FPQ29: Holy Crap

Fandango provocatively asks…

“Do you agree with Thomas Jefferson that it doesn’t matter or hurt you if people believe in many gods, in one god, or no gods? Why or why not?”

Yes, I agree with him. Beliefs don’t hurt me, or anyone else. Actions (including speech) are what hurt people. Until we devise a mechanism whereby our thoughts can travel through the air and zap people with sensations of pain, or create a situation of libel, loss of income, etc. we’re safe from rays emanating out of people’s beliefs in the supernatural or whatever.

Now, I know people are gonna say, but but but… folks take direct actions based upon their beliefs in god/s. Do they really? How can we prove this? I think that people do what they want and then justify it with a belief system, or sometimes they don’t even bother. This is why we find so many cases of blatant hypocrisy and inconsistency ~ it’s because people are doing as they please, as people have always done and always will do, and then trying to cobble together some coherent rationale for their actions after the fact.

It’s not their belief in god/s that caused the problem. It’s their behavior.

Laura’s Music Challenge 19

Happy Monday! Join in Laura’s fun song challenge and make your day more tuneful. Here we go… 😀💕🎶

1. Post a video of a song that makes you think about being a teenager.

“Imaginary Lover” is from 1978 (when I was 17) and remains one of my favorite songs to this day. They make the best lovers.

2. Post a video of a song that is about finding your voice.

Like Neil, I am from NY and moved to LA in my 20s (via Chicago). I can’t go home again, but I don’t fit in SoCal either.

3. Post a video of a song that represents a “I’ll kick your ass attitude”.

To me, kicking ass means walking away and finding happiness, not staying and continuing to engage in things that bring you down. Remember: people don’t change nor do they care about your feelings!

Kitty Spirit

Mindlovemisery prompts us to choose a spirit animal.

“The cat, as a symbol, carries double meanings mostly. It balances two opposite things always – for instance, light and dark, rest and action, outer and inner, up and down, good or bad, etc.” ~ Spiritual Unite

That’s how I am, a balance of extremes, struggling to reconcile opposing desires and philosophies, and hovering in the middle. People think they understand me, but they don’t; like a cat, I’m predictable until I’m suddenly not.

Continuing the prompt, now we are to pick a destination. I choose home sweet home. Like a kitty, I’m fond of warmth and small, cozy spaces. I don’t enjoy loud crowds and bright lights. I crave my familiar foods and comforts, my soft blankets and white noise fans. If I play music or a television show, the volume is low. I don’t mind guests, but only a few at a time, not a giant party.

Now I’m to pick an activity. I would love to curl up with a good book on my Kindle tonight and maybe a few delicious cookies (how did my phone know to say cookies?!), but I suspect that, much like my spirit cat, I will soon be off in the Land of Nod because I didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night.

Next I’m to include an obstacle (physical or psychological) that must be overcome. One of my goals in progress is to actually learn to trust my “animal instincts” in regards to boundaries that other people transgress. I am doing better, but I still have a way to go, especially with reaction time. A cat has a lightning-fast reactions, and when I have that uncomfortable psychological feeling, I need to know it’s time to physically move away/leave a situation, not dawdle because of fears of hurting someone else’s feelings.

“Eff this” ~ is what a cat says, basically. And it’s what I need to say too.

Now, to finish up, I include a lesson learned on my journey. I’ve learned that I do really well alone! Cats are independent, though some can be cuddly and affectionate with humans, and some do pal around together, but they don’t need a pack leader the way dogs do… and neither do I. It took me a long time to understand that not only am I perfectly capable of living alone, but in fact I thrive alone. Being partnered was stifling to me in so many ways. I suppose it’s not out of the realm of possibility that I might find a partner someday who celebrates my unique spirit (and vice versa) without smothering it in the process, but the hour is getting late. In the meantime, I’m doing quite well, TYVM.

Cat photos all from Pixabay.

Two’s Company

Continuing with Cee’s numerical challenge, we leap ahead from one to two.

