Of PASSION and an Imaginary Dialogue avec Hamlet

drawing by marguerita

Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu,'Can a man really become passionless? Chuang Tzu said, ,' He can.' Hui Tzu said,' A man without passions cannot be called a man."
Chuang Tzu said,'Tao gave him substance,Heaven gave him form", how is it possible not to call him a man?'
Hui Tzu said,'I would rather say,Granted that he is still a man, how is it possible for him to be passionless?'
Chuang Tzu said,'You do not understand what I mean when I say " passionless".
When I say " passionless" I mean that a man does not let love or hate do damage within, that he falls in with the way in which things happen of themselves, and does not exploit life'.
Hui Tzu said,' If he does not exploit life, what is the use of his having a body?

And Hamlet says:

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pitch and moment,

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action.

Thought and action seem to pull against each other, the former annulling the possibility of the latter.


Excerpt from Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China by Arthur Wiley

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/let-be-an-answer-to-hamlets-question/?hp

Of DeProfundis,Soul ,a Monologue d'apres Wilde

photos by marguerita

I, and such as I am, have hardly any right to air and sun. Our presence taints the pleasures of others. We are unwelcome when we reappear. To revisit the glimpses of the moon is not for us.

Our very children are taken away.

Those lovely links with humanity are broken. We are doomed to be solitary, while our sons still live.
. We are denied the one thing that might heal us and keep us, that might bring balm to the bruised heart, and peace to the soul in pain. . .

.I must say to myself that I ruined myself, and that nobody great or small can be ruined except by his own hand. I am quite ready to say so. I am trying to say so, though they may not think it at the present moment.
Terrible as was what the world did to me, what I did to myself was far more terrible still.

Of Jealousy,Sex and The THINGS that make LIFE worth LIVING

drawing by marguerita

Blame it on schadenfreude? On The Rush Limbaugh Show Tuesday, the host seized on the news of Al Gore’s just-announced separation from his wife, Tipper, as an opportunity to rub salt in his nemesis’ wounds. Although Limbaugh claimed the couple’s breakup wasn’t “funny,” what he found hysterical was the notion that Gore’s divorce would make him a hypocrite.

His argument: Back in 2007, New Scientist published a study revealing that divorces are bad for the environment; when a household splits, researchers found, the two parties consume more energy and water apart than together.

Ergo, by getting a divorce, Gore is working against the cause he holds so dear.

“The environmentalist wackos have put this notion up there that divorce contributes to global warming,” Limbaugh said. “And now, here is Mr. Global Warming, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, now contributing to his own crisis.” Snap.

http://indyposted.com/25389/rush-limbaugh-attacks-al-gore-divorce-takes-a-green-angle/

Of Tasting Life,St raw berries,Aspargus Lemons and Mush rooms

drawing by marguerita

“Tutto a posto!” — “Everything resolved!”

America acts in the belief that life is linear

and leads to the realization of goals.

Italy idles in the belief that life is circular

and objectives an illusory distraction from pleasure.

Creative churn, America’s staple diet

(unless you’re too big to fail), is not the Italian way.

Sensual stasis is.

.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/opinion/12iht-edcohen.html?ref=global

On a parallel,d'apres reading a story about Haiti:

"Oh Lord, you don't see this feeling of danger. If you see me crying, it's the problems I've got," goes one song.

"Giving food aid from day to day is fine, but they should help us develop our natural resources for the long term," she says. "That way, we can respond to our needs without having to depend on someone else to give us rice, beans and the other daily necessities."

Of the Mind,Massage ,Emotions and Floc Floc or the Obvious Ululante

drawing by marguerita

A massage from a loved one can not only ease pain

but also soothe depression and strengthen a relationship.

A warm touch seems to set off the release of oxytocin,

a hormone that helps create a sensation of trust,

and to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.In the brain, prefrontal areas, which help regulate emotion, can relax, freeing them for another of their primary purposes: problem solving. In effect, the body interprets a supportive touch as “I’ll share the load.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/23mind.html?em

No flower can lift spirits quite like sunflowers can.

Bright and cheery, bold yet comfortable, the sunflower

is a warm and caring gift. With brilliant

yellow petals that surround the flower's center,

sunflowers have an unmistakable sun-like

appearance that has made

them a passionate flower choice for many.

Sunflowers come in a number of varieties,

ranging from small to large and from

daylight yellows to sunset reds.

Sunflowers originated in

the Americas in 1000B.C.,

where for centuries they were

cultivated as a valuable food source.

The use of sunflower images

as religious symbols has also been

documented in some native so

cieties. With the European

exploration of the New World,

the sunflower was brought to

new areas, and the flower's

popularity eventually spread

as the rest of the world began to

appreciate its beauty

and sustenance. Artists throughout

history have appreciated the

sunflower’s unique splendor,

and those of the Impressionist

era were especially fixated on the flower.

Today, sunflowers continue to

provide a resource for commonly

used seeds and oil, but they have

also become recognized as a

floral symbol of great significance.

the sun itself. Wild sunflowers are

often photographed with their tall stalks

and bright petals stretched towards the sun.

This unique behavior,

known as phototropism, is a motif

that has appeared in many

ancient myths and is viewed as

a symbol of loyalty and constancy.

Their physical resemblance

to the sun has also influenced

their meanings.

The sunflower’s petals have been

likened to bright yellow rays of sunshine,

which evoke feelings

of warmth and happiness.

In addition, the sunflower

is often associated with

adoration and longevity.

For a flower which reflects

so many of the sun's

positive characteristics,

it is little surprise that people

enjoy basking in the

sunflower’s warmiing

glow.

With the sense of brightness

and warmth that sunflowers

naturally impart,

they have become an ideal

choice for sending sentiments

of cheerfulness and

and sunny thoughts.

Darwin versus Donatella Versace: like Mind,the Flesh,Sex is

drawing by marguerita

Ça faisait floc floc.

it is the sadness that informs

as it “leads an animal to pursue that course

of action which is most beneficial.”

The darkness was a kind of light.

Et quand un homme vous aime, ça change tout !

Sometimes, Darwin wrote

William Styron described as a “gray drizzle of horror . . .

a storm of murk.”

Obsessed with our pain, we will retreat from everything.

We will stop eating, unless we start eating too much.

Sex will lose its appeal; sleep will become a frustrating pursuit.

We will always be tired, even though we will do less and less.

We will think a lot about death.

The persistence of this affliction — and the fact

that it seemed to be heritable — posed

a serious challenge to Darwin’s new evolutionary theory.

If depression was a disorder, then evolution had made

a tragic mistake, allowing an illness that

impedes reproduction — it leads people to stop having sex .

.......Andrews and Thomson

struck up an extended

conversation on the

evolutionary roots

of depression.

They began by focusing

on the thought process

that defines the disorder,

which is known as rumination.

(The verb is derived

from the Latin word

for “chewed over,”

which describes the act of

digestion in cattle, in

which they swallow,

regurgitate and then

rechew their food.)

“This is a very delicate subject.

“I don’t want to

say something reckless.

On another note:

Donatella Versace had re-visited everything — blasts of bright color,

leather given a sensual spin and evening dresses opening windows to bare flesh.

And on another Note:

Mr. Bras said that the world is becoming

so virtual and ephemeral that

what he wanted most was to give

this dish a real identity, one that

bears the marks both of the chefs

who cooked the ingredients and

of the farmers

who created them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/magazine/28depression-t.html?hpw