Challenge the "Truth"

Anything Goes Thursdays # 4

“No Authority can impose a “truth” on you in a dogmatic way – and if some authority tries to, you can challenge that truth in a powerful way, by asking what ideology it is based on.” - Stephen Bonnycastle. In Search of Authority pg 9

Surviving Off Pennies

"S.O.S. breaker breaker 1-9 mayday
surviving off of pennies until my next payday.
All I ever wanted was a real nice lady
a clean pair of socks and some fish for my gravy
but all I get is rice which will have to suffice
cause I always used to think I didn’t need no advice
so I never ever really tried to heed no advice
but in the end we all pay the price.
So let’s get to the point of the whole situation
so many obstacles so many confrontations
but still I’m focusing on reaching every station
cause destiny is my destination.
I came to make it happen instead of wasting time I don’t got
the time is now cause I only got one shot
navigating through the scenes and the intricate plots
cause you and I is all we got,
let’s make it happen."
- Bush Babees “S.O.S.” from the album gravity

This is a verse off of one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. I could have broken this down into three of four great quotations but I decided to put the whole thing up here. I love the song so much that I actually could have posted up all three verses. If you get a chance to listen to this song, please do. Even if you are not a rap fan, this group has something to say, and they deliver great rhymes over amazing tracks.

All Men are Horrible until...

“He’s like a lot of men. They’re horrible until they fall in love.” When Harry Met Sally. DVD commentary to the film.

When Harry Met Sally is probably one of the best films ever made. I can watch it over and over again. I love absolutely love it. I watched it with the commentary on one day and I heard this line. I knew I had to include it in my collection. I’m not quite sure who said it. I think it was Rob Reiner but I could be wrong.

Nothing is Impossible

“The difficult is that which can be done immediately; the impossible is that which takes a little longer.” - Santayana

If I look back on my life, I was told more than a few times that I couldn’t do something. I never let these naysayers convince me of what they saw as impossible. I really do believe that if you want to do something, are motivated to do so, and work hard at it, that you can achieve anything. I don’t believe in impossible situations or impossible dreams. Just give it some time, keep your head up, and work hard at it, and you can do the impossible.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Obscuring the Present

“Taking his cue from author and painter Wyndham Lewis’s observation that the “present cannot be revealed until it has become yesterday,” McLuhan points out individuals see only the past as part and parcel of what he termed “the rear-view mirror phenomenon” obscuring the present and obliterating the future.” Judith Fitzgerald, Marshall McLuhan: Wise Guy. XYZ Publishing: Montreal, 2001. pg 3

I like the phrase “obscuring the present.” Focusing too much on the past or the future does just that. I think that we need to live in the present and to realize that it is a gift. Of course, this really does take a lot of effort. We work all our lives to get out of debt, to earn the things we want. We look back at the good times we had, or the bad times that steered us in certain directions. Most people don’t really focus on the right now. It’s about time that we all did.

The Truth isn't Available

“Unfortunately ‘the truth’ simply isn’t available. If you are going to live intelligently in the modern world, you have to recognize that there are conflicting ideologies, and that there is no simple direct access to the truth.” - Stephen Bonnycastle, In Search of Authority pg 8

I have been collecting a lot of passages about truth. I think that we can search for the truth but that we can never find it unless we explore different ways of thinking. I have commented about this on a few of my favourite blogs.

For example, religion, myth, science, and the humanities all have something to say about the truth. If you put your all faith in only one of these disciplines, you can never get the entire truth. I think we need to be open-minded.

I find a lot of truth in fiction. Writers share their version of reality and truth with us all the time. We need to tune into this.

Science gives us a lot of answers but also a lot more questions.

Religion and myth attempt to answer some of life’s questions.

So where is “the” answer? Is there a direct way there?

Who knows? All I know is that I try to keep my eyes and ears open for tidbits of wisdom such as the one above. I believe that the truth is already out there just waiting for us to piece it together. It is a jigsaw puzzle. I’m just not sure that all of the pieces are still in the box.

It's Not About Where You've Been

“It's not about where you've been...it's about where you're at.” - Eric B & Rakim - I Know I Got Soul

Rakim writes amazing lyrics. His voice and delivery also make him one of the most quoted and sampled of all emcees. We need to build a hip-hop hall of fame. He deserves to be one of the first inductees.