definition

over sherry and scotch what-seems-like a yom ago, i was given a request. and in my difficult effort to be a man of my word:

i do not know how i should define a concept, let alone a word, whose facets are many. at least, they have been made many -- making it difficult to assign one encompassing definition. furthermore, its importance, perceived or actual, puts a little extra pressure upon the shoulders of any human truly grappling with it.

can you know what something is before defining it? or is existence predicated only by -- or after -- definition? damn it. i don't know. it was not long before despair and melancholy came into my mind after pondering on such a traditionally joy-inspiring topic.

beauty.



what is beauty? what is it that is in an object... or person... or event... or whatever... (ad nauseum) that is capable of being beautiful? or does that question imply a disparity where there is none?

can it be as Tolstoy says: that beauty and goodness are not always in kissing distance?

or like what Confucius claims, 'Everything has beauty...'?

or can it be that, truly, beauty only exists in the subjective realm? [shudders at the thought]




at the risk of being a complete and utter dork, i feel like the council that was called to decide the fate of The One Ring in The Fellowship of the Ring when Lord Elrond says, "The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any weapon we here possess."

"beau·ty, [byoo-tee], noun, the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest). "

'technical' has never really done it for me.


in spite of the quality, or position, that i lack as a Definer of Things, here's what i mean when i use beauty, or any of its forms:

"beau·ty, [byoo-tee], noun, a quality in a person, thing or event which inspires awe."




but, then again, the only reason i can even contemplate such things with any certainty is because i have met Beauty Itself.

God bless...

America?

if we truly were the God-blessed nation many Americans say that we are, we wouldn't keep saying 'God bless America'... we would be asking God to bless other nations.

forced

i've been backed into a corner.
both ways out make me sick.

i'm not as brave as you think i am.

self-loathing

i said to myself a few weeks ago:

"you're a creation of the Master of the Universe. start acting like it."

oddly enough, i responded.

"ok."