The Essence of Evil

 Seven deadly sins have been identified: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth.  Knowing them does not prevent committing them.  

The sins have virtuous counterparts.  Virtuous Pride, Industry, Love, Respect, Discipline, Forbearance, and Initiative.  There is a personal satisfaction experienced when the are practiced.  There are also societal benefits attained when individuals collectively, and reasonably, practice them.  

What makes them sinful is going to extremes in the same, or in polar opposite, behaviors.  The virtues morph into the sins.   They can be collectively summarized with a single word, excess.

It can reasonably be said that an excess of anything is evil.  And that can be extrapolated to say, excess is evil and evil is excess.

When evil/excess becomes de rigeuer, society, even on a national basis, takes steps to purge it.  Some extreme examples are the American and French Revolutions, the Civil War, WWII,  and Korea.  The excesses of colonial rule, the aristocracy, slavery, German and Japanese Imperialism, and the attempt by North Korea to take over South Korea, all  had to be confronted and, thankfully, checked.  Even now in the Ukraine, the excess of power being displayed by the Russian dictator is being resisted by an international coalition. Many of our laws, regulations, and ordinances are an attempt to curb excess.

On a personal basis, excess can be avoided by making behavioral changes to avoid it as soon  as the first signs are recognized.  If excess takes hold and becomes the raison d'être, it takes heroic individual effort to get rid of it.  It is an addiction and analogous to war on the international scale.

All of this does not propose prevention on a grand scale, but admonishes us to is be mindful that small excesses on a personal level can lead to perdition if they take hold. Excess is the result of gratifying personae who are primarily of the Emotional source.  We see that this is the battleground of good v. evil, the struggle to keep appetites under control.  

When a being succumbs to excess, it denies Core-being the ability to achieve his aim.  Denied, Core-being patiently waits for moderation to be restored so he can get on with his work.  If he determines that that won't happen, he may exit the being and allow it to be destroyed by those same excesses.

The Four Ingredients of Achievement (In three fourths Haiku)

 

One, information

Two, the imagination

Three, intelligence

Four, Discipline to stay the course through thick and thin.

Information is ubiquitous with the internet, and our access to it is unlimited.  About anything is accessible.  Once the seed of desire is planted, information is at one's fingertips.

Imagination allows one to envision aim, to project success in the mind before it is achieved.

Intelligence refines information and recognizes imagination to devise the steps necessary for achieving aim, finding the way, solving the issues, working out the details.

Discipline to tend to the task.  Neutralizing negativity, recognizing distractions and stopping them.'

There are two more important precursors to achievement: Inspiration, the idea from whatever source, and Initiative, to take the first steps at each juncture.  These could well have been included above but came to light later.

Dementia

It has names, and the one that seems to describe what is going on with us is dementia.  It was discovered to have already started in June 2010.  It is reaching the advanced stages now.

There's an analogy that helps me understand what's going on.  Our mind, i.e. the thinking of our brain, has a capacity for it that is like the water that fills a very large tub. The situation is such that no water can be added to the tub.  

Dementia is like when the plug in the bottom of that tub is removed.  The water flows out at a fairly constant rate but it is hardly noticeable at first because there is so much water in the tub.  

Then as it continues to flow out, it becomes more and more noticeable until, as it nears the bottom of the tub, it seems to run rapidly out.  It drains until all the water is gone.  And when the brain can no longer think, it's over.

Ying and Yang

 

The Hyatt-Regency, downtown, has a public face and a working face.  The public face is well decorated and ornate, comfortable, subdued, peaceful.  The working face is well used, bruised walls, worn flooring, glaring lights, echoing sounds, somewhat disarranged.  One would never mistake one for the other.  The public face is there to please the customers, the working face is there to get the job done. 

Two twenty-something year olds at the pool table, playing in the league week after week.  Two tougher "bitches" you will never meet, their language will blister paint, and they're good at the game of pool.  Same two were encountered where they work, as waitstaff in a restaurant.  One would never encounter sweeter, more pleasant and innocent sounding individuals anywhere; "Yes ma'am."  "No ma'am."  "Was everything OK sir?"  If I couldn't see their faces, I'd never know it was the same two people.

The management level of an apartment complex couldn't be more solicitous of the residents.  Yet they can't keep staff because they are somewhat abusive to those who work for them.  

The drama professor who is a congenial, "hail fellow well met," outside the class or rehearsal, but becomes a bully and tyrant leading a class or directing a rehearsal.

And there are many of these examples.  I'm sure the reader has likewise encountered them.  It behooves us to realize this and do a little introspection.  

The successful one is he/she who homogenizes the two internally.  They may not be all sweetness and light but at the same time they are not all thorns and venom.  An honest embrace of the Human Relation Principles, internalizing them for actions/reactions to all, is the aim to which we aspire.

If we don't see us for what we are/do, we can't change.  This message is for all.  Be good, sincerely, to everyone, always.

Oh, what are the Human Relations Principles?  Find the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and read the timeless truth.

Ground Hog Day Updated--Again

 It has now been about 10 years since publishing Ground Hog Day the first time.  Since it is Ground Hog Day, I thought it would be appropriate to do it again as I did a few years ago.

The update is short, a short sentence.  The situation remains the same except we rarely go out.  There's been drama in the form of a fall that resulted in major hip surgery, relocation to an apartment that has a care provider on site, deeper descent into dementia, and overcoming a high mortality rate from this sort of event.  So proud of us and especially her.

