Rikkity's Entity and Friends

Journeys
(in Venice)

Rikkity: "And that's the show. Thanks to JC and God and LD and MCP. Bye. UTV.

"Shhh... they're sleeping. Arrf... ARF. It's time for the timeless ones, it's Ericka's Bench. Como stai. Dorma. You are dormant and vacant. You are on vacation. Yay. So, welcome to the Bench. Sit, but no sleeping on the bench... grrrr... ok, under the bench is ok... f. What a show we have! What a show we have? We have a show? Ok, show what we have.

MCP:

"First-a. I need no-a intro. It's-a me-a. I own-a da town.

"Journeys. So many try to force journeys into the mold of travel. Sure-a I traveled, but I also met many who did not travel but who did journey. All those who in my travels welcomed me and talked with me and opened their worlds, did they not journey without travel?

"Sometimes the best trips we take are those on which we do not travel but on which we journey--letting go of boundaries of space and time and meaning. We find a way in travel because we must, but when we do it without travel it is because we choose.

"So one of the greatest journeys is the one you choose to take when you be willing to explore ideas that are foreign or unknown or even undesired. If you travel, you know that when you experience another place you don't have to stay there. Same with ideas, so why avoid those which are unfamiliar or even unwanted. The first sign of the dictator--either in the state or in the self--is a censorship of where the mind will travel. So, don't censor yourself unless you want to stop traveling in spirit. The words of the person who is afraid are 'I can't' 'I won't' 'I haven't' 'I don't think so'--all without knowing. Sure-a there will be limits beyond which you don't go, but approach the limits to know where they are; don't assume them.

"So not everyone in Torino needs to go to Roma, but they should at least venture to Genoa. Maybe there they find they have reached their limits, but they wouldn't know that in Torino. For me, I found no limits in China but I don't bungee jump! Ayeeee. And each of us has our own unique place that is our edge. And, just short of the edge beyond which we stop being able to be ourselves, is the cutting edge where we are most ourselves. So let your journeys be wide and vast--even if you do not travel. You will never injure yourself on your true cutting edge. I go-a." (5/24/2004 - W#321)

Rikkity: "And now, the man who MCP thinks is second only to him, and who himself thinks MCP is second to."

LD:

"Hello, wise ones.

"There is an exhibit of mine in town. They make toys out of ideas, while I made ideas out of toys. The present question is: what toys are being developed now for the museum of another millennium. So much has grown from my own work, but it is time for another.

"All cloth has patterns of fiber that can be used or can cause problems. I won't tell you about my studies of this, but I did advise more than one ruler about how to keep crumbs off his front. Go with the nap, not against it. Otherwise, your vest could be throwing crumbs back at you. When the inexplicable happens, always look for the explanation--because explanations are the real magic of the world. What in the unknown can match any of the majesty of the discovered and understood.

"Some people fear discovery because they think it will rob the world of the beauty of mystery. But don't worry, it won't. A lack of discovery dulls the shining finish of the globe. So venture on, fear not. What you find will not destroy you unless you wish it so. (5/24/2004 - W#322)

"And now, my little friend..."

MCP: "Hey-a."

LD: "What do you say to a round of golf."

MCP: "What?"

LD: "I just invented it."

MCP: "Sure-a! Funny, you don't look-a Scotch."

LD: "I invented Scotch."

MCP: "Sure-a!"

LD: "Whatever. Let's go and make mischief."

MCP: "Ok-a."

LD: "Bye."

Rikkity: "And now... arf arf... grrrr... grrrr... woog... grrrrr. Sandy says he can't bark as sharply as Venetian dogs do. Here's that flying and paying fool, Papa."

Papa:

"Great beach. But they all talk funny. They remind me of a guy from Brooklyn in my unit. He was Italian and half the time we couldn't understand him, but when we got working and he got talking with his hands he was great! He could point and gesture like I talk, and you just knew. So everybody liked him. And right now there's this young woman on the beach and she's gesturing with her body and I think I know what she's saying... oy. If only my old body didn't sag but spoke. Wait, I have no body. She does! O yes. Don't kill the fantasy.

"Sometimes you have to travel and sometimes you have to journey and sometimes you have to sit back and enjoy the scenery. What good would it be to discover and not appreciate. All journey and no rest would make a full but not a beautiful world. So I will sit back, sun myself, and watch her gesture... oy. She doesn't need to stretch like that. I'll be here awhile. (5/24/2004 - W#323)

"And now, on the end of the Bench, our last guest."

Rikkity:

"Hello. So, they have all been talking about travel and journeys. What is constant in what they say? Things change! If nothing changes, then you have gone nowhere. But for change you also need what? Letting go--which many assume means losing. Loss. Folks don't like loss: lost youth, lost hair, lost family. But what about lost weight. Ok, we don't like lost dogs... arr. Loss of face.

