Beholden To Him; Issac and Ismael - One the Son, One the Scoured
6 Comments Published by Devin on Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 8:20 PM.
Music: Sia - Breathe Me - Coulor The Shapes
Mood: Blurred
The fog is fading. Allow me to share...
(Its easier to wrap your head around all of this if you believe the modus opperandi of the universe goes hand in hand with Murphy's Law.)
Our lives, regardless of scope or significance, are characterized by failure. Every miscue, every shortcoming, every careless consideration is documented and prominently displayed for public consumption.
Disagree with me? Okay. Go ahead and delude yourself into the belief that you're beyond society, that you can do without its quips, that popular thinking is surpressed in by virtue of the freedom-fighting spirit within the walls of your cerebelum. It's your choice at the end of the day. But if you're really that dense as to believe you're on some higher footing, then you must seek the guidance of the Dali Lama, and word is he's got a full course-load at Emory this semester.
Conversley, and this is a fact beyond any measurable reason of doubt; we derive the broad majority of purpose and/or satisfaction from our 'successes'. How? For starters, it is human nature to seek validation in the course of our daily affairs. We have been doing it for millions of years, so why should we stop now? Home erectus opts to slaughter a boar not for consumption, but to impress the opposite sex. Why should we think we could be any different? Our baser instincts were programmed before we were tadpoles; it is only natural that we follow the blueprint.
But the examples don't stop there. We buy expensive clothing, drive nice cars, and eat at exquisite restaurants because we seek two things: 1. the personal boon of telling others that we have done something 'exclusive', 2. the injection of self-confidence that comes from the gasping and stunned facial expressions on outsiders and peers when they realize what you have 'achieved'. Face the facts, we all do this in some way shape or form. We don't like to admit it, but we've all manipulated our perception in the face of others to bolster our ego. Its callous, and downright pathetic when deconstructed, but it is so incredibly important in our day-to-day lives, it's hard to see how it could not exist. I know for a fact that I have done this on thousands upon thousands of occasions.
Short of sharing a spliff off the coast of Mauritius, there is no greater satisfaction in life than the reasurring and soothing smile of a friend. When you're right, and it is acknowledged...game over. It can send a wavering constitution thousands of feet in the air and ignite a raging inferno in a timid soul. It is the glorious gift and the curse. There are few ways to describe it without sounding campy or trite, so let me stab at being self-riteous for the sake of undoing everything I have written about (because it wouldn't be human if it wasn't in some way hypocritical)...
Karl Marx wrote the most famous incomplete sentence of the last 200 years. Yes, we all agree in unison that religion is the opiate of the people....
but insecurity is the fucking 8-ball.
So where does this leave us. If the image we project is perceived as only the negative qualities, and we spend the bulk of our time trying to create positive reinforcement by virtue of empty actions, does that imply that our lives are a series of repetitive imperfections bound to a single fate?
You have to ask because nobody else wants to. You have to try because everyone else is afraid. And you have to venture because the fog is there to behold, there to cherish, and there to repel.
Issac and Ishmael. I am reminded of the famous parable tonight. The story goes that Abraham and Sarah wanted to conceive a child. Abraham, the chosen one, couldn't produce, but back then the blame was placed squarely on Sarah's shoulders. Nevertheless Abraham felt desperate and sent Sarah to sleep with her handsmaid Hagar. She got pregnant and had a son, Ishmael. A week later, God listened to the prayers of Abraham and gave Sarah her second son, Issac. Two sons, one of the bloodline, one that was not. Issac, the rightful heir by blood, became a central figure in Judaism, and Ishmael, the rejected scapegoat, became the driving force behind Islam. Not sure what I mean? Observe...
Issac is to Israel
as
Ishmael is to Arabia
Why am I reminded of this? Perhaps its moot, but I am generally stunned by the inequalities that riddle the Earth. I am in no position to make any of these situations better, and I am fully aware of this. I work for a Fortune 50 corporation, and I am silently contribution to the Great American Machine, but so what? I have the ability to posture without consequence, thanks to that glorious first amendment which is still intact...
Anyways, I listen to NPR and scour the news everyday while these two factions blow each other to bits, and I it always reminds me of the story of Issac and Ishmael. The messiah and the prodigal son. Issac the one the majority worships as the rightful owner, and Ishmael the one that represents every outcast who seeks to usurp the throne.
The world of free thought has been breached by the pulpit of propaganda and insecurity.
Mood: Blurred
The fog is fading. Allow me to share...
(Its easier to wrap your head around all of this if you believe the modus opperandi of the universe goes hand in hand with Murphy's Law.)
