Ahhh, I like this one. I've done that so many many times that I'm hopeful it affects the karma thing. ;-) But, d'y'know what? I'm not so sure I believe in karma. Just desserts just doesn't seem to happen enough to make it plausible.
I do that too. I keep a "spider-catcher cup" and a plastic card to slide under it once the spider in inside the cup. They may not survive outside, but at least they didn't die by my hand. No, I'm not sure I believe in Karma either. Hitler died by suicide and given the monstrous magnitude of the harm he caused he should have been skinned alive and then roasted over a low fire. And if that didn't kill him hang him up by his entrails.
Karma is a cause, but it can't do anything without a necessary condition--and the condition shapes the outcome. An alternative name for the Law of Karma is the Law of Cause and Effect. It requires no outside agency.
Yes, it's just the same as when people who espouse popular religion say when something goes well, "It was meant to be" and when something goes poorly, "It happened for a reason." They say as though they believe, underneath it all, that some great Power made it happen for a particular, always obscure, purpose. These are perhaps the same people who will stand on the roof of a house in floodwaters and refuse a boat or helicopter waiting for God to save them. Sigh.
But what if there is a Higher Power in the Universe that bends towards the good, and bends towards love, and rather than waiting around for someone to bring about the good and be loving, we are invited (by being alive) to also bend toward the good and bend toward love? What if we co-create the moment and the future with that Higher Power in the Universe? I wonder what happens when people push against it. If its true that Energy and Matter are interchangeable, a push here means a bulge there. ;-)
Well, it's a reasonable thesis, as far as it goes; but there are other very big things going on, too. The US has been an odd empire; but empires have inherent limits, and when they exceed those limits they collapse, be it quickly or slowly. I find the argument that the limit of the US empire is the AK-47 to be interesting. There are other types of limits as well; The Bush II administration's neglect of the US "near abroad" at the same time it was encroaching on the Soviet Union's "near abroad" was imperial hubris, certainly. Capitalism needs to be saved from itself. Might we be in the opening stages of something resembling in ways the revolutions of 1848? [Click] Damned if I know, but it's a fair bet that we might not live to see things calm down again.
Thinking of empires, I am reminded that Martin Luther expected the Ottoman Empire to conquer Europe. At their height the Ottomans had raiders operating behind enemy lines as far west as the Rhine. And did you know that the Barbary Pirates carried out slave raids as far away as Iceland? Not that they were an imperial power. I have an account of the founding of Maryland, and as the ship(s) sailed out into the Atlantic the people aboard were very afraid of the possibility of being captured by Barbary Pirates until they left the shipping lanes well behind.
Hereabouts we have the California Scrub Jay; in the mountains and to the north one finds the Stellar's Jay.
ReplyDeleteAlan
We also have Gray Jays.
DeleteHave to share this poem by Rudy Francisco:
ReplyDeleteShe asks me to kill the spider.
Instead, I get the most
peaceful weapons I can find.
I take a cup & napkin,
I catch the spider, put it outside
and allow it to walk away.
If I am ever caught in the wrong place
at the wrong time, just being alive
and not bothering anyone.
I hope I am greeted
with the same kind
of mercy.
Ahhh, I like this one. I've done that so many many times that I'm hopeful it affects the karma thing. ;-) But, d'y'know what? I'm not so sure I believe in karma. Just desserts just doesn't seem to happen enough to make it plausible.
DeleteI do that too. I keep a "spider-catcher cup" and a plastic card to slide under it once the spider in inside the cup. They may not survive outside, but at least they didn't die by my hand. No, I'm not sure I believe in Karma either. Hitler died by suicide and given the monstrous magnitude of the harm he caused he should have been skinned alive and then roasted over a low fire. And if that didn't kill him hang him up by his entrails.
DeleteKarma is a cause, but it can't do anything without a necessary condition--and the condition shapes the outcome. An alternative name for the Law of Karma is the Law of Cause and Effect. It requires no outside agency.
Delete--Steps down from lectern...
Alan
Yes, it's just the same as when people who espouse popular religion say when something goes well, "It was meant to be" and when something goes poorly, "It happened for a reason." They say as though they believe, underneath it all, that some great Power made it happen for a particular, always obscure, purpose. These are perhaps the same people who will stand on the roof of a house in floodwaters and refuse a boat or helicopter waiting for God to save them. Sigh.
DeleteBut what if there is a Higher Power in the Universe that bends towards the good, and bends towards love, and rather than waiting around for someone to bring about the good and be loving, we are invited (by being alive) to also bend toward the good and bend toward love? What if we co-create the moment and the future with that Higher Power in the Universe? I wonder what happens when people push against it. If its true that Energy and Matter are interchangeable, a push here means a bulge there. ;-)
Tiny, family-run Iowa newspaper wins Pulitzer
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poynter.org/2017/tiny-family-run-newspaper-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-taking-on-big-business/455465/
I just love that! They were so happy and excited.
DeleteYes, excellent!
DeleteAlan
Gravity Might Destroy the Possibility of Electromagnetic Symmetry in the Universe - Click
ReplyDeleteI knew that Gravity was a troublemaker!
DeleteAlan
Nothing new here, but good to have it all laid out logically.
ReplyDelete American History Explains Donald Trump - Click
Well, it's a reasonable thesis, as far as it goes; but there are other very big things going on, too. The US has been an odd empire; but empires have inherent limits, and when they exceed those limits they collapse, be it quickly or slowly. I find the argument that the limit of the US empire is the AK-47 to be interesting. There are other types of limits as well; The Bush II administration's neglect of the US "near abroad" at the same time it was encroaching on the Soviet Union's "near abroad" was imperial hubris, certainly. Capitalism needs to be saved from itself. Might we be in the opening stages of something resembling in ways the revolutions of 1848? [Click] Damned if I know, but it's a fair bet that we might not live to see things calm down again.
DeleteAlan
Thinking of empires, I am reminded that Martin Luther expected the Ottoman Empire to conquer Europe. At their height the Ottomans had raiders operating behind enemy lines as far west as the Rhine. And did you know that the Barbary Pirates carried out slave raids as far away as Iceland? Not that they were an imperial power. I have an account of the founding of Maryland, and as the ship(s) sailed out into the Atlantic the people aboard were very afraid of the possibility of being captured by Barbary Pirates until they left the shipping lanes well behind.
DeleteAlan
Off to Minocon in the morning. Back Monday evening, but will be busy for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteSee you later!
Traveling Mercies, Bill!
Delete