I know, I know.

Pride comes before the fall...or at least that's what the common adage would have you believe. And incidentally, I believe it.

I just discovered something about our culture (let's call it western) and pervading philosophies versus the eastern culture and philosophies. Western philosophies don't like simplicity. If I were to say, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." I would be right and wrong. In our western paradigm that sentence doesn't work.

An apple a day? What is the doctor a vegetable vampire and can't stand fruits? Is the apple the cure all fruit? Western philosophy as sprung from our greek tradition demands answers to these questions. We can't accept the simple adage that eating healthy fruits (an apple for example) is a healthy activity and in general if you eat healthy then your overall health will increase and if you are more healthy then you will be less likely to require the aid of a doctor.

But my wife doesn't like apples and she goes the Doctor much, much more than I do...Maybe there is something to this apple thing. Ah, I digress.

In Eastern philosophy analogies, parables, and anecdotes (okay, maybe not anecdotes) are often used to explain complex ideas. And that's okay. An apple a day? Great, fill me up.

It is interesting to note this difference because it also seems to extend to western vs. eastern medicines.

On the one hand, western medicine has moved past the old wives tales to a more detailed understanding. Is this good? It may be. However, it may be beneficial for the average joe to follow the old wives tale if it is founded on scientifically valid principle; even if he doesn't know why it works.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for the education of the masses. There's nothing but darkness and the bubonic plague if we go the other way. And I sure think that eating healthy is...well, healthy. But I also think that overcomplication can be just as bad as over simplification.

If I am teaching a child how to do addition, and I start out by saying, "Multiplication is just addition on a different level." I have defeated myself. Everyone doesn't need to be an expert on every subject in order for the world to operate. I don't know how to program a web page (well, I do, but that's beside the point) but I still have this here blog up.

So, is it good to try to learn everything? Yes. Is it necessary to force advanced knowledge on everyone? No.

Let's just everyone progress. And when you want to know how the atom is really made up, then we'll go ask someone who knows. But if eating an apple a day really is healthy then for goodness sakes, don't tell them to stop eating apples.

Just wait, and when they're ready then tell them why eating apples is healthy and maybe let them know they can eat other fruits as well.

This world of ours

Sometimes I think (and the suggested "sometimes I don't think must be also true") that my lifetime endeavors are fruitless. I write, but sometimes I don't get that big pat on the back that we all look for: recognition. Let's face it, if you write you are writing for someone else to read. Writing is communication, and communication is always (no exceptions at all) an effort to communicate a thought or idea to someone else. Even darned artistic poets like Emily Dickenson who holed themselves up inside their homes wrote for someone. And that's the whole truth of it. We want our thoughts and feelings and ideas to garner some form of recognition. We want our spouse, kid, brother, grandpa, neighbor, or proverbial neighbor to read our writing and say, "Ahh", "that's right", "Ha ha ha", or even "This makes me so mad I want to rip it up." To each writer there is a sought after response. Even if they don't know it.

Now, in our society the most acceptable form of recognition is money. We write and so someone gives us money. It seems like a suitable relationship. However we'll often settle for less.

But in this day and age we have computers so that anyone, like me, can write and be published to the world. It is wonderful. But because we have such unlimited expression, we get the dregs of the human animal along with the pinnacle of expression. That's just what we get for our liberal allowances. The same is true for every other form of expression: advertising, painting, performance art, politics. We've always had the lowest forms of expression in the world, now they just feel like they have a right to foist their opinions on us. But here's the kicker...we don't have to read it, watch it, listen to it, or smell it. That's right, we can ignore it. And until their existance becomes dangerous to my eternal salvation that's what I'll do.

I like to think that I may be in the upper 50% of that little group. But I'm probably not, so you may ignore me too (I won't tell if you don't). But I will continue to enjoy this little glimpse into the anima/animus of our culture.

And now I will type something in German.

Ich habe gedacht daß ich werde ein Autor sein. Aber es ist eine Schwierigkeit daß ich sie für ein Wunsch haben. Weil ich habe keine Bücher geschreiben. Ach, so ist es. Ich tue es eines Tages.

There's a bug in my pocket

I have an opinion on very few subjects. I try to keep myself open for persuasion and manipulation whenever possible. But there are a few things that I do form my own personal convictions about. And you people of the invisible web that I write this blog for (because we are all really writing blogs because we think that someone will read them and we all secretly hold the desire to become well known because of the style and voice we create through our writing...it's the way for todays everyman/woman to get published only when we're all published, no one is (read "When everyone's special, no one is." from pixar's The Incredibles)) get to hear it.

When we do something wrong habitually we apologize for what we're doing. We apologize again and again. Well, to keep the apologizing to a minimum, only apologize for the things that you actually have no control over.

"I'm sorry that I can't go running with you this morning. My feet were amputated last night and I doubt I'd be able to keep up." That's a valid apology.

"I'm sorry that I can't go swimming with you today, my skin is made of a compound that turns into an acid when I touch water and I would die." Okay, I can respect your decision.

However, "I'm sorry that I was late today for the fiftieth time, I just can't seem to get myself motivated to be here on time." is not a valid apology. It is an attempt to excuse a changeable trait.

So, let's save the excuses for the unchangeable and change the things that we can.

(Editor's note (read "writer's note") the author of this document is fully aware of the hypocrisy evident in these writings and hopes that all of you enjoy it.)