"But I remind you that there is a corollary to the Wizard of Oz line about your backyard. It is: If something has become part of your own yard, you can never really lose it.

"Dorothy will never lose Oz; Toto will, neither... although he might bury it in the backyard. So, as you travel and as you journey, don't worry. What is truly you and yours will never be lost in the process. In fact, it will be found! That's the reason to go: in order to find where you already are but, like Eliot, to find it anew.

"And that's it for the Bench. And so, that's the Bench and this is the beach and this is the bitch and this is a dog who is rich... ARF. UTV." (5/24/2004 - W#324)



"I just got here, and I've been here forever. Hi. Let's get honest for a moment. I have been privileged to be here and learn and remember, and also honored to be able to share through you two. And I have been blessed by my friends here. Now, this next bit is not for publication... no, it is.

"I am so here, but then I connect to your time and space and I feel things. How can I put it. This sucks! At junctions of spirit awakened by date, I sense it all. I want my Mommy! You think it's easy; knowing how important this is here, that I wouldn't miss much. But, right at this vortex, I miss you and Lizzie and Ali and Elis and Papa... and my clothes and my mess and my future. Ok, that's passed. But I had to share it with the only 2 on that side who would understand. It's a matrix vortex... a maelstrom and a femalestrom. So don't feel bad and think I don't feel it, too.

"Spirits have the equivalent of feelings. Long ago I said we grieved for those who left us to go back alive--that was feelings. Sure, we know more, but knowledge doesn't eclipse feelings. Those who understand death intellectually still cry. Sandy cries, too... arrrr... and little spirit dog tears wash the universe.

"And, like I told you, we get out of there before the death hurts; so it is not about dying, it is about mourning a probable reality's demotion. You know what it's like to have a probable future suddenly erased? I do! So there... blech.

"And from all on this side, thanks for calling. You think you are blessed, what about us having an outlet. Can you imagine these guys with no one to talk to?! Nutso.

"And now for the immortal words: Write if you get work. Hang by your  thumbs." (8/20/2004 - W#325)




Wholeness

Edd Spangley: "And, for a good time in the afterlife, visit Vista City and see the future... if you dare! First-timers not welcomed, sorry. But there'll be a special reception just for you with the Master of the Universe at 4:30. Don't miss it, it'll break you up. And now, the show no one asks for and no one misses: Ericka's Bench."

Rikkity: "So, did you read about the two who just arrived and had a spirited discussion? Oooo, they didn't like that one. Sandy, was that a joke or not? Arrrrph. Huh... f... huh... f. Ok, let's sit on the bench... grrrr. Ok, let's not sit on the bench. Why not, Sandy? Wrrrr. Wet? Grrrr. You? Grr. Paint... wooogf... ok. Sandy, was it spray paint... oorf. Have we been sniffing the fumes... grrw. Sandy, take a nap... *flop*.

"Let me look. The bench is dry. There's no paint on it, just a lot of paw prints in paint around it. Huffer dog. Bad Sandy... f. Ok, sit down. Today we have guests of every stripe... wooz... no Sandy, no zebras. First, an old friend, Marky."

Marky:

"Bonjour, Madame. I see once again your history makes an election. When I served your great land, there were no elections. We fought for principles, we fought for values, we fought for liberty. So today I speak a heresy: that democracy may be the enemy of the true and the good. Now, I would quickly add that I do not know of a system that is the friend of the true and good, because it is in the nature of systems to serve themselves, and not the larger good. So, in a democracy elections are about the system and who will control the system, and not about principles, not about liberty. Elections are an exercise in finding the highest fraction of the lowest common denominator.

"One would think one would seek a fraction in which the whole was one. But each party begins with a fraction of the whole and then divides that up, and what is common to the whole is lost. I can tell you that, when we were on the field of battle in those old days, even the lowest private could speak of our principles--and those principles were not self-interest. I believe that every election after that of my good friend GW was more a travesty than an affirmation.

"Only in revolution do things seem clear. Am I preaching revolution? No, I am only reminding you that only those with revolutionary ideas will seek to speak to all; others will look for their partisans more than their ideals. I never saw a man of ideals quit the struggle, but I often saw partisans grow tired or disillusioned and leave.

"So, don't expect elections to be about ideals. I am sorry to have to say all this, but c'est la vie. Hey, look, here's LD." (8/30/2004 - W#326)

LD:

"I've got this great new device in my notebook. I made it out of wood and rope. It is a temporary platform. It is useful for giving an illusion of stability, but all it is is a bunch of sticks and rope which will fall apart at the first stressing. I just mention it this time, as others will try to convince you that their designs are more permanent and innovative and long-lasting. I've never seen a platform built by man that is rock solid. Just a hint!"

