Swimming In Freedom

This is Angry Tablecloth, and I can’t read minds, but I can see into hearts.

Ever feel like you have been placed on the seat of a dunk tank facing a mob wanting you to drown? Ever feel like you have been placed in a dunk tank in a desolate location, faced with an ever increasing urge to smack the bull’s-eye yourself so to end the isolation? I know from personal experience just how tricky it can be to successfully navigate such precarious positions. This is why I am going to share a few words of advice that may not only help others survive, but thrive in life because of such positions.

Firstly, take off your clothes, and hop into the water. Don’t be shy, now. There will be at least a moment of vulnerability, and the potential for mockery and/or outrage from onlookers is present, making this a step possibly best taken when most heads are turned. Then again, a courageous display of heart may garner a few admirers, or may even sway the entire audience. Then again, you may possess the strength to pull yourself back into that chair time and time again with little fatigue, aided by the occasional kind hearted spectator, making this not such a bad place, after all. Choose whether or not to choose your own adventure. The risks and rewards are as varied as the individuals taking them.

Now it’s time to take a deep breath, swim to the bottom of the tank, and open the trapdoor below. A person with good vision can see the door from the seat. This door may open via a password, possibly a mantra residing within, or through physical efforts, or a shift in perspective to see how and why the lock functions. Drowning at this stage is a possibility, so proceed with care and determination. Swim back to the surface and submerge again if needed. Serendipity may manifest if one of the admirers tosses in some scuba gear. It is also possible to evolve a set of gills, which is a measure that can be taken prior to any of these unfolding events, but this is being approached from the point of view of someone who feels preparation time is highly limited.

On the other side of that trapdoor is an ocean of nearly absolute freedom. The common ground humanity treads on can be rather ignorant of this “unverified” ocean, but it is a factual house of awe to those who experience it first hand. Those who are able to pry that trapdoor open in a frantic rush, without focused intent, will often hurry to the surface, and swim towards the first piece of land in sight. Those with gills, and those who notice the abundant oxygen tank supply, can bask in a liberating atmosphere free of an ego unable to last long in this environment.

The old North, West, East, South paths are accompanied by two other prominent directions with innumerable angels in between to explore. (These other directions do exist on land with separate values. A discussion for another time, perhaps.) There are many exotic sights, sounds, and sensations to discover in this realm. The more that is explored, the more your swimming technique will improve, furthering the feeling of freedom. Dive far below to discover indescribably stunning gems. Take a few to share with others or to simply serve as a reminder, if desired.

This is a vast ocean, seemingly endless to many, and so it is possible to become lost. Rising to the surface, and using the stars above as a compass is helpful in this regard. Then again, home might be under the sea. You may be able find who you truly are and want to be by loosing all sense of who you were. Whatever the case may be, watch out for lures and nets intent on using your unusually nutrient rich body for their own purposes. Hard not to view it as a shame that some would rather dine on you than what you have been dining on. Suffocation for selfish preservation reduces the overall air supply.

At some point a want to return to a densely populated area can emerge, whether it is due to a lingering nostalgia, or the urge to help others lose their water wings, among other reasons. Upon returning to shore you may find your land legs have a new strut. You also may be somewhat shocked by the behavior of others.

There are many overcrowded places with people in ankle deep pools, aggressively positioning themselves to strip the ground of the diamonds beneath their feet. Why they do not go a little deeper, or work together when this overly competitive display leaves most wanting, and the land barren, can initially be very perplexing after residing in a place with limitless riches, though it is understandable with some simple observation. Do be careful with any of the gems from the depths you may have in your pockets. What is glorious and inspiring to you can be disturbingly alien to others. Others may inflict harm in an effort to take these riches for themselves, never understanding the real wealth is in the location they reflect. A wrong move can end with you being placed back in the dunk tank. The difference now is that you can take a deep breath, close your eyes, and know that the ocean you left has never left you.

To dictate the ease on which such a path can be traveled is to cast judgement on others, and I am not here to judge you. I will not assert that every rainbow traversed ends with a pot of gold, for the same reason. I do hope that if you do feel trapped, as I have before, that you will try giving into something greater before giving up. The results will likely surprise you as they did me.

Right Here, Right Now

This is Angry Tablecloth, alright? Alright. All day? All night. Out of sight? In the mind. From the heart? Through the spine. For the blind? For the signs left behind by the seers ahead of believers. Don’t ask me what that was. Okay, let’s get serious for a bit, as I share a few more thoughts on enlightenment, and being present minded. I may still trail off on the occasional absurd rant, but that is to be expected by this point, I think.

The potential to see deeper within, and further beyond conventional reality does exist. This may not be something everyone is able to do, as a close friend of mine argues, but I see no reason why someone capable of comprehending these words is not capable of realizing this potential. If you can drive a car then you can find enlightenment; if you are not able to do so then you already possess it. (More of a nice thought than a fact, perhaps, but there is merit in contemplating that thought metaphorically, personally speaking.)

The illusion of enlightenment being difficult to achieve has value. Uncertainty and ignorance are elements that allow for a creativity that would not exist otherwise. They can also stifle creativity if allowed to run rampant. As I had mentioned roughly a year ago, hunger has a value to be celebrated, until it transforms into starvation. Without physical hunger there would be no chefs, or Sunday brunches with your aunt, who will not shut up about how well her daughter, the big-shot lawyer who is the same age as you, is doing, right before asking about your writing career, knowing damn well you haven’t made a penny off of it, yet, because you just talked to my mom yesterday! I overheard the whole conversation! I’m still living with my parents! Doesn’t that say it all?! I don’t know what lingering issues you have from growing up together as sisters, but I didn’t ask to be a part of this perverse competition between the two of you! Wait, what I was talking about? Right, so balance is important, and it is a balance of limitations that allow for this unique world to be.

