More "Notes from the Cusp of Forever"

“When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you.” 

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

I wrote Notes from the Cusp of Forever at the end of this past February.  It garnered average viewer numbers, but I received above average messages and emails concerning, what I considered to be, an average post.  For whatever reason, it touched a chord with a segment of my readers.  Perhaps it was from, as usual, my revealing some personal tidbit of me.  I have noticed that my "more personal" posts seem to boost readership considerably.  Could this evidence the human condition, or is it simply evidence of my own?  Well, for these readers, I have decided to write more of my views, more "Notes from the Cusp of Forever."   I will continue to pump out this drivel as the spirit moves me and, in doing so, try not to bore (**yawn**).

“My whole life has been spent walking by the side of a bottomless chasm, jumping from stone to stone. Sometimes I try to leave my narrow path and join the swirling mainstream of life, but I always find myself drawn inexorably back towards the chasm's edge, and there I shall walk until the day I finally fall into the abyss.”  I don't remember writing this; you'd think I would, considering the psychological impact of the recurring exercise.  I could have written this at almost any point in my life, yet I didn't.  This quote comes from Edvard Munch (1863-1944), and this excerpt from Wikipedia speaks volumes to my artistic side:

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter and printmaker whose intensely evocative treatment of psychological themes built upon some of the main tenets of late 19th-century Symbolism and greatly influenced German Expressionism in the early 20th century.

We're both artists; he painted psychological themes and I painted the great abyss. He is a printmaker and I am an author of the printed word. Of his father he once wrote, "From him I inherited the seeds of madness." I'm not certain from whom I inherited the seeds of whatever I have, and my father never wrote anything I'm aware of.  Edward painted The Scream in 1893, always one of my favorites from the era, and I painted the vacuous depths of space.  We both stared into the depths our personal abyss and were not shocked to see it staring back.  I can imagine that, like me, he probably just smiled and gave it the finger.

An old friend of mine, a minister, recently asked if I considered myself a guru, sage, philosopher or a quasi-monk.  We served together in Air Force Intelligence; he a lieutenant (affectionately referred to as an LT), and me a humble sergeant (usually referred to as nothing specific and with little affection). On slack work days the shop would sit around discussing left-field theoretical physics, religion, or someone would initiate a rubber band war at taxpayer expense.  Hey, we were plotting, what was essentially, nuclear destruction of the planet and this was our "stress relief," so get over it.

“Put a man on the brink of the abyss and - in the unlikely event that she doesn't fall into it - he will become a mystic or a madman... Which is probably the same thing!”

-- Apostolos Doxiadis, author

From giant mirrors in space to reflect the sun's heat and change weather, to giant magnifying lenses in space to focus the sun's energy and burn a city to cinders, to studying the history of other planets by zooming in on the visible light, from those planets, at varying distances from the earth so we can view the progression of a particular planets history.  Why yes, my brain occupied left field and worked at the speed of weird. The LT used to tell me I bore considerable watching, and I agreed with him.  He always accused me of sitting on the fence when it came to matters of faith and God; God not so much, though; it was as my faith in anything which teetered on the sharp edge atop the split rail.

Since before the LT and I first met, I walked the edge of the abyss in expectation of what might come.  I have stared into my personal abyss, studied it, compared it, written about it and watched it stare back in mute challenge.  What do I consider myself to be?  My answer to my friend was a humble seeker of truth and one who still bears considerable watching.  Perhaps even a Diogenesian cynic, though I would never follow his odd example of urinating on people who insult me, defecating in a theater, or "pleasuring himself" in public (Really?  Ancient Greek law would allow that?  300 B.C. must've been a smelly hoot).

“One thing that comes out in myths is that at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation. The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light.”

-- Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), Professor of Literature

I don't sit on the fence anymore, and have found this to be of great concern for many.  I don't have expectations; what is, is.  And, what was?  The past is of little consequence save for lessons learned.  Tomorrow is simply another glorious day in paradise and another chance to excel in God's gift of life.

