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There is a school of thought that posits that Adam - of Genesis fame - was not actually the first man, but rather the first prophet in the line of prophets that spawned the Abrahamic faiths. The crux of this is that there was nothing good nor evil prior to the teachings of the creator having reached us - hence like the ravening wolf or the ferocious lion, there was nothing intrinsically wrong in anything we did since it was only natural. Once the concept was introduced that there was a purpose-driven, life-loving God, however, good and evil could be finally identified as those behaviors which departed from that purpose and interfered with that life. Hence the tale of Cain and Abel and most everything else in the Torah.
Now I am not here to argue this idea today. I am more interested in the location. Adam is said to have appeared in the garden of Eden, and of all the locales that have been proposed as the "real" Eden, I have been most convinced by the suggestion of David Rohl that it might have been Tabriz. I think it was the documentary, In Search of Eden - which can be found on You Tube that mostly convinced me. I may well be mistaken, however, so do your own research.
What intrigues me about this location is that some six thousand years later, around 1844, another man appeared in Iran claiming to be next in the Adamic line of prophets. Ignoring every gory detail about this, I will merely note that the Islamic clergy of Iran had this man executed on July 9, 1850 in what was then downtown Tabriz.
In a sense, then, what began with Adam in Eden came full circle and was brought to a close in the same location. Curious.
So, if Iran was in fact the host to the original garden of Eden, then it would follow that some of the oldest cultural elements of civilization may have sprung from that region, and one might expect that some of the most mature concepts regarding life the universe and everything have been and continue to be evolving there.
Sadly, Iran is mostly being demonized these days - not without good reason, mind you - to the citizens of the USA, so it is a knee-jerk reaction of many in the West to eschew everything associated with Iran. In fact, most of the evils that issue out of that country seem to be caused by a minority of fanatics who have a stranglehold on governance and their oppressions are evident and well documented. To some extent, the people of that country are rising up against that oppression, so there may well be an end one day to that circumstance.
All of this is a long way around to recommending that every "educated" American should be familiar with the story of Layla and Majnun - perhaps the original "Romeo and Juliette". It is a tale familiar to most every Iranian, one that inspired Eric Clapton in composing perhaps his most famous tune. Maybe one day, Hollywood will grace us with a worthy film depiction of it.
Likewise, those who would account themselves as culturally informed might wish to peruse some of the poetry of Rumi:
BeyondOut beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.Ideas,
language,
even the phrase "each other"
doesn't make any sense.
and Hafez:
Will Beat You UpJealousy
And most all of your sufferings
Are from believing
You know better than God.
Of course,
Such a special brand of arrogance as that
Always proves disastrous,
And will rip the seams
In your caravan tent,
Then cordially invite in many species
Of mean biting flies and
Strange thoughts-
That will
Beat you
Up.
So just some ideas on how to fill your new year, or whatever.
Oh yeah, and if any of your neighbors are Iranian refugees, consider going out of your way to talk with them. For the record, I am not Iranian, but one of my neighbors is.
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"So make the best of the situation before I finally go insane", -Derek and the Dominos, Layla
(Score: 1) by nostyle on Friday March 17, @02:24PM (2 children)
So here at the end of a bad week, I shrug and say, "Hell, let the comment count exceed 300!". Perhaps somebody will benefit from the forensics of how that happens. At least my last journal will be rolling off the front page any minute now.
It is a funny thing... if you notify people that you feel like you are dying, they will want to come visit you and talk with you on the phone for hours and advise you of the thousand things they're sure you need to try to feel better. Of course entertaining guests and navigating social calls is the last thing you want to do when you feel you are dying - or maybe I'm peculiar that way. Nearly every one of my extended family has checked in / dropped by.
It is a funny thing... if you inform people that you are not particularly upset about dying - due to the fact that your QoL has dipped below that of an incurable invalid sentenced to a maximum security prison with no chance for parole - they will accuse you of being depressed and explain that there are now anti-depressant drugs to make you feel better. Then they will lecture you about how important you still are to everybody in your life - and why can't you cut them some slack!?
The real reason I post this morning, though, is to cover the lunacy issue that have arisen recently - some attendant with current events. See anger runs in the family. My dad had it in a major way, and God bless me, I was born to test his patience. I lost track at an early age of how many times I made him lose is temper. The resulting screaming and assaults and onerous punishments became a way of life. This is all ancient history - long since forgiven and forgotten on both sides - and I love my dad and thank heaven it was he who raised me.
Except,... my son inherited my dad's temper. Even at that age of two he would shake with rage when circumstances roused his ire. This has been a bane to him all his life making it a challenge for him to hold a job for very long. Even as I type this he is involved in some HR "fact finding" process covering the most recent episode of "losing it" at work. The man is 46. This time, however, I have him in touch with an HR pro who is counseling him on how to navigate the procedure. Surely others out there know this syndrome. There is a reason why Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk resonate with audiences around the world. I have explained to my son that one benefit of this trait is that he will have greater stamina in everything he does than those who lack this trait. Yet he struggles.
Then this week, when my youngest brother checked in by phone, it turned into an hour-long counseling session for him - since he too has inherited my dad's temper. I had not realized how much it had bedeviled him. We haven't spoken much over forty years due to an enormous religious gulf between us, thousands of mile of distance and a daunting age difference. I had kept track of him and knew he had raised two lovely daughters, both of whom have visited me. Sadly one of them no longer chooses to have any contact with mom or dad - perhaps due to this anger thing, perhaps due to religion - apparently something got said that shouldn't have.
Then, back to my brother, I told him that my son was similarly affected, and yes it is a burden but there is surely divine wisdom in how it turns up in certain folks, and that he had all my love and sympathy and best wishes. Sometimes you just wish you had a paintbrush to repaint the details of a loved-one's life.
So the rest is not so interesting nor informative. I will post again later if it seems to make any sense.
I got my glasses welded back together, and my tobacco use is down to two cigarettes per day.
-nostyle
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-Jefferson Starship
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19, @07:33PM
Ignored khallow, who seemed aggressive but "mostly harmless." Just for fun, bet you can pick out my posts at Don't Republicans learn? [soylentnews.org] (the only thread I've bothered with in ages). I've long been wrong about khallow! My final post was going to be this:
I'm doing a book about how not to be angry,
self-important and delusional. You wouldn't read it.
Mine is (mostly was, now) a quietly-suffering family. On one side, a king, a president, shopkeepers, sailors, an early computer programmer, all with long lives. On my father's side, it was hard-working, modest farmers who liked cars; many had head problems and fairly short lives; my father was by far the longest living member of his family... I give myself some credit.
There's a shallow/khallow-like quality to "that brother."
Had an aunt like that, another angry mess.
He only ever had one friend... who died.
Everything is about him.
Nobody understands how brilliant he is.
He doesn't read well, so he doesn't research.
He begins everything with "See, what you don't understand is..."
Conversations are, of course, brief and stilted,
Usually ending when he stomps out of the room.
On the bright side, he's gone for ten years at a stretch.
More closure: Part of the family lived in Ohio. The Gables were from Ohio. I ended up with some Gable keepsakes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 20, @09:07PM
Of course, the last time I gave up tobacco (it worked for 4 months), I put on 30 lbs. I'm worried I may need to eat less.
Happy Equinox / Change of Season / Naw Ruz to all.
-nostyle
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-Joni Mitchell