Wyoming

A part ... and the union

I've come into the habit recently of creating observations of people … its a bit of a pastime … and it helps me to bring into practice what I cultivate in my thoughts about people and society. He's the owner of the cafe where I take my late night coffee. I call him ' Wyoming ' on account of the wind swept condition of his hair … his barrel chest … size … and the way he is fond of walking bow-legged.

Its probably the busiest time of the cafe … just before midnight … and the man heaves with shortness of breath as he comes to take my order … but he always creates a comment or other … in the way he cultivates his customers. In contrast … a young waiter at the same cafe … will simply nod … and on that rare occasion when he forgot my order … or is late with it … he'll be sure to offer a comment to explain why.

Over the period of a month … I found myself naturally orienting to the young waiter as a friend. On the other hand ' Wyoming ' appeared to be doing what was obviously good for business. The thought drew me into another look at an age-old issue I thought I will never have to see again. Its the difference we discover between the natural stream of life and the rise in the landscape we identify as a mound or mountain which thrusts itself into our attention for response.

There's no doubt that we create a balance between the both of them in our daily lives … but we are also familiar with situations when we may have gone with just one at the exclusion of the other. A young girl who's growing up attends to the natural stream and often identifies it as virtue. An older gal … realizes that a gal has certain social responsibilities … and brings herself to be a little active … in the way she creates a planned initiative and response to situations.

To the student of individualism … this is an introduction to concupiscence or the desire for intimacy that forms a natural part of the human condition. As we engage the great passions of the mind … we encounter the Indic reference to wrestlers … the way in which the natural stream wrestles with the willed mound … in the passions … to make of living something more than the ways of the tribes in the forest and something less than someone living on cloud 9.

In my early encounter between the two in my passions … I was shocked and guilt-ridden for years … to find that a person may willfully stream their passions to specific ends … unless of course if it was done by father. But I overcame that with some wrestling … and found it to be a common practice of people at large … but was careful in the way I did that. There's of course no substitute for knowledge of things when we apply ourselves willfully … and the responsibility we take for our actions … is very important for the proper representation of that act.

' A man's word is his bond ' is an older application of such a responsibility. But it raises many questions in our own mind about what we do. The English language brings into context words such as actor, thespian, histrion and of course they are all in relation to our need for concupiscence. Certainly an awareness of our thoughts and actions are an important attribute of the thinking man … and we learn to apply ourselves that way. But I dare say … every one of us engages in a little of both in a balance … in our relations with society … and our confessions and denials are the very stuff of thoughts we encounter in our review of ourselves.

But beyond the maelstrom of life's twist and turns … intentions and interpretations … and the many inquiries into accountability … we form an understanding between the two and no doubt keep them under moderation … in a fair average of the experience of life. I was surprised to find in my reading … Indic references … to the way our dreams themselves … act with a similar attitude of the natural and the willed. Our dreams? … What life therefore persuades us as the bottom line is that we are responsible whether we know it or not. And perhaps in packing us away in such a way … man came to learn accountability … with some natural loving and some strong arm willed intimacy from the world around us. It reminds us not to take anything lying down … but to respond with the cognition of our part.

In the US … I had visited Yellowstone Park, Idaho ... it wasn't quite Wyoming but it was  beautiful! … and a veritable part of the greater union of ourselves … in dreams.