MCP: "Hey-a."

LD: "Hi, my little friend."

MCP: "Hey-a!"

LD: "I like you, even if you are short... "

MCP: "Hey-a!!"

LD: "Because sometimes when everyone is looking to the mountaintops, the littlest see there is nothing holding them up... sort of like promises." (8/30/2004 - W#327)

MCP: "Hey-a, I talk-a now."

LD: "Ok."

MCP:

"Hi-a. I learned a simple lesson on my travels. It is one like what Rikkity told you. I always had a choice. I could tell people I was a Venetian--and so, better than they--or I could ask about them, and see their best points. I found early on that praise and connection did much to open mouths...  and hearts and minds.

"So as I traveled, I tried to help those I met, and not first demand their help. And I knew that quid pro quo was not the answer. Do what is right and true and humane, and you will discover a world of foreigners who are true and right and humane. Had I acted like a Florentine or a Roman, I wouldn't have gotten 140 miles! Back in a week with my tail between my legs. And hey-a, no pasta!

"So I learned, better to be the servant in humility than the braggard in power. LD wants another word."

LD:

"Connection, that's all--which implies equality. Here's the lady... and her drunk dog, too." (8/30/2004 - W#328)

Rikkity: "Ready for a treat? Here's a famous purveyor of tea."

MW:

"Hello. Will you sit with me a moment and have some tea? I have the tea coming.

"Long ago, we spoke of losses. I am reminded of this again. I keep seeing people who have lost greatly and who have not learned. They yearn, they pine, they suffer. They then fall prey to every false promise and empty panacea. They just want to be whole, and the only wholeness they know is the one without the loss. So they get trapped into an endless and fruitless
search for what was. And they become the prey and fodder of merchants of emptiness.

"No one else can ever make you whole again, only you. Our great Lord Jesus brought this simple message: The gracious Ruler of Creation has given each of us the gifts of life and wholeness, no matter what. And the gift of wholeness for someone else cannot be ours. The Christ told us this. Even with all He would suffer, His wholeness was of His choosing and making. The possibility was from God, but the choice was His to take or refuse the cup.

"In every age, there will be those who will offer to do your work and your choosing for you, but theirs is emptiness. So know that in our times of loss the promise is given, the way has been shown, but the choice must be ours--else we are left with empty words and emptier hearts.

"Ahh, here's the tea. Enjoy!"  (8/30/2004 - W#329)

Rikkity: "Thanks, M, I like tea... with 6 teaspoons of sugar, please. And with that, this briefer but pithy Bench comes to an end. Sandy is revived... arrrf... snap... woof. No more solvents for Sandy... arf!"

Edd Spangley: "And now, for the whole UTV family, this is your announcer, Edd Spangley, reminding you that eternity is not all that long. See you later!"



"Speak, McPooch... ARF. You do know he's not really a dog. He just plays one on UTV... arrf. He is actually the 5th baronial magistrate of the House of Cleft... rrrrf.

"He was relatively friendless in the people world, so he chose man's best friend. Karma can be a duty or a choice or a tool. He chose tool... but I'm not saying he's a tool... woof. Remember, if it isn't true here, it isn't true there. Here it won't do you in or let you out, but it is a tool which can illumine." (11/12/2004 - Y#80)




Holidays

Announcer: "Feeling like Christmas has let you down? Try new Xmax. Makes the presents flow easily and daily without cramps. Warning: May cause colds, flu, and death. Available at Osco and other poorer stores.

"And now, the program you've been waiting for... or not: Ericka's Bench." *Applause* "Hoozah."

Rikkity: "Thanks, GW. And hi to all my benchmates. Once again, I've selected--and Sandy's rounded up--a great circle of wackos... no no no no... that was CT saying 'wackos.' Takes one.... I was going to say luminaries, for these are spirits who have enlightened so many. But on second thought..."

CT: "... she is going to feature those from the dark side."

Rikkity: "No no no no no no... CT, shut up, or I'll give you a gift you won't forget and can't forgive. O no, he's pouting. Sandy, help him pout... grrrrrr.

"So, 5 great and enlightened ones. Not a tea lady in sight. So, the first of the great lights, LD."

LD:

"Gracious hello. Buona natale.

"We so often speak of the great births of the messiahs--and I know saying it that way is heresy, but do I care? Remember, there are more dead heretics here than popes and inquisitors, so don't push a vote among the dead!

"Anymoo (she likes that!), we focus on the birth of the persons who we think will save us. But what about the more important births? Like the birth of an idea. At some time, the idea of the messiah was born. It had to predate any claimants to the title. That human beings could think of a universal and eternal messenger, wow! Out of the parochial and the short-time, the eternal and the whole were glimpsed. Awesome! And at that moment of birth, we knew our connection to the whole. The idea of a messiah told us everything. We didn't need the person, really, once we had the idea. And all the person could do is remind us of the idea.

