Johnny D. Symon
He who sees fears diddly-squat
By Johnny D. Symon
I've just woken from experiencing a long and interesting dream last night. I've always taken a keen interest in the dreams of others, the Bible notwithstanding of course, therefore my own dreams should be regarded by myself in an equal light. I've heard tell of many people who openly boast of no dream time at all, and I know some of those people personally, I doubt very much that their boast is completely true, for I'm sure that even the most idle or inactive cerebral muscle in daylight hours stretches it's legs so to speak when the unconscious physical entity, acting as it's host, has turned two blind eyes! I place high value on my dream life and often I've discovered, while waking, that some kind of intricate problem I fell asleep pondering over the night before, has found its solution.
The dream I experienced last night may also house some kind of solution to a problem, though I've still to ascertain a possible problem before I can grasp its solution. At present this dream is like a personal narrative, a private experience, a hidden midnight story. I reckon that there's nothing world-shattering about it, and its profundity is questionable, but hey, I happen to know what some of my readers are looking for, so this one's for you!
I've often described myself to others as just another reptile, my blood seems to be as cold as ice. Friends and family know fine well what happens to my system when summer arrives; I'm most active when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, everyone else heads for the pool while I get on with the day's work. Sun for me is like an adrenaline injection, a boost to my system, but to everyone else in my dream the sun and the heat began to drive them mad. Pretty soon violence broke out and chaos started to reign, yet in myself I felt like one of the happiest and most contented people on planet earth. I no longer wanted therefore, to be in and around those people.
I made south toward the edge of town and things appeared to be less chaotic. But after a while the people here took up the crazy-show too.
I again headed further south, finally reaching the edge of town, but before too long this region joined the club. So off I went down the nearest road until I arrived at a little town. All was peaceful. It was like going back in time. The outside temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than the city, but in no time at all it had risen to match the big city. The local folks began to rush from shadow to shadow, then another madding crowd was born.
Big city center, big city limits, then small town madness led me on and out to finally reach the desert. At last I'd left the human race behind. Coyotes and desert wolves, together with a host of flying, creeping and slithering things, took their place. The heat during daylight hours was far greater than in the town and city I'd fled, nevertheless all the creatures who shared this dry and dusty place with me showed no sign of emotional stress. With the exception of a few rodent types and others, all else embraced the sun's rays. They knew that come nightfall heat would depart and cold would take its place.
A form of order and understanding developed between myself and the other desert dwellers. We gained an understanding of where we were in the scheme of things. Canine style quadrupeds saw me as a possible lunch or dinner, and above my head the vultures thought likewise. I too chose to view several local inhabitants as that which might fill an empty stomach, and one by one some of them did. In place of the crazy city fever that had infected human kind my new world was inhabited by a harmonious array of creation; no hate or animosity was present, and everything accepted its lot.
On the few occasions in my dream that I killed an attacking wolf, its pack members redirected their desire to satiate their appetite with yours truly, to desire a share of my kill instead. I gained the respect of wolves and sensed a new form of harmony with nature. Danger was always present 24 hours a day, but I had no fear of my surroundings or of the animal kingdom. My surroundings were there to subdue and its process became an enjoyable one.
The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear, and the logical consummation of that act equates as fearless, Godly order, a condition or environment that even the mightiest enemy can never defeat. Ordered and fearless people would laugh at the very idea of hiding in the shadows, it would be regarded as the act of a lesser being.
Some of the most hideous acts and crimes throughout history have been wrought by the hands of fearful cowards. Maybe we're all beginning to ignore the dark lessons of history and the cowards who fashioned that history. Possibly we're forgetting that fear and cowardice are always the motivating factor behind evil acts. Terrorists are far from brave, let alone noble, they're simply yellow-backed cowards hiding in the shadows. But somehow or other the world would like us to view them in a different light.
Back in 1891 Mark Twain wrote a letter to a correspondent, and in it he said;
"And I was a newspaper reporter four years in cities, and so saw the inside of many things; and was reporter in a legislature two sessions and the same in Congress one session, and thus learned to know personally three sample bodies of the smallest minds and the selfishest souls and the cowardliest hearts that God makes."
Hard and telling words from the great Mark Twain, and more so when I remember the crazy people hopscotching their way between the shadows in my dream, for this dream took place in a big city, and cities house many types of people who hold down numerous kinds of job, yet all of them began to act in the same irrational manner. They jumped from one dark spot to the next, avoiding daylight at all cost.
I guess the whole world is starting to fear everything irrational, and to believe everything that is false, whereas I rise every morning to meet a schedule and carry it out, the average world-dweller questions whether the next morning would ever come. They fear that the world could end at any moment, and they fear a world shortage of drinking water.
Fear, fear, fear, is chaos, chaos, chaos. And Mark Twain's politicos are still with us today. They use duty and tax as a control tool to affect the way people live. They'll raise taxes on alcohol with the excuse that it will lessen their consumption. They raise gas taxes with the same lame excuse. They tell us that industry must be reformed or will destroy the world. It's all a big lie of course, and it's all based on fear, cowardice and the lack of love ... the love of God that casts out fear, that is.
So if my first prognosis of last night's dream is correct, I hold little hope for the future, except for the future of folks like myself who understand what hope really is.
