without his requisite two note calling card? Would we all have shed a single tear for ET upon his departure had John Williams not been so skilled in writing for French horn? Never underestimate the power of music, for good or evil. Lucifer himself was the angel of music after-all.

7. Truth. Veritas, 真相,Waarheid, Vérité, Wahrheit, Αλήθεια, Verità, Правда, Verdad.
Whatever word you use, truth is that which cannot be denied, cannot be destroyed, and will always come forth, even over millennia. Truth is the ultimate reality. There is not existence without truth, because truth is fact, truth is what IS. We know that gravity IS because we don’t float away from the planet. Gravity is truth on Earth. Truth is painful, but only as painful as the band-aid being removed. Truth brings healing, forgiveness, and happiness to those who seek peace. Truth also allows us to know evil when we see it, because evil will never tell the truth when it can lie instead.

Here are some examples of truth shedding light on lie:

Al Gore DID NOT invent the internet

Ted Kennedy IS responsible for the death of a young woman

Diversity for the sake of diversity is foolish, and only leads to weakness

I could go on, but this is just not the time or place.

8. Books –The written word is responsible for who we are as humans. Were we all to disappear tomorrow and another life form visit the Earth, were they to understand our written languages they would know us. Our beliefs, our hopes, our dreams, our knowledge. In this time more than any other the power to read and write surpasses the power to kill and heal. In the information age the quick and the dead differentiated by the mind, not the sword.

9. Pets. The idea that we can communicate to other creatures without words and receive ten times the love we give, in many cases without disserving it, should be a lesson to us all.

10. Freedom. I don’t think many of us know what it is to live without freedom, in any way. But I’m fairly sure that were any of us to lose it overnight we’d notice. I love that I can get in my car and drive as far as I wish in any direction I wish without notifying anyone. I love that I can quit my job and sell fruit by the roadside if I so desire, and no one can stop me.


There you have it. I’m punchy today so I’m sure this isn’t as whimsical as it could be, but such is life.

I hereby tag:

Whit
Sarge
Russ
and
Dave D.