rattus rattus’ blog

Ouroboros illustration by Good Winter

This fascinating illustration, a variation of the Ouroboros theme, I luckily found at the Good Winter Tumblr blog. (Click the picture to see the original version.)

[X] [X] [w]

[Ratta asks how much fun it is to keep fun off.]

A few days ago, I was skimming through thousands of pictures looking for eyes, preferably eyes of a strong tree out of a dream come true, but that’s another story. In my breaks, I did some day-to-day work like hopping over, actually scurrying over, to Dave Pollard (who we had already referred to) reading his daily blog on why we have not yet saved the world. So much for the history. Recently, Dave was asking for advice in seven words or less. His list, whether I like it or not, made me add our blogs starting credo Stop making sense to the list of comments and further advice. But only when I checked back I found the one advice (to love, to remember, to be and trust)

Breathe!

Added by Siona van Dijk. Or in my mother’s words: Schnaufn nid vagessn (Austrian dialect for “Don’t forget to breathe”). Thus, in a daring attempt to get the feel of an eyes’ glimpse of the air she is breathing, I scurried over to Siona’s profile where she writes

I trust uncertainty, don’t care for irony, and believe that paradox is a profound measure of truth.
— Siona van Dijk

Paradoxes only! Can you see the tree? On the path from trust to truth and back, the very grounds for liars to let trees flourish (trees with leaves of words) what more could we ask for? — Coffee! Of course, yes, but that’s again another story (though the same as above). — Simplification? — This is going to be complicated.

However, in the list of Siona’s bookmarks I found a link leading us to a list of Ten Commandments for a Simpler Way of Life (maybe we should make a list of lists, Juliet, please) where one can find (further) advices such as

II. You shall laugh on a daily basis.
VII. You shall turn off your technology.
VIII. You shall be spontaneous.
X. You shall learn what is ‘enough’.
— Ririan, 2007-04-05

An interesting list of commandments as only no liars could ever compile. A liar, though, cannot resist to add: For to lead a simple life You shall simplify simplification!

Sure, we “believe that all this could very well be wrong” (Siona van Dijk).

Having found the eyes, I’ll now go and look for roots.

But before I gonna move on, one more advice from yours truly rattus rattus: Answer for yourself what advice means to you.

In his song Blowin’ in the Wind Bob Dylan answers a wonderful bunch of big questions with his famous lyrics

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

The whole life is a pretty windy season. But until today, the answer has not been blown off.

Who am I? — Of course, trivially I am I. But who says so? Who is I and who is I not? Can I trust this I?

Who am I? Who is me?
Am I the sum of my history, or am I more than the sum of it? Or less? I keep forgetting. Nature or nurture? Are my hopes and wishes part of me?

What about the collection of aches and pains that consume my body? How old am I? Old enough to kick my father’s butt? Am I ready to accept my rheumatic disorders? Or more? Where do I draw the line? On my birthday? When I die? Does death end my life, and me?

What have we forgotten about ourselves? There is this and that which I am proud of, what I believe in, and those I love. And there is everything else. I am the one to decide. So, it depends. I depend on me?

People keep asking: Who are you? — I’d like to answer honestly: I do not know. And I do, because there again is this I. I says about I that I does not know.

Maybe this is why trivial is not derived from a broad way but from three ways crossing at one point: The I that is me, the I that says I, and all that is not I.
Who said that?

Gonna Move (by Paul Pena)

When I was a little boy I felt so alone
Quiet country house that I had to call home
Living with a couple of folks, rich millionaires
Sat on their money, Lord, it seemed they didn’t care

Finally we moved to our own place
Where I could walk around with a smile on my face
And I knew in order to be a man
I had to pull up my roots and move on in this land

I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there
I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there

Came to a school in the big city
Looked around at the lights and I thought they were pretty
They told me and teached me to live by their rules
So I wouldn’t be nobody’s fool

I found out, not too long
Their rules wouldn’t let me sing my song
I know in order to be a man
I had to pull up roots once again and move on in this land

I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there
I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there

Then I joined the college ranks
There they said they’d teach me how to think
They gave me books to read and papers to write
They didn’t know about this boy’s coming fight

But I found out that after a while
Reading those books was making me lose my smile
And I knew in order to not conceal
I had to play music and express what I feel

I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there
I’m gonna move…

Gonna move away from here …
Jump on the train, come on …
Come on and ride, you will see …
We gonna get there in a little while …
Come on with me …

Roll on, roll on, roll on …

If it ain’t fast enough
we’re gonna jump on a plane
…

(Song and lyrics are by Paul Pena; this transcription of lyrics was done by Andreas Schamanek.)