"About two and a half years ago I published a post entitled, Ground Hog Day.  It was actually on September 6, 2014.  This is a sort of update to that post.  Time has passed and the situation hasn't changed all that much.  It is still Ground Hog Day around here but with a new realization and that is living in the present.

"Most people don't give recollection and remembering a second thought; it is natural, expected, and is something upon which to rely.  Our memories of childhood fuel the stories that we tell our grandchildren.  Our recollection of dates and events allow us to go through the present without concern.  Sworn testimony often contains recollection of facts surrounding an act. When we forget a birthday or anniversary, the other is offended because remembering is expected; not only that of others but ourselves as well.

"Take that away and there is a totally different perspective evident.  A trip down a familiar roadway and all the sights are brand new. This road is in terrible condition; can't you write your friend a letter about it?  Where is all this traffic coming from; shouldn't these people all be at work?  Seeing a familiar house, one is heard to ask the same question about those living there,  such as, I wonder why they have so many little cars parked in their driveway?

"When you've been over the same traffic jammed and bumpy roads so many times, they no longer seems worthy of comment but when one doesn't recall the terrible conditions from the last 100 times over it, it is worthy of comment.  What one with normal memory expects is the same lack of comment that anyone would have after so many repetitions; one hears the comment as a complaint when in fact, it is an observation, again

"The person with impaired memory lives totally in the present; enjoys programs while they watch but can't tell you a thing about them later.  Enjoys a conversation but has no recollection of the call.  The most common statement is, 'I can't remember now because I am so tired," and having said that, all of the concern about the situation goes away.

"'This set of keys would be better put over here,' then can't find them when the need arises. Pills are put out to take during the day and they are still there the next day and the next.   Clothes are strewn about to be put away later but then later never happens, it is always now. When the mess is recognized one hears, "I must get to that, tomorrow." This scenario is repeated continuously.

"The idea of living in the present was mentioned in passing by my son in a phone conversation when it became evident that he'd called and had conversation with his mother but she didn't mention it and couldn't recall it when I asked about it.  He simply said, 'She's living in the present.'  I must give him credit for making such an astute observation because after he said it, my understanding of the situation improved.

Thankfully, I'm here to remind her."

The Missing Ingredient

Much effort goes into the development of a being.  First, there is the issue of deciding what the being wants.  Dreams lay the groundwork for making those decisions, but more often than not, the dreams seem to come from out in left field.  It must be understood that what I am writing is autobiographical and it is hoped that it may be of some value to others in reaching some understanding of why and how.

My dreams have come from a variety of places, none seem to have been all that premeditated.  The big ones, sailing, ships, horses, Dale Carnegie instructor, manager in a large company, using digital technology, dancing, traveling the world, especially Europe, a business, a house, and now acting, all came from out of nowhere.  A possibility is that they are leftovers from previous lives.

All of them were sourced internally.  Then developed through reading about similar activities, not of others but fiction and nonfiction sources.  These are what embellish the dream, make it seem like it can be achieved.

And, while all of that is important, now I want to dwell on the realization of the dream and what it takes to do that.  There is a developmental period through which one goes as he sets out to realize a dream.  Often starting from just a dream, a statement parsed as, "I want to..." and then thinking, studying, discussing, seeing and taking the necessary steps, identifying the required skills, practicing them, and patiently doing the work.

Along the way, one reaches a point where he knows that he has the capability but lacks the ability to perform successfully.  This is when he must reach an understanding of the skills required, hone that knowledge into the basic parameters of performing, and practice those skills until they are part of him.

This having been done, he reaches a point where mental discipline is required to reach new, and better, performance levels.  And that starts with the rules.  Every endeavor, be it a career, a sport, or a hobby comes with a set of rules.  Following the rules is a matter of integrity and it takes a certain mental discipline to do so.  And the more skilled one becomes in an endeavor, the more important it is to have the mental discipline to follow the rules.  

Then there are aphorisms that describe the way one lives his daily life.  While these are not rules, they are guidelines upon which one can rely to make decisions on how to react to what is happening around him.  Keeping them in mind, perhaps not in the forefront, but always there as a framework for actions, is a big part of mental discipline.

Distractions are what take us away from disciplined action and there are several that are described in the Fourth Way and once reading the descriptions, they become readily apparent.  Recognizing them and stopping them in their tracks is also an aspect of mental discipline. In the Fourth Way, mental discipline can be seen as being present, being awake, and being aware instead of our normal state of being asleep (distracted).

One can only develop attention in increments.  It can start with a few moments of concentrated effort on a skill and build to a more sustained amount of time.  It seems that a good target for practicing, and otherwise being involved in a skill, is twenty minutes.  And even this may be difficult to achieve at first, but it is a target.  Once achieved, it can be expanded to whatever time is comfortable.

When successfully employing mental discipline, realizing one's dreams becomes a full-time job.  Just like learning a skill, it can only be developed through practice.  It is not quite the same, however, as the skills to which were we referred above, but practice through realizing when one is, and is not, paying attention to the fulfillment of dreams.

Analogies

 It is interesting to me that we use analogies to help us understand, as in, "sweet as a rose."  For me, the two grand analogies of life are stage and baseball.  In theater, from first read to strike.  In baseball, from Spring training to the last game of the season.  

For both, it is in the myriad of activities that takes place.  Both are "life" as it happens to someone else, often for our enjoyment.  And we learn as we watch, if we watch intelligently.