"And what about the birth of hope. When did a sentient being glimpse the reality of timelessness, which is the essence of hope. You might be puzzled by what I just said–timelessness as the source of hope–because so many people think of hope as an outcome in time. But without the constraints of time, all things become possible in the fullness of being. What could be more hopeful than that?!

"And what about the birth of love? Of knowing oneself as intimately and constructively bound with the life of another. Without love, parents would abandon children and no one would ever trust. So, like the idea of messiah, the idea of hope and the idea of love become the precursors to hope and love.

"We set aside seasons to celebrate realizations of hope and love, but better we should celebrate the very birth of the concepts. Too often we patent the devices, not the concepts. So, not to disparage the son of Bethlehem, but he is just symbolic of greater realities." (12/25/2004 - W#330)

Rikkity: "And now, another good friend: Marky."

Marky:

"Hello. Time is only an ingredient in the recipes of those who wish to feed their discontent. Others of us are nourished by the timeless flow of energy.

"There was a Christmas during the war when we did not have much hope or faith, and many were wont to leave and go home. And I remember a preacher speaking to the troops. He asked them 'What would have happened if Mary and Joseph had just gone home? A manger would have been empty, three wise men would have searched in vain, shepherds would have doubted their visions, and the whole message would have been lost. Jesus would have been born, but the story would have been different. If they had just gone home, who knows what would have ensued.' And then he said 'As you think about home, who will be there to raise our standard when the bugle calls? Who will stand by your closest friend in battle? When General Washington calls forth our troops, who will fill out the lines? When we live another century at the hands of the king, who will we look to for relief?' And I stood there, with my thoughts in La Belle France but my heart in this country, weeping my new allegiance.

"For Jesus, he said, this night his home was in a stable, and ours this night was in our tents and in our comraderie and in our hearts. And thereafter, I never felt homeless nor homesick again.

"Bonne fête. Merci. Au revoir." (12/25/2004 - W#331)

Rikkity: "And another. The hits just keep on coming."

MW:

"Hello. Gracious servant.

"I am compelled to think of Mary this day. She was away from home. She had been up all night birthing her first. She had to deal with strangers and shepherds and angels, can you imagine... not to mention those Easterners. And what did she do. She pondered.

"In the midst of great celebrations, we so often don't take the time or space or energy to ponder. Mr. President, my husband, had an odd custom. After the winning of some battle, he would retreat from the celebration to his own solitude and ponder it all.

"I, too, at times, felt the criticisms of others when I would not or could not be sociable when I had need of my own counsel. It is very hard to hear the voices of the divine when one is cheering.

"Perhaps the best holiday would be one given half to contemplation before a half for celebration. I do not know, I must ponder that.

"I wish you well." (12/25/2004 - W#332)

Rikkity: "Now a surprise guest: Sanford McPooch... ARRRF. Arf... And now, our next... grrrrr... ok, say more. Woof woof. Done? Woof! Ok. And now, I give you a man long on tales."

MCP:

"Hello-a. I see-a you know-a my face-a. I tell you about two journeys. This is a real life fable.

"My cousin Vinny (Vincenzo), he goes on a trip to buy very fine fabric. He wants silk, so he travels east. And everywhere he goes, he asks 'Have you any silk to sell.' For months he hears 'no,' but then he hears 'yes,' and he buys many fine silks and he returns to Venezia with them and sells them and becomes moderately wealthy.

"And I travel also to the East, but do I ask for silk, no. I ask 'What do you have to trade?' So I get fabrics of mohair and cashmere, and trinkets of gold and jewels, and stories. So when I return, I have only a little silk, but I have riches beyond knowing.

"A journey with a known outcome is no journey!

"A holiday without a future is no holy day. If you treat all celebration as an answer, why celebrate. And if you can't sense the question in a holiday, why bother.

"I say-a too much-a. Ciao." (12/25/2004 - W#333)

Rikkity: "And now, numero 5... ARF... numero 6... f."

Papa:

"Hi, babe. I do keep some illustrious company. They say I'm one of the best, too, but I think they keep me around to be near her! I don't care.

"Every holiday, I think, should include an element of doing what you want--not just of the expected nor the traditional. So I'm going to the beach. But after all, isn't his name Sandy Claus. I may never change!

"So I go to walk and sun and smile and look at the hot spirits!" (12/25/2004 - W#334)

Rikkity: "So, from all of us on the other side, a Merry Christmas."



Focus, Balance, Competition, and Understanding

"And so, the didactic method proved less than convincing and all attempts were abandoned."