Our lives, regardless of scope or significance, are characterized by failure. Every miscue, every shortcoming, every careless consideration is documented and prominently displayed for public consumption.
Disagree with me? Okay. Go ahead and delude yourself into the belief that you're beyond society, that you can do without its quips, that popular thinking is surpressed in by virtue of the freedom-fighting spirit within the walls of your cerebelum. It's your choice at the end of the day. But if you're really that dense as to believe you're on some higher footing, then you must seek the guidance of the Dali Lama, and word is he's got a full course-load at Emory this semester.
Conversley, and this is a fact beyond any measurable reason of doubt; we derive the broad majority of purpose and/or satisfaction from our 'successes'. How? For starters, it is human nature to seek validation in the course of our daily affairs. We have been doing it for millions of years, so why should we stop now? Home erectus opts to slaughter a boar not for consumption, but to impress the opposite sex. Why should we think we could be any different? Our baser instincts were programmed before we were tadpoles; it is only natural that we follow the blueprint.
But the examples don't stop there. We buy expensive clothing, drive nice cars, and eat at exquisite restaurants because we seek two things: 1. the personal boon of telling others that we have done something 'exclusive', 2. the injection of self-confidence that comes from the gasping and stunned facial expressions on outsiders and peers when they realize what you have 'achieved'. Face the facts, we all do this in some way shape or form. We don't like to admit it, but we've all manipulated our perception in the face of others to bolster our ego. Its callous, and downright pathetic when deconstructed, but it is so incredibly important in our day-to-day lives, it's hard to see how it could not exist. I know for a fact that I have done this on thousands upon thousands of occasions.
Short of sharing a spliff off the coast of Mauritius, there is no greater satisfaction in life than the reasurring and soothing smile of a friend. When you're right, and it is acknowledged...game over. It can send a wavering constitution thousands of feet in the air and ignite a raging inferno in a timid soul. It is the glorious gift and the curse. There are few ways to describe it without sounding campy or trite, so let me stab at being self-riteous for the sake of undoing everything I have written about (because it wouldn't be human if it wasn't in some way hypocritical)...
Karl Marx wrote the most famous incomplete sentence of the last 200 years. Yes, we all agree in unison that religion is the opiate of the people....
but insecurity is the fucking 8-ball.
So where does this leave us. If the image we project is perceived as only the negative qualities, and we spend the bulk of our time trying to create positive reinforcement by virtue of empty actions, does that imply that our lives are a series of repetitive imperfections bound to a single fate?
You have to ask because nobody else wants to. You have to try because everyone else is afraid. And you have to venture because the fog is there to behold, there to cherish, and there to repel.
Issac and Ishmael. I am reminded of the famous parable tonight. The story goes that Abraham and Sarah wanted to conceive a child. Abraham, the chosen one, couldn't produce, but back then the blame was placed squarely on Sarah's shoulders. Nevertheless Abraham felt desperate and sent Sarah to sleep with her handsmaid Hagar. She got pregnant and had a son, Ishmael. A week later, God listened to the prayers of Abraham and gave Sarah her second son, Issac. Two sons, one of the bloodline, one that was not. Issac, the rightful heir by blood, became a central figure in Judaism, and Ishmael, the rejected scapegoat, became the driving force behind Islam. Not sure what I mean? Observe...
Issac is to Israel
as
Ishmael is to Arabia
Why am I reminded of this? Perhaps its moot, but I am generally stunned by the inequalities that riddle the Earth. I am in no position to make any of these situations better, and I am fully aware of this. I work for a Fortune 50 corporation, and I am silently contribution to the Great American Machine, but so what? I have the ability to posture without consequence, thanks to that glorious first amendment which is still intact...
Anyways, I listen to NPR and scour the news everyday while these two factions blow each other to bits, and I it always reminds me of the story of Issac and Ishmael. The messiah and the prodigal son. Issac the one the majority worships as the rightful owner, and Ishmael the one that represents every outcast who seeks to usurp the throne.
The world of free thought has been breached by the pulpit of propaganda and insecurity.
Music: Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye - Carnavas
Mood:
It's the moon, the sun, and the sky.
Mood:
It's the moon, the sun, and the sky.
Music: Jens Lekman - A Sweet Summers Night on Hammer Hill - Oh You're So Silent Jens
Mood: Bah
I need to move to NYC or Dubai.
Mood: Bah
I need to move to NYC or Dubai.
Music: DC4C - Talking Like Turnstiles - Plans
Mood: Quiet
I wish the world was flat like the old days, and I could travel just by folding a map.
Mood: Quiet
I wish the world was flat like the old days, and I could travel just by folding a map.
