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The Road to Diamond, Day 282: River of Love

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

September 6, 2025- “Get up and dance!”, said the guest of honour, at the second of today’s three important events. As I like dancing,I did so, fairly loosely and in rhythm with the music, just not to her liking, so when she turned and walked away, I sat back down. I learned, a long time ago, that life cannot be well-lived on someone else’s terms.

What, exactly, does it mean to flow on the river of love? I have been told, in recent weeks, that if I really loved someone, I’d give them the money I set aside for their well-being. Instead, I gave it to someone who will expend it on the other person’s behalf, in a judicious manner.

I have, conversely, been advised that living according to what is best for my own well-being is an act of love. Certainly, minding my health needs and keeping active is good, by extension, for my little family and for the good of those aspects of the community to which I am of the most help.

I think the the truth is more in balance. Too much emphasis on my own needs and wants can be distracting and take away from the genuine needs of the community. On the other hand, no one can meet the needs of all comers, without oneself becoming a ward of society. I do agree that love comes first, and material matter is no more than a tool, by which love for self and others can be manifested.

On Mondays, when I am here at Home Base I, I help serve a meal to destitute people. This evening, I helped tend to the needs of more well-to-do people, who are patrons of Prescott Farmers Market. My approach to both groups has been the same-just helping others enjoy a meal, in a safe and relaxed atmosphere. That, to me, is traveling on the river of love.

The Road to Diamond, Day 121: King Lear, et al.

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Posted by on in Community, Entertainment, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 29, 2025- The rowdy group of revelers burst into the theater-in-the-round, the jester carrying his king on his back, whilst the merry palace guardsmen jump about, yelling “Ha! Ho!”. The scene reminded me, for all the world, of a few such episodes of the last Presidential campaign, though no one would ferret our current Chief Executive on his back.

Basin Lake Theater Project is a new troupe in Prescott, whose maiden performance came tonight, at the newly re-opened Cosmos Theater. King Lear, their first effort, touched all the bases: The conniving of his two older daughters, Goneril and Regan; the plotting of their spouses, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall, respectively; the plain-spoken sincerity of his youngest daughter, Cordelia; Lear’s deep insecurity, which led him to embrace the plotters’ expressions of fealty and reject Cordelia for her honesty; the unbroken loyalty of the Earl of Gloucester, his aide-de-camp; the ill-concealed ambition of Gloucester’s bastard son, Edmund, contrasting with the filial piety of his high-born son, Edgar. Most of all, Frank Malle, as Lear, nailed the sovereign’s bursts of rage and his descent into madness.

I sat spellbound through the two halves of the play, and found myself thinking afterward, “Are there truly parallels between the fictional Lear, a tenth-century King of Britain, and the sitting President of the United States-or, for that matter, his immediate predecessor?” There is no obvious insanity, in our current leadership, yet we are in a period in which rulers have been exhibiting a thin skin, and not just in the United States of America. There is a naked ambition, on the part of several of the presidential advisors, both in and out of government. Some members of the presidential family seek more leverage, though unlike the Family Lear (ostensibly members of House Plantagenet), there is no obvious rivalry between the children, nor does the president show favouritism for one over the others. Lear does go off on tangents, talking about the horns of snails and the cultivation of oysters, much as Trump talks about birds and whales. The above-mentioned scene evoked the impromptu dancing that Trump has done, either solo or accompanied by random visiting athletes.

All these instances, though, are not connected to actions of substance, in and of themselves. Lear does not seem to have any connection to his subjects, outside of the court itself and a small number of hangers-on. Trump regularly connects with at least his most fervent supporters, outside of Official Washington, as did Biden. That may neutralize any ambition among his inner circle, providing an unlikely safeguard for our republic, in the long run. While some of his Cabinet may invite parallels to Lear’s Fool, there is yet no one who can get away with criticizing the President-at least not openly, as the Fool does with Lear.

In the long run, it is never in the interests of a people to have their ruler descend into madness. In my lifetime, we have seen what happened in the Soviet Union, when Stalin lost his grip on reality,as well as in China, as Mao fell into senescence. The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is in place, to obviate such a situation here. Let us hope that its application does not become necessary, in the near future, if ever.

Gordian Knots

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

April 18,2024- A bit ago, a boy in an intermediate school was placed in detention, for hitting a girl classmate. He told the principal that he felt demeaned by the girl and her friends, so he did the only thing he knew-he lashed out.

Anxiety fuels fear, which fuels aggression, which fuels more anxiety and aggression-all tied up in a Gordian knot. The legend of Alexander the Great has the king using the expedient solution of cutting a complex knot with a sword, rather than trying to loosen and unravel it. Modern times find certain rulers using brute force, in an attempt to bring an end to “intractable” problems. Thus, a series of events that would be amusingly schoolboyish, were they not so chilling, are unfolding between two countries-in the guise of preservation of faith.

Thomas Sowell’s admonition that there are no solutions, only trade-offs, has never rung more true than in the matter of the conflict in western Asia. The resolution of this matter involves, essentially, two basic processes: 1. All people living within the borders of a nation-state need to have a full voice in the affairs of that nation-state, provided they are willing to abide by the laws of that nation-state; 2. Countries that neighbour one another need to fully honour the legitimate rights of all people in their neighbouring states, to say nothing of honouring the legitimate rights of their own citizens. The trade-offs will need to be worked out, but they cannot allow dominance of any one country, or national ideology, or authoritarian ruler, over its neighbours.

I’m keeping an eye on the situation in western Asia, at least for the effect it will have on my plans for Autumn, which presently involve transit stops in two airports in that region. Those places need to show a modicum of safety, in order for anyone to make even the briefest of stops. There is also the impact the conflict will have (is at least temporarily having) on global finance. The possibility exists that I may be working for wages in October, instead of visiting Baha’is in east Africa, after my September visit to the Philippines.

Fear triggers anxiety, which brings on aggression, triggering more fear and anxiety. I face all this, knowing that in either Plan A or Plan B, I will be okay on a personal level. Many communities and countries will get through the matter, just fine. There will, however, be vast areas, and millions of people, who won’t be at all fine-with the situations in Gaza, Darfur and Ukraine just the beginning, unless the Gordian Knots are untied, rather than cut.