Announcer: "Thank you, Dr. Herb Meier. And with that, we bring to a close another session of Mindless Mind, and once again we invite you to join us again when we say 'Nevermind.' This is UTV. Later, a program on the problems of monogamy in the development of poly-faceted entities. Or, on Channel 2, Polka Party. And now, a special session of Ericka's Bench, with her pooch Sandy... ARRRF."

Rikkity: "Wow, did you hear Herb Meier. What a mindless twit. Welcome to S-Span, your cable company's eternal coverage of spirit--more than just 24/7. And welcome to my bench, but don't sit. Sandy has just painted it... great timing, dog... woof. But this time, we used latex--no fumes... grrrrr. Well, on with the show which is going to be a standing joke... hahahehehehe I slay myself... and my elf.

"Ok, let's say welcome to the shadow of the bench, VR. Don't! sit! Too late. It'll wash off."

VR:

"Hello. I was in Spain about the time you were in France... but that's another story.

"I was a mystic and medium and seer. And I spent all my life chasing the esoteric. And this much I learned and remembered: Whether I chased it or not, it was always there. But when I hunted it down, it was sometimes less than itself. Sometimes I would so impose my needs and understandings that it could not be itself. And sometimes I focused so narrowly, it could not be its full self. And sometimes I drove right by it without seeing because I was so focused elsewhere.

"There is so much talk about this or that path to enlightenment, and I now see that they all are good and bad. All it takes is a radical openness to what is. If your path opens your mind and spirit and heart, it will be as good as any. But if your path only opens you to your path, you will miss so much.

"Don't mistake the path for the journey, nor for the vista. Even as I honed my powers, I missed much because I was focusing on my powers and not on what they revealed. Just a warning. It's never about models, it's about content.

"And I've said enough. No, I haven't. But enough, and now I've said it." (1/15/2005 - W#335)

Rikkity: "She is so wicked. Wellll, yes and no. He/she was a man-woman. In which life? And now, an old friend who will go by the initials of TF. Shhhh... "

TF:

"Hello. Been a long time. I'm just a simple person but I do have something to say. How shall I put it... balance.

"When we focus too sharply, we lose balance. And balance is necessary for change, which is counterintuitive. One would think one would need a direction or a propensity for change, but the greatest change arises when we feel a sense of balance which makes us secure enough to risk. Change which is the result of crisis will breed more crisis. But change bred of continuity will be more sustained and sustaining.

"The atom which is slowly brought to excitation can change to new states. The atom brought to a new state of energy abruptly is unstable and likely to destroy itself.

"An ion seeks desperately to find union, and holds on so tenaciously that further combination is hard. Those that are balanced in themselves can find newly balanced combinations.

"Take a group of unstable people, and with a lot of work you can make them into a group but it will be a potentially explosive one. Get a group of together people, and they will create their own, very sustainable, group. Hint: When a group seems fractious, look at the members, not the group.

"Ok, the chicken is calling and I don't know why." (1/15/2005 - W#336)

Rikkity: "And now, here for a rare reappearance this soon, Marky."

Marky:

"Bonjour, madame. I come, as always, with a message of friendship. There is no group on this Earth which is without conflict. It is the spiritual nature of a planet of people learning to deal with their complexity.

"What causes problems often is that people decide to consider this basic human dilemma as a tribal or national success or failure. One's own version of stability is taken as successful triumph over the human condition, and others' modes as failures. So there is this competition to see oneself as ok and others as not. But we all are both. And our unchosen placement in this nation or that culture does not insure whether we succeed or fail.

"The great wise ones always knew that the truth exceeded any specific group. Groups emulate, groups embody, but groups do not create or possess. And wisdom is knowing this. Good people have died in the cause of bad ideas. But when was it not so. I go. Au revoir." (1/15/2005 - W#337)

Rikkity: "And now, he would like a gutteral with you... woog... ARF. He's sitting on it. Can he get up? Grrrr. He's up and there's no fur on the bench. Yay! So let's have our next guest sit down, MW."

MW:

"A gracious good day. I would not have come if I had to stand to talk with friends. G and his men can stand! But I prefer to sit. When one spends energy on standing, one has less for understanding. And I would understand, if I can. And so it is with so much else. If I am to be absorbed in standing at this point on that issue, I must spend energy taking that stand and so I have that much less to spend on understanding. One of the greatest gifts we can receive is an ability to be sustained by an idea without making it a stand.

"Now, I am not advocating for no values. What one knows as the truth of her being transcends stands. In fact, when a core value or ethic is known, one is freed to look openly on other choices, knowing the assurance of this as given. Only those things we uphold without a sense of their ultimate assurance need our standing up for them. Living a value without compromise is not the same as fighting for this stand or that.

"So I am glad I could sit, and I now rise and take leave. Goodbye." (1/15/2005 - W#338)

Rikkity: "And with the poor eyesight closing in, we bring this Bench to a close."

MCP: "Hey-a."

