Pardon me if I am overly hard-edged at the moment; I have had ups and downs and trials recently, and those sorts of experiences always tend to strip away the fluff for me; I get a little . . . ready, if you know what I mean.
If you've read this journal for any space of time, you know that I would rather be playful most days. I am Tigger, not Eeyore.
That said, this is a good point to stop reading if you would rather read something with sunshine and butterflies. This entry is solar flares and caterpillars.
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Flash their lights, but they don't want to roll
My friend Eric was driving me home one night a few years back when he had a little traffic snafu with another car. They flashed their lights at him, and made an angry gesture, but when Eric stopped the car to glare at them, they drove off.
We drove about a block in silence, and then he said to me, "They flashed their lights, but they didn't want to roll."
That phrase has stuck with me ever since. People flash their lights, but they don't want to roll, and discerning the true participants from the posers can be a real challenge for a lot of the folks I care about.
Another guy I trained with for a while once described himself like this: "I'm the type of n***a that just kicks back and lets people play themselves."
It's the same principle-- people who don't really want to roll will always eventually reveal themselves. Occasionally (and I think more tragically), the will is present, but the ability lacking. In a fight, we can call that "a beating;" one combatant will dominate the other, and the other will end up in whatever state the victor chooses to leave him.
In the much less cleanly drawn and mushy world of non-violent human interaction the desire without ability situation is a tougher nut, and can be very confusing.
An illusion slicing tool, given me by a wise man
Here's another way to approach the above dilemma, and this is the version that I think is the cleanest razor accross a variety of circumstances: "It is easy to lie with words, but extremely difficult to lie with actions." You can know the people in your world not by what they say they will do, but what they actually do. It really is that easy.
Of course, the Horrific Human Reality is that most of us are not aware of our actual capabilities. Test yourself, and if you play, play for keeps.
Peace to you all, know that you are part of a very touching place to be,
ck
If you've read this journal for any space of time, you know that I would rather be playful most days. I am Tigger, not Eeyore.
That said, this is a good point to stop reading if you would rather read something with sunshine and butterflies. This entry is solar flares and caterpillars.
-----
Flash their lights, but they don't want to roll
My friend Eric was driving me home one night a few years back when he had a little traffic snafu with another car. They flashed their lights at him, and made an angry gesture, but when Eric stopped the car to glare at them, they drove off.
We drove about a block in silence, and then he said to me, "They flashed their lights, but they didn't want to roll."
That phrase has stuck with me ever since. People flash their lights, but they don't want to roll, and discerning the true participants from the posers can be a real challenge for a lot of the folks I care about.
Another guy I trained with for a while once described himself like this: "I'm the type of n***a that just kicks back and lets people play themselves."
It's the same principle-- people who don't really want to roll will always eventually reveal themselves. Occasionally (and I think more tragically), the will is present, but the ability lacking. In a fight, we can call that "a beating;" one combatant will dominate the other, and the other will end up in whatever state the victor chooses to leave him.
In the much less cleanly drawn and mushy world of non-violent human interaction the desire without ability situation is a tougher nut, and can be very confusing.
An illusion slicing tool, given me by a wise man
Here's another way to approach the above dilemma, and this is the version that I think is the cleanest razor accross a variety of circumstances: "It is easy to lie with words, but extremely difficult to lie with actions." You can know the people in your world not by what they say they will do, but what they actually do. It really is that easy.
Of course, the Horrific Human Reality is that most of us are not aware of our actual capabilities. Test yourself, and if you play, play for keeps.
Peace to you all, know that you are part of a very touching place to be,
ck
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
those are some very wise words, everything is in the action, the movement, the now. one of the biggest revelations i ever had in my life was realizing the only thing holding me back was my own thought process. it's funny, thoughts are merely an illusion, but yet they can be so powerful as to render a life limited.
When are you going to just start sitting at the top of buena vista hill and dispense wisdom to those who make the run to the top?