I have come to realize, however, that "concern" seems to be caused by an inability of people to see the forest for the trees.  These folks are tenacious bulldogs which latch onto imaginary bones and simply won't let go of their preconceptions which block their view of what, for the rest of us, is obvious.  The intelligence they perceive in themselves is only surpassed by their transparent ignorance, which is apparent to everyone but them.  If you don't know, or you aren't certain, just say you don't know or aren't certain.

“Class consciousness is not one of our national diseases; we suffer, indeed, from its opposite--the delusion that class barriers are not real. That delusion reveals itself in many forms, some of them as beautiful as a glass eye. One is the Liberal doctrine that a prairie demagogue promoted to the United States Senate will instantly show all the sagacity of a Metternich ... another is the doctrine that a moron run through a university and decorated with a Ph.D. will cease thereby to be a moron ...”

-- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), journalist, satirist, critic, scholar

What you learn in institutions of "higher education" isn't necessarily a "gold standard" of good "common" sense, I don't care how much the education cost you, or your parents.  Very smart people go into college to disprove they are weak minded.  They come out very intelligent but bereft of the good sense they may have originally arrived with.  Contrary to what they tell you, the lessons you learn are, more or less, just a guide book.  You will discover this when you enter the real world and have to survive.  One thing you might learn about in logic, which university touches on and students don't seem to hear, concerns the introduction of "chaos" into any equation; nothing is absolutely certain. Why do you think we have faith?

So, why does a person find themselves staring into the abyss?  Why do certain people find themselves standing at the "Cusp of Forever" and others not so much?  In the words of the great Buckaroo Banzai, "No matter where you go, there you are."  What these folks need to grasp is a simple concept that the why is not as important as the now.  It doesn't matter why you arrived at the now, or how you got there, it only matters that you are.  Being is the greatest gift.

"Once you’ve stood on the edge of the abyss, it doesn’t matter how you got there."

-- Rineke Dijkstra, photographer, Royal Photographic Society "Honorary Fellow"

If you don't know your path in life, if you feel constantly at odds, emotional,  lost or confused, you haven't stood at the abyss.  If you feel any of this and feel you're at the abyss, you haven't really stared into it.  Fear of the unknown which faces you holds you back, as if this fear is different than any past fear.

Recently, I heard fear described in conversations concerning residents of the sixth largest economy in the world have their water usage curtailed, yet again, in a state with the highest taxes in the country and laws which seem to protect everyone except law abiding citizens.  Smart people and businesses, those that can afford to leave, are running away from this state in droves.  Is this morally and fiscally bankrupt state evidence of massive corruption, moronic mismanagement of funds, or a failure to grasp the reality unfolding around them so they could devise a plan for future security?  Or, is it simply a reminder that socialism doesn't work?  Whatever you believe, fear is the last thing you need to carry around in the now.  Live with it, fix it, or leave it; it is really this simple.

"Follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads, or you shall learn nothing."

Thomas Huxley (1825-1895), biologist

Fear is the reality we experience as we approach the abyss.  Fear is the loving mistress which beats us back and humbles us to ensure we survive.  But, isn't survival ultimately the conquering of fear by embracing reality and stepping out into the abyss to accomplish... anything?

Ancient alien theorists say yes!  (I'm sorry, it jumped into my thought and I would have hated myself if I hadn't used it.)

"It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."

-- Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), Professor of Literature

There will come a time in the life of most free thinking beings when they find themselves confronted by the abyss.  Some will have gone looking for it, some will have stumbled onto it, and some will stumble into it.  You will stare into it, and it will stare back at you only in your mind.  Each of us has our abyss, the fear of the unknown which we have given life to.  Our abyss in our personal barrier which prevents us from moving beyond negative thought.  "I can't" holds us back, and "it isn't" is a false narrative waiting to be disproved.  Anything is possible.  The instant you think something, it has existence.  Think positive thoughts of "I will" and "it is" and the abyss will simply be another barrier waiting to be crossed.

Someone once said that if you stare into the abyss, it will wink back.  Do yourself a favor - wink first!

"What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous."

-- Thomas Merton (1915-1968), author, monk, theologian, poet

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with a world renowned Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.