Rikkity: "Ok."

MCP:

"Ciao. I just wanted to say that travelers who are dying to see only one place miss many places. Ciao." (1/15/2005 - W#339)

Rikkity: "And so we go. For Sandy and me and all and others and them... but not him... we say 'See you.' "



Papa:

"Hi, babe. What a time I've been having. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make ideas concrete. But for those without voices it is different. But we don't give them voices, but we teach them to communicate in common. In life they communicated only in limited ways with limited people, and we have to help them see universal possibilities. When you have held your inner self so closely, you have to learn to let it be communally known and appreciated. Big doses of fear there to be quelled.

"There is one fear greater than being misunderstood and that's being totally understood. At least with misunderstanding you can hide behind what is not understood, but in the naked noonday of openness there's no place to hide. And until you realize there is no reason to hide, there is fear! Remember, all of us here are sustainable entities so what we are is just fine. If we have warts, so to speak, they are part of our meaning. But to learn to not worry or fret over differences is a struggle. And for those whose lives were defined by differences it is deep learning.

"But I love it. Sometimes all I have to do is sit in a car and wait, so they know somebody loves them no matter what else happens. In a community, as they say, just showing up is more than half." (3/2/2005 - W#340)



Threats and Stupidity

Rikkity: "So, here's the scoop. We have three here... unless they leave. It's time, always time, so let's get started. Here's GW."

GW:

"Hello again. I am going to be nostalgic–back to the war days. Not my favorites, but I learned much in their passage.

"There was not a week that would pass that I would not read--in this newspaper or that--about the dire future. Had their words been true, we would all now be concerned with that duchess woman and not the Bush man. Accounts of our imminent defeat were abroad. And each new account brought pessimism to a new high... or should I say low.

"More than any military strategy, my strength was in keeping the focus on our dream, not on the predictions. Chicken Littles will always peep, but not every courageous visionary will speak. But they must!

"You have a chap over there that we knew well over here. He had been a clown in the royal circus. But now he is with you, and his works have sometimes included a preoccupation with the demise of the world. After all, as he says, in only 8 or 9 million years the sun will burn out, shouldn't we be worried. And in his humor, we are reminded there are always more possibilities than threats. We are people of solutions. We are creators. And we miss our mark when we fail our nature and give in to fear and skies falling.

"Just read the accounts of Halley's Comet and the fear it provoked about a century and a half ago. But you're still there. Guess it didn't destroy the Earth... but wait, my good friend wishes to pick up the tale." (4/4/2005 - W#341)

Marky:

"Bonjour. The greatest threat to any nation has never been weapons. But do you know what it is? Ok, stupidity. And there are many types of stupidity. One is the stupidity of arms and another is the stupidity of fear, but the worst is the stupidity of blindness to the potential for good.

"When any nation loses its focus on the good that is its future, it is being stupid. Enhancement is the name of the game! And preaching otherwise is stupid. It takes little mind to become afraid; it takes great mind to look beyond the fears. Which do you want to be, little brains or big brains. Your choice. And the trick is that your choice will decide your future, not the choices of others. Sure, times may get rough... but wait, my pal wants to pick up the tale." (4/4/2005 - W#342)

LD:

"Hello. Times are not always easy. And there are tough times which extend for too long, we think. But, in the total, there is a gradual growth toward the whole. Now, if I had only seen my work in terms of troubles, I would have become a sot or drowned myself. Think there is any honor in designing armor? No. But it paid the bills in tough times that allowed a smile and a bridge and an enigma. Had I become overcome by the threats of my age, I would have been famous once and dead too long. Instead, I have been dead once and famous too long... or not. Ok, too long.

"It is stupid, as he says, to let the times decide your mien. Have you no character? Will-o'-the-wisps blow with the wind, stupidheads do, too. The wise are never blown over or away by their times. So stay wise and don't be beguiled by stupidity dressed up in necessity's clothes. Necessity won't like it." (4/4/2005 - W#343)

Rikkity: "Ok, there the three are... and there they go.

"The pandemic of panic. Dire in the desert of hope. Ok, let's say you hear that a great rain is coming. You could spend energy telling everyone about it with dire threats. You could get people together to discuss how threatened they feel. But hey, maybe a dam or a pump or an ark would be better than panic.

"Focus on what you want because no one else will do that for you! And don't be stupid." (4/4/2005 - W#344)



In London

Rikkity: "This place is full of spirits, and surprise: most of them were not beheaded. Bloody awful what they emphasize. For example, here's PN."

PN:

"Hello. I lived in London. I was a seamstress. I had 3 children and one husband. We were wed 45 years. All my children lived longer than I. I died at 70, one year after my husband. We both died of natural causes. Life was never neither grand nor plain, but the joyous mix which is life.

