| | Rick,
I am so glad you have good humor. That shows the start of a thick skin, which is a good thing to have around here. But you seem to miss the point on a few issues - and please accept this in the benevolent sense, not the put-down one-upmanship sense. You look intelligent, so let's go at it:
If I seem meaningless please be patient, it's just that I've passed over something that I conceive of as being utterly obvious to everybody- and when I tell you what it is you'll realise it's obvious too.
Do I understand this to mean that in the depths of your spiritual-rational ruminations, you have discovered IT and wish to bring forth and enlighten people like Barbara the "obvious" wisdom that she has obviously missed over the years? What does "passed over" mean anyway? And if it is so obvious, then maybe I have some catching up to do myself because I don't know what in blue blazes you are talking about here. I guess I will just have to wait until you can verbalize all this obviousness. You seem to have missed a pretty obvious point that if you can't communicate it, it ain't obvious.
Thank you for the e-mail. With your permission, here is an excerpt:
If these comments escaped your attention that's your fault. If you cannot understand my resonse to them it's mine.
Please respond to this, if you need to, back in the thread. I just thought this would settle the matter and allow you to save face.
to see it written down so beautifully is very powerful
Thank you, Barbara, for making me a little happier today. :-)
Beautiful Barbara, thanks.
That was really a two hanky story.
This is the most moving piece I've ever read on SOLO
That was a very moving and timely statement
I too am touched by Barbara's story
I've rarely read such a moving piece of writing
Here is the point you missed in arguing against "tragic beauty" and calling people's sentiments shameful. I don't think any one of those posters, especially not Barbara, found any beauty in her predicament in itself (the tragedy). It was a horrible situation. The real beauty was in her reaction to it, her ability to judge a thorny issue in the middle of all that emotional turmoil and loss and preserve value as she understood it and held it. She is quite a woman, Rick. You would do well to look at her from the Socratic command of tabula rasa, "I only know that I do not know," when assimilating the facts of her life. Then you will be able to later judge whose position is "shameful" and all the rest that you are so impatient to get out.
If you do that, you will be tremendously rewarded. The history of Barbara's life in itself, in addition to her writings, is extremely inspiring. I have stated on other occasions and I will state here, she is one of my real-life heroines.
There is another point you miss - and I especially want to raise it because you seem to be young enough (and Lord Byron-ish enough in your writing style) to not turn into a Randroid. This is the subject of empathy. Randroids confuse empathy, which is a powerful emotion and part of our internal emotional wiring, with Altruism, which is an evil philosophy. These are two very different things. If you try to repress empathy (just like repress any powerful emotion), the price tag is always extremely high. Nathaniel Branden has a wonderful body of literature on how to correctly manage and come to terms with emotions.
Part of the sentiments you found so "shameful" in the posters was nothing more than empathizing with Barbara's plight over losing her mother and the heroic inner conflict she faced with her own values.
This episode is profoundly touching. When I first read it, I had the underlying feeling that I am so glad to be a part of this world, despite such tragic moments, where people like Barbara can be in it. I want to be like them.
As to your concern for me saving face,
LOLOLOLOLOL...
Thanks for the belly-laugh. Stick around a while, dude. That is a point you missed all the way down to the axiomatic concept level.
And for the final point missed:
Cheers for the invite to kitchen, I'll know where to go if I get hungry.
But then you were joking, weren't you? (Please say you were, because if not, I just wasted a whole lot of typing!)
So now, after all this talk about missing points, something positive. You actually do have an effusiveness and extroverted communicative style I find very attractive - especially around here. But it's like a wild horse - you gotta tame it or you can't ride it. But if you can tame it, then that will be one beautiful horse to ride. Good luck to you. I mean it. I look forward to watching what happens.
Michael
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