I've just woken from experiencing a long and interesting dream last night. I've always taken a keen interest in the dreams of others, the Bible notwithstanding of course, therefore my own dreams should be regarded by myself in an equal light. I've heard tell of many people who openly boast of no dream time at all, and I know some of those people personally, I doubt very much that their boast is completely true, for I'm sure that even the most idle or inactive cerebral muscle in daylight hours stretches it's legs so to speak when the unconscious physical entity, acting as it's host, has turned two blind eyes! I place high value on my dream life and often I've discovered, while waking, that some kind of intricate problem I fell asleep pondering over the night before, has found its solution.
The dream I experienced last night may also house some kind of solution to a problem, though I've still to ascertain a possible problem before I can grasp its solution. At present this dream is like a personal narrative, a private experience, a hidden midnight story. I reckon that there's nothing world-shattering about it, and its profundity is questionable, but hey, I happen to know what some of my readers are looking for, so this one's for you!
-
"Wisdom begins in wonder."
Socrates
I've often described myself to others as just another reptile, my blood seems to be as cold as ice. Friends and family know fine well what happens to my system when summer arrives; I'm most active when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, everyone else heads for the pool while I get on with the day's work. Sun for me is like an adrenaline injection, a boost to my system, but to everyone else in my dream the sun and the heat began to drive them mad. Pretty soon violence broke out and chaos started to reign, yet in myself I felt like one of the happiest and most contented people on planet earth. I no longer wanted therefore, to be in and around those people.
I made south toward the edge of town and things appeared to be less chaotic. But after a while the people here took up the crazy-show too.
I again headed further south, finally reaching the edge of town, but before too long this region joined the club. So off I went down the nearest road until I arrived at a little town. All was peaceful. It was like going back in time. The outside temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than the city, but in no time at all it had risen to match the big city. The local folks began to rush from shadow to shadow, then another madding crowd was born.
Big city center, big city limits, then small town madness led me on and out to finally reach the desert. At last I'd left the human race behind. Coyotes and desert wolves, together with a host of flying, creeping and slithering things, took their place. The heat during daylight hours was far greater than in the town and city I'd fled, nevertheless all the creatures who shared this dry and dusty place with me showed no sign of emotional stress. With the exception of a few rodent types and others, all else embraced the sun's rays. They knew that come nightfall heat would depart and cold would take its place.
A form of order and understanding developed between myself and the other desert dwellers. We gained an understanding of where we were in the scheme of things. Canine style quadrupeds saw me as a possible lunch or dinner, and above my head the vultures thought likewise. I too chose to view several local inhabitants as that which might fill an empty stomach, and one by one some of them did. In place of the crazy city fever that had infected human kind my new world was inhabited by a harmonious array of creation; no hate or animosity was present, and everything accepted its lot.
On the few occasions in my dream that I killed an attacking wolf, its pack members redirected their desire to satiate their appetite with yours truly, to desire a share of my kill instead. I gained the respect of wolves and sensed a new form of harmony with nature. Danger was always present 24 hours a day, but I had no fear of my surroundings or of the animal kingdom. My surroundings were there to subdue and its process became an enjoyable one.
-
"My riches consist not in the extent of
my possessions, but in the fewness
of my wants."
J Brotherton
The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear, and the logical consummation of that act equates as fearless, Godly order, a condition or environment that even the mightiest enemy can never defeat. Ordered and fearless people would laugh at the very idea of hiding in the shadows, it would be regarded as the act of a lesser being.
Some of the most hideous acts and crimes throughout history have been wrought by the hands of fearful cowards. Maybe we're all beginning to ignore the dark lessons of history and the cowards who fashioned that history. Possibly we're forgetting that fear and cowardice are always the motivating factor behind evil acts. Terrorists are far from brave, let alone noble, they're simply yellow-backed cowards hiding in the shadows. But somehow or other the world would like us to view them in a different light.
Back in 1891 Mark Twain wrote a letter to a correspondent, and in it he said;
"And I was a newspaper reporter four years in cities, and so saw the inside of many things; and was reporter in a legislature two sessions and the same in Congress one session, and thus learned to know personally three sample bodies of the smallest minds and the selfishest souls and the cowardliest hearts that God makes."
Hard and telling words from the great Mark Twain, and more so when I remember the crazy people hopscotching their way between the shadows in my dream, for this dream took place in a big city, and cities house many types of people who hold down numerous kinds of job, yet all of them began to act in the same irrational manner. They jumped from one dark spot to the next, avoiding daylight at all cost.
I guess the whole world is starting to fear everything irrational, and to believe everything that is false, whereas I rise every morning to meet a schedule and carry it out, the average world-dweller questions whether the next morning would ever come. They fear that the world could end at any moment, and they fear a world shortage of drinking water.
Fear, fear, fear, is chaos, chaos, chaos. And Mark Twain's politicos are still with us today. They use duty and tax as a control tool to affect the way people live. They'll raise taxes on alcohol with the excuse that it will lessen their consumption. They raise gas taxes with the same lame excuse. They tell us that industry must be reformed or will destroy the world. It's all a big lie of course, and it's all based on fear, cowardice and the lack of love ... the love of God that casts out fear, that is.
So if my first prognosis of last night's dream is correct, I hold little hope for the future, except for the future of folks like myself who understand what hope really is.
-
"Earth's crammed with Heaven and every
common bush is afire with God. But only
he who sees takes off his shoes."
E B Browning
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(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