I’ve decided that a cupcake is just one thing, even though it contains two main parts plus sprinkles (usually) and whatnot. I mean, everything is made up of more things except like atoms or whatever, and I don’t have photos of those. Okay, I just googled, and apparently quarks and leptons are smallest, not to be confused with Lipton (is it soup yet?), or there might be a more fundamental bitsy bit. Point being… what was my point? I forgot! That’s because I’m old.

Sequence

Night sashays in late
Flings a handful of stars on the table
Don’t ask him where he’s been

Daylight shines longingly on
As I watch the waves crest and crash
Night sashays in late

He thinks I should be satisfied
With a sliver of silvery moon
Flings a handful of stars on the table

A few hours of elemental bliss
Spiral out to the endless sea
Don’t ask him where he’s been

~*~

Inspired by Jim

So Shall Me Me Me [SOCS]

Social is not an adjective people would apply to me. Then again, I’m not exactly antisocial either. I go to game nights and other peopley events nearly every week. I’m not a shy soul ~ I’ve done stand-up comedy. But I can’t bear huge, squashy crowds, like malls at holidays or giant indoor concerts. I hate feeling trapped up next to people… but I’m not claustrophobic because I don’t mind being in small spaces if I’m alone. In fact, I much prefer a tiny cozy room to the scary emptiness of a vast open field. And I do need a significant amount of alone/quiet time simply to “recharge” my emotional batteries. I can’t be around other people jibber jabbering night after night!

Speaking of people, I’ve believed for some time that social media has made us less social. I know that sounds contradictory, but hear me out. First, we’re buried in our phones 24/7. You hardly see anyone’s face when you’re in public. Gone are the days when you made idle conversation with someone waiting at the store or DMV or doctor’s office, etc. Why would you talk to them and interrupt whatever they’re doing on their phone?

Second, supposedly we’re all connected to so many more people now than ever before due to technology, but how many of these friends inside your phone would actually, physically help you in an emergency? Who, exactly, would you call? Yeah. I know. Me too. It’s basically down to a daughter who lives 40 miles away and another friend I had before social media and possibly a few others. But none of my twitter/blog peeps, even though we “interact” daily, would be on that list. Used to be, I made more of an effort to say hello and chat with neighbors, but why bother now? I have bloggy and twitter friends! 😂

Third, in the olden days, what did you do when you felt alone with your odd ideas or interests? Maybe you found a kindred spirit, if you were lucky enough and looked hard enough, and then you could happily share your weirdness. Or you decided to try to acclimate to a more mainstream hobby in order to have friends. Is that so bad? Instead of finding another freak to assist you in pulling off butterfly wings, you joined a bowling league. But now in the age of social media, you don’t have to compromise and go bowling to have friends. You can stay home and hang out with a few dozen wackos in a chat group from other parts of the world who also enjoy torturing butterflies.

I don’t think that’s better! Some interests should be suppressed. Some people shouldn’t be able to find each other. God only knows what horrible things people are discussing right at this moment… whatever you may imagine, I guarantee that it’s worse.

This will be yet another one of Paula’s Unpopular Opinions. 😜

Wot Mystery? 🐱

Gatsby here! Good mews everyone. Rawry just gave us a Mystery Blogger Award and I clawed and chewed it for a while… and then I mushed it under the sofa with my other toys. Not much of a mystery to me.

But thank you, Rawry! I love new toys to hide.

Anyway. Mommy says I have to answer the questions Rawry sent us. Gosh, more work! I was just keeping watch at the window for the squirrel and now I have to do more things? Life isn’t fair.

My Five Questions (from Rawry)

Which is your least favourite mode of transportation?

I hate riding in the car in my little pink prison cage. It’s noisy and bumpy and we always end up at the vet. Horrible!

Why, oh why why why did the chicken cross the road?

Probably to escape a coyote, which was very smart of her. Coyotes will nom up chickens and kitties too! Stay away from them. Of course, I like chicken…

What is the stupidist thing you have ever done – voluntarily?

One time I bited Mommy’s face while she was asleep and she screamed. That was so fun, but I guess it was stupid cuz she got so mad and smacked me.

When you have left this planet, as in your life ends, what do you think is next ….?

