Lion in the Winter

Like a lion in the winter I can hear the summer call
Like a ship out on the ocean made of stone
And sometimes when I get lonely I can swear I hear you call
Oh the nights are cold when you don't keep me warm

And when I first saw you I first loved you
With a song that I sang to the fire in your eyes
But somebody told you that wouldn't be easy
And you carried that lie for the devil to sing

Some sail rivers deep and muddy some sail rivers clear and cold
But the river that I'm sailin' goes to sea
And sometimes I do grow weary sometimes I feel old
And sometimes I wonder if you think of me

And when I first saw you I first loved you
With a song that I sang to the fire in your eyes
But somebody told you that it wouldn't be easy
And you carried that lie for the devil to sing

~Hoyt Axton

Sorry I can't link this for you. (see; youtube Lion in the Winter by FakeApology for the very best rendition) This song is Life's answer to the post A Tangled Tango. It is also an opportunity to tell you that two more newbies came in yesterday and today--Honduras and Ecuador respectively. I mention that because it brings to seven the number of new countries that appeared after the post All Is Vanity. What took (nearly) 13 months between Grinding Gears and All Is Vanity took less than thirty days between All is Vanity and Interesting or Odd. What do you make of that?

Interesting or Odd?

To understand this post in any way, you will need to read All Is Vanity. (7-4-16) Context is provided there. What to make of it I will leave to you. Peru 7-10-16 Argentina 7-13-16 Algeria 7-24-16 El Salvador 7-25-16 Bolivia 8-1-16.

ALGERIA--ARGENTINA--Australia--Austria--Belarus--Bahamas--Belgium--Brazil--BOLIVIA--Bulgaria--Canada--Chile--Costa Rica--Columbia--Denmark--EL SALVADOR--Finland--France--Germany--Georgia--Greece--Hungary-India--Indonesia--Iraq--Ireland--Italy--Israel--Jamaica--Japan--Kazakhstan--Kenya--Kuwait--Kyrgyzstan--Latvia--Lithuania--Malaysia--Mexico--Netherlands--Pakistan--PERU--Philippines--Poland--Portugal--Qatar--Romania--Russia--Serbia--Singapore--Slovakia--Spain--South Africa--South Korea--Sweden--Switzerland--Suriname--Taiwan--Tanzania--Thailand--Turkey--United Arab Emirate--Ukraine--United Kingdom--United States--Venezuela--Vietnam--Zambia--Zimbabwe

You're A Pagan

The simple truth is the 'people of the Book' (Jews, Christians, Muslims) are all pagans. There is little doubt of this. The two holiest days for Judaism (Yom Kippur and Pesach) were confiscated from Babylonian or Ugaritic (Canaanite) religious observances. Christians give up the secret with their two highest holidays/festivals. (Christmas and Easter) As for Islam, the one absolute necessity for any Muslim (in his lifetime) is to go to Mecca and circle the Kaaba seven times. The Kaaba (house of God) predates Islam by hundreds of years. Apparently removing it's 360 idols was all that was necessary to bring the shrine 'up to code.'

Doesn't it give you pause that God was reduced to co-opting PAGAN forms/practices of worship? Wouldn't the highest, holiest days of God (or Allah) be utterly unique and altogether different than those of pagans? Or are we to believe that the forms, practices, and rituals were fine, just directed toward the wrong deity? Is that what we are expected to believe?

Some are sure to say, well how about monotheism? That was the overriding difference between true worship and paganism. Sorry, the idea of monotheism originated in Persia and Egypt long before it occurred to the Hebrews. (see; Zoroastrianism and the Egyptian worship of Aten) So monotheism can't be considered original to the people of the book. No, the fact is, the only distinction between pagans and true believers is what they called their God. That's it. And if you research the subject, you'll see that the original Hebrew name for God was pagan. (El) It wasn't updated until Exodus 3:13-15. (repeated at Exodus 6:2-3)

If the Jewish religion is revealed to have pagan roots, it stands to reason that Christianity and Islam have to be pagan as well, yes? How can the leaf of a tree be inherently different than the branch, or the branch from the trunk? If the trunk is dependent on the root, how can you claim this part divine, this part demonic? Aren't they different manifestations--different aspects--of the same impulse, the same source?

Study the Ugarit tablets. See what you think.

Snagged 'Em!

Algeria showed up between 2:00AM and 4:00 AM last night. I won't pretend it doesn't bring some sense of satisfaction and amusement. However, the truth is, they came and went. (I can tell if a person looks at more than one page of the blog) Which means nothing of consequence happened. My ego got stroked and the ten largest countries by land mass have been 'secured.' But there wasn't a firing of the imagination or an interest in content. So, ultimately, it is a hollow victory. Which is worthwhile only in the context of seeing the ego and it's machinations. Let us use it as such.

"The ultimate aim of the ego is not to see something, but to be something."  ~Muhammad Iqbal

A Tangled Tango

As the creator of GGG, it is always challenging to "stay in the mix." Meaning, I have to practice what I preach. The last three months have proved difficult in that regard. A personal issue extending over twenty years has emerged (yet again!) to push, prod, vex and bedevil me. Several times I have been reduced to Anne Dillard's personal prayer ('help-help-help!'). And it isn't as if I'm not utilizing my own techniques. Ultimately, though, it is the outcome I am having trouble with. I keep thinking (believing--feeling) that if I  just do a little more...

Thomas Merton (Trappist monk) said, "We stumble and fall constantly, even when we are most enlightened." I know this to be true...but I know another of his quote's is equally true: "Perhaps I am stronger than I think." In this context then, can I re-embrace gratitude for how the situation is now? Honestly appreciating it as it now stands--unfair, destructive, confusing? Can I view my personal angst as a metaphorical nova that will result in the creation of new elements--new aspects of my personality otherwise doomed to remain dormant? Can I learn to tango for two/you?

Sibyl of the Rhine

"Divinity is in it's omniscience and omnipotence like a wheel, a circle, a whole, that can be neither understood, nor divided, nor begun nor ended."

"The mystery of God hugs you in it's all-encompassing arms."

"Humanity, take a good look at yourself. Inside you have heaven and earth, and all of creation. You're a world--everything is hidden in you."

"Even in a world that is being shipwrecked, remain brave and strong."

"We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light."

~Hildegard of Bingen

This remarkable woman (1098-1179) was a Benedictine nun who authored 9 books, 70 poems, a play, and composed music--for which she is most celebrated today. During her lifetime she was venerated as a visionary and seer. She advised and consulted bishops, kings and Popes, and actually called Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, a "madman" for his support of two anti-popes.

Sand, Sunni's, and Couscous

Algeria is over four-fifths desert--which would be an impressive statistic if it wasn't dwarfed by being 99% Sunni Islam. Those are some overwhelming percentages. And it seems everyone eats couscous...

The biggest surprise (for me) regarding Algeria was to find there is a Notre Dame d'Afrique. Located in Algiers, this cathedral is noted for the inscription behind the altar; "Notre Dame d'Afrique priez pour nous et pour les Musulmans." (Our Lady of Africa pray for us and for the Muslims) Hope she is listening.