"Do they mention us on tours, no. We were just some of millions who lived and learned and loved and celebrated and cried and ate and walked and etc. Cities are made of people, not stories.

"They like the myths more than the realities, for in fact the realities are quite common. Think of a town where, when you enter, the sign says 'Welcome to a place where nothing happened except for 1287 lives lived out.' Wouldn't make the tourist maps, but that's the truth of most places. On the tour they may mention 100, but how many millions have been Londoners. It's like saying you are defined by that single second in second grade.

"And here she is. Ta-ta."

Rikkity: "So, focus on the common. It's harder to connect to the exceptions, and harder to learn from them. Can't learn from fear. They don't want to learn–believe the best was not 'is' or 'will be.' Empire in decline." (6/4/2005 - W#345)



TJ:

"When in the course of politics... no no no no no. When in the course of human affairs... no no no no no. Whenever we feel like it... no no no no no. When in the course of human events... yes. Wife, puberty, and... no no no. O hi, I'm TJ, I'm not a revolutionary, though I play one in history. Do you think I came up with those words out of my own little brain. I do not claim such. I was merely the conscientious and courageous soul who put on a single document the best evolution of human thought.

"Did I write it for the ages, yes and no. What I wrote was, I hoped, a glimpse of the eternal truths created by a presence greater than my naming and knowing. And yet, at the same time, I had to write to my times, not to eternity. There is a constant need for a fair and enlightening point of confluence between the theories of the natural laws and the wants and needs of breathing people of an age and culture. If I had written that all people were equal and that slavery was unjust (which I knew it to be), my words would not have become enshrined in anything other than the dustbin. The truly prophetic words are those which point us in the right direction but which do not presume the ultimate destination of fulfillment. So, too, with the Bible. Where it teaches me to walk a Christ-like path and see the moral truths for myself in my age and place, it is a holy work. But where it asks me to accept as true the destinations of those long since dead, it is but an albatross to the true spiritual traveler.

"Ask of any work: 'Does this point me in a direction of greater inclusion and holiness, or does it narrow the path as it narrows the spirit and the mind.'

"I've got work to do... on a trifle for dinner. Don't look for my path, look from my path for yours. And don't forget to stop and picknick awhile."

Rikkity: "He's so cool and deep, we call him The Well. And one last word from GW: 'Hey, I told you I'm not the father! Grow your own country!' " (7/4/2005 - W#346)



Bastille Day

Rikkity: "And so, in the winter of 1789, there were many whose stomachs were empty but whose minds were full. But who knew what would grow in the soil of that famous year. 'I do.' No, you don't.' 'Huh.'

"And now, for part 1298 of our recorded story of France's freedom. In episodes 1 through 1297, we learned that the dinosaurs became fat and lazy, and so the English and the bourgeois were made. Now we hear Pierre entering the inn and saying, ‘Bonjour, mon amis. How ees the wine.' And they respond, 'Revolting!' and so it starts. Hi. Well, it's a big day in the Land That Time Forgot because time doesn't exist.

"Ok, serious. Here's a man who has been kissing MCP."

Marky:

"Hello. Without the little Italian, how could we have the feu d'artifice. He is my hero. And I remain your humble servant, Marky.

"It is important that we all remember that celebrations are only reminder, not event. As the years pass, too many focus on the celebration and forget the event. Maybe we need a holiday with no precedent, just to celebrate. And then we could use the real times to remember. Just an idea." (7/14/2005 - W#347)

Rikkity: "And now, here's the Gallic wonder:"

CDG:

"Hello. They say I was a great leader, but I have this confession: Everything I knew about it came from the experience of following. We too often speak of people's qualities in a life as if they were causes, not results. But I know that all which is accorded great and all which is accorded poor are the results of lives, not the cause of fame or infamy. We arrive in each life with the resources which are the result of much learning–either at this level or another. What we bring we use, and what we learn here becomes the blessings of another go-around.

"I was much more informed at the dairy (the fromagerie) than at the Sénat. I learned more at the cheese tables than in the halls of government. It is a process of aftereffects. Everyone wants it all now. Well, grow up. Moses, that kind servant they called a leader, never saw the Promised Land. And none of those who raised the Tricolor saw the great democratic republic which is France.

"So don't think of leadership as presence, as much as a present of experience.

"And on another note, what is this whole thing about English food. They have excellent cheese.

"So, ponder that, as Her Highness says." (7/14/2005 - W#348)



“So, a long journey has a marking place. I hope you can embrace the gifts of the journey, even while lamenting the losses. If the focus were to be on 10 years ago, what would it serve but to negate 10 years and all that I have tried to share. Can’t choose 'em, but can choose how.