Some people say kitties go over a rainbow bridge to a big garden to play with their special person again and have lots of treats, but I think people just say that to make themselves feel better cuz I don’t know what rainbows are and can’t see colors besides. I think everything just ends right then, and hopefully Mommy will take good care of me and make sure I don’t suffer.

At what age do you think you actually became an adult?

When you have to start paying your own bills. But some of us are so cute and furry that we never have to, NEENER! 😛

Sevenling (Ten years ago)

Sevenling (Ten years ago)

Ten years ago, I became free
to party, drink, dance, and swing,
and do any fun thing that I pleased.

I found a world filled with scary
mean liars, stalkers, and creeps,
narcissists looking to feed.

Now I stay home with my cat.

~*~

The elements of the Sevenling are:
1. a heptastich, a poem in 7 lines made up of 2 tercets followed by a single line. metered at the discretion of the poet.
2. unrhymed.
4. composed with 3 complimentary images in the first tercet and 3 parallel images in the second tercet. The end line is a juxtaposed summary of the 2 parallels, a sort of “punchline”.
5. the poem should be titled “Sevenling: (first few words of poem).

Sevenling poetry first seen by me at Kat’s.

Quiet! [SOCS]

Silence is golden, it has been said. Who said that? Idk, maybe it was in the Torah or possibly some philosopher thought of it while he was sitting under a tree, thinking deep thoughts, munching on bread his wife baked as he ignored her, and sipping wine donated by grateful villagers eager to hear his next nugget of wisdom.

Ponderously, Phil the philosopher arose from his lotus position, shaking his robe free from breadcrumbs. He left his trash under the tree for less intelligent people to deal with. Majestically, he trod up the old wooden steps to the village square, his leather sandals making flappity noises that vexed him. He waited until enough of a crowd had gathered before he began to speak. They raised their faces, eager for information, the pitiful creatures. But he loved them, especially their donations.

As the group increased in size, they began to jabber amongst themselves because it was always exciting when Phil had a new piece of knowledge to bestow. What would he tell them this time? Would he impart a message from the gods about how to grow crops for better yields? A sign from the stars about coming storms to prepare for? They began to guess and wager…

“Silence!” Phil bellowed. “There is entirely too much noise in this village. Too much clattering, chattering, gossiping, moans in the night, slamming of doors, screams of terror, splashing in the river, on and on. I can’t even think straight! How am I to receive messages from above?”

People gasped and looked sad. Oh no! This was terrible. Poor Phil.

Phil continued, “Today, as I pondered all this annoyance, I realized that was in fact the message.”

Everyone was confused, for these were not bright people. What was the message? Had they missed it? They began to argue about what Phil had just said.

“Quiet!” he yelled. “Silence is golden.”

Ah! Silence is golden. Three simple words. This, they understood.

“From now on,” Phil said. “Everyone must strive to be much quieter, day and night, so we can all hear our thoughts more clearly. Well, so I can at least. You people probably don’t have many thoughts.”

A dog barked.

Phil smiled at his favorite villager. “You too, Harvard.”

FPQ25: Nowhere & Poof

Fandango provocatively asks…

“Where do you believe you were you before you were born and what do you believe will happen to you after you die?”

He answers the question himself by saying “I do have a position on where we were before we were born (nowhere, we didn’t exist) and what happens to us after death (poof, we’re gone and no longer exist).”

That’s also what I believe, and I can’t state it any more clearly than “nowhere” and “poof,” which is why I copied his words.

This shouldn’t be a provocative question. If others believe that there’s a supernatural realm with souls floating around that attach and detach to human bodies (and idk some good doggos?), why do they care if Fandango and I disbelieve it, and vice versa?

But it’s a big farooking deal.

I believe that the most important things are what we do right now, how we treat people here on earth, how we care for animals and the environment, etc. But there isn’t any payoff. I’m not going to be rewarded in heaven for not being a litterbug. So, why not throw garbage on the street? Why care that the ocean is a toxic dump? Because this is our home, and keeping a clean home is an end in itself. I don’t need a gold sticker like a three-year-old for doing the right thing.

No, this isn’t actually a tangent. People who get it will get it. 😛