“Each piece of a puzzle we call Life is another polished facet of our entities. It is tragic when the allure of focusing on any one facet keeps us from seeing the brilliant jewel which is us in our entirety. You can’t get holism without focusing on the whole. Perspective is also a name for insight.” (8/19/2005 - W#349)



Strands

Rikkity: “It’s a lazy day on the Bench. Sanford is asleep under the bench... f. And our guests are snoozing, too. We’ll wake them one at a time. Ok, but first, hi. Ok, pssst... hey, wake up.”

TJ: “Huh. O. Hi. Am I at Monticello?”

Rikkity: “No, this is Iowa!”

TJ: “Very funny.”

Sandy: “F f f f f.”

TJ:

“Hello. Not with it yet... give me a millennium.

“Ok, so I had this friend--big extrovert, great for PR. You’ve seen his handiwork, right here on my Declaration. But now a little secret that Mr. Hancock will not admit. If you examine the Declaration with a lens like I did, you will see that his big sprawl scrawl is nothing but a series of little ink dots. To the eye it looks continuous, but to the inspecting eye it is otherwise.

“Now, here’s the ponder: Is the whole or are the point parts the signature. And the answer is yes. His signature is the line of many points, each flowing from the former and flowing to the latter; each its own and yet part of something more. And that’s not all! His whole signature is part of the flow from past to future, so you know it as well as I. Just like lives made up of separate days and then larger lives made up of several lives--strands running through the perceived time.

“Some point in his signature is connected to its adjoining points and to a signature on the Magna Carta and to the written text of his Lord the Christ. It is connected, not by substance, but by something more substantial. It is a thread of reality flowing in many lives--each composed of many lives, each composed of many days, each composed from many entities.

“It’s a complex thing. You will never know all the precedents and antecedents, but you will know all the precedents and antecedents in the fullness of existence. *yawn* Enough. Bring me some water from the well, if you would.” (9/5/2005 - W#350)

Rikkity: “Ok. Hey, wake up! God, no more ambrosia for these dudes. Hey!”

MCP: “Hey-a! O, yes. Hello-a. Did I miss anything.”

Rikkity: “O, yes. You slept through the end of the world.”

MCP: “Ooops-a.”

Rikkity: “It will be coming back again.”

MCP:

“Now, I want you to picture your life if I had--one day when I was young--said, ‘No, go yourselves, I’ll stay right here.’ But you see I was prepared to go and so I went, and presto: ice cream and pasta and fireworks and peace in the East. We have to be willing to go and do that for which we are prepared. Otherwise, what’s the point.

“We walk off into the unknown knowing ourselves, and so are equipt for all that may come. No one is asked to make the world-transformative journey, but when each of us does what we have been prepared to do, the world is transformed. And it will always be scarey, but the best things are because they’re about change.

“Unless one lives out what one has been prepared to do, he is only a dilettante at life.

“I guess-a das is das. And I run out of gas.” (9/5/2005 - W#351)

Rikkity: “No, you’re an old gas bag.”

MCP: “Hey-a.”

Rikkity: “Go back to sleep.”

MCP: “Ok-a.”

Rikkity: “Now, the hard one. Hey! Wake up. I mean it! Tickle your toes... “

GH: “Hee hee. I’m up. Hello. I’m not awake."

Rikkity: “Get up!”

GH: “Five more minutes.”

Rikkity: “No, now.”

GH:

“Ok. We have not met before. I am GH... GHO... GHOS... GHOST. Just GH. Want to do the penny trick (from my movie, Ghost). She says I should behave, but why.

“Ruts are for saps. Can’t see nothing down there. You want to see where your track is heading? Gotta get out of the ruts. Get up on some high ground and see the view. It’s amazing how few people do that and get a sense of where their track has taken them–and I don’t just mean physically.

“If you want to understand the thread of which you are a fibre, you got to be willing to frazzle a bit. Linear lives are dead lives. Going with the pack is also deadly. Step up, step out. See for yourself. And if you must be in a rut or two, at least let them be chosen ruts... now, there’s a book title.

“But I am filled with ennui. I must doze... zzzzzz.” (9/5/2005 - W#352)

Rikkity: “He’s gone. Ok, the Bench is looking mighty tempting. I give it an eye. It’s my left one. It gives it back because it isn’t physical, but neither am I nor my eye. The Bench is going to sleep, too. So we reach the end of the Bench. I mean we really reach the end of this bench, it just collapsed. Spirits, bench, dog... all one. And I shall lay upon it and become it. It is All and I will be one with All.

“And, by the way, when I said that All That Is includes All That Is, plus is something more, I meant to add that the something more is also part of it. Ultimately, you can’t have anything separate. Because by the very act of saying there is something more, you’ve linked to it.” (9/5/2005 - W#353)

 

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Last Update: 11/21/2008
Web Author:
the Rev Dr Randolph and Elissa Bishop Becker, M.Ed., LPC, NCC
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