This world of ours is ideal for pursuing enlightenment, however the word is defined. It is far more challenging to achieve an enlightened state if distracted by an earthquake, as it is if lost in a paradise unfounded by wisdom, where there is no concern for such matters. (I believe this is a Buddhist point of view I am borrowing from.)

There can be multiple locks attached to a door of prosperous truth. One key that is always required can only be found in the present moment. Whether tackling scientific facts, or philosophical understandings, this is true.

Heightening the experience of the present moment can be as easy as it can be challenging, because it essentially requires nothing more than being present minded. Practice is a skeleton key.

Know that it never hurts to look through the peephole, before turning the knob. Keep a set of keys comprised of curiosity, sincerity, alertness, and consideration close in hand, and those doors will open in time. Soon enough the thought of your cousin, sitting in the corner office of the firm she’s a partner in, laughing at you with a level of condescension perfectly mirrored by the way she looks down on the “insects” below from fifty stories above, as she clinks a champagne glass with her mother, will not even bother you all that much… I hate brunch.

Learn from the past, live for the present, and dream for the future. Whether you only find a majesty in down-to-earth moments typically reserved for heavenly bodies, or the gates of a tangible heaven, the glory of this moment can shine through, regardless.

Welcome Back

This is Angry Tablecloth – a blast from the eight fold past.

Now I know this isn’t the first time I’ve disappeared for a disconcerting period of time, only to return without a good explanation, claiming I have good reasons for doing so, but baby, we need each other.  You’ve got to trust me.  You know I love you, and I know you love me. It’s not like I was out there cheating on you, running around with slutty blogs I barely know, entertaining other audiences, or nothing. You know I’m faithful. You know you’re my one and only. Wait!  Where are you going?  Fine!  I don’t need you!  Oh, god, what will I do now?  Why does it hurt so much? Writing this internal monologue helps a little, but what next? It’s been a while since I wrote a proper piece, so that is what I’ll do.

Someone willing to risk their health and safety has nothing to lose, but someone whose safety cannot be harmed has everything to gain. I texted that sentence to a friend of mine, without having given it much thought, to see what he thought.  I just thought it sounded cool.  Quickly he replied, “The ladder does not exist.”  At first I wondered, “What do ladders have to do with anything?  Is this a metaphor having to do with climbing?”  Then I realized he meant latter, and that spellcheck is to blame.  Damn you spellcheck!  And damn you Wikipedia!  We forget things right after looking them up, because we can just look them up again, only to forget again!  Our souls are lost in the machine!  You are to blame for the woes of… but I am deviating from the point I wanted to make.

After my friend’s “ladder” comment, I replied with something about how Deepak Chopra claims the latter does indeed exist.  I made this up, pretty much.  I have heard him speak about a level of consciousness where one can do no harm to others, and no harm can be done unto them, but again, I wanted to see what my friend would have to say, knowing how much he admires Mr. Chopra, and everything he has to say.  My friend texted back a single word that read, “Oh.” Oh?  No!  My friend is far too independent in thought to believe something based on nothing more than someone else believing in that something. (Not to break character (although that’s what I’m doing…), but this will put a smile on his face, and so I’m not being as harsh on him as is being conveyed.)

Everything needs to be questioned.  Present day physics may lack a fundamental understanding that will be made apparent in a hundred years from now, but do you know who will prove this to be true?  A physicist.  The same goes for psychology, and everything else in the world.  If you can recognize the value and limitations of a certain field then you can exceed and further the progress of that field.

A Buddhist who believes killings is wrong, and that all living things have a purpose should stop brushing their teeth. Every time you brush your teeth you are killing a countless number of living bacteria. Perhaps the purpose of that microscopic life is to provide purpose to those who work for Colgate, but that does not erase the fact living things are being destroyed.

The first Buddha lived in a time when oxygen was not known about, and so breathing took on a completely different meaning. Now, perhaps Buddha was able to see and understand quantum mechanics, and molecules, and was able to contact aliens while in a supreme state of being, but understood how crazy that all seemed, and that humanity was not ready for this information, and those who were would find a way to this knowledge, and that subtle suggestions may lead the way… I don’t know. I do know that old ideas are given new life by questioning them, and understanding the perspective they come from.

That is all I really needed to say at the moment. I will be back again, soon enough, I promise. Thanks to all of those who follow, comment, and like what I do.

The Point

Confusion begets clarity

Accumulation begets charity

Success begets irrelevance

Irrelevance begets confusion

Process belated prevalence

An elegant predated conclusion

The point to finding meaning in life

Finding life in the point to meaning

High Flyin’

This is Angry Tablecloth, and I like weird things, including Don Hertzfeldt, cuddle fish, and hallucinogenic experiences.

The topic for today is drugs!  Not one certain drug, or a specific category of drugs, because they are all the same.  I am not going to (intentionally) glorify or demonize drug use of any kind, unless my window pane business hits a serious slump, but I do have some thoughts to share, which are almost nearly almost half as good as almost as good as actual facts.  (About 5/14, if you’re keeping score.)

Some drugs radiate golf track focus run productions heavily soaked in fruit water slides.  Watch for wrangling elevator lovers drop-kicking the moon into open casket gravy bulbs.  I even have some coherent thoughts to share.

Just say, “No,” to drugs, boys and girls!  If that is not going to happen then go organic!  Nobody needs a bunch of harmful chemicals in their drugs!

“It’s natural!  It’s a plant!”  That is why I eat every strange berry I come across when trekking through a forest.

Believe it or not, there can be consequences to frequently using certain drugs.

Mind altering substances can help a creative soul accent a room with a new flare of colour, though covering the house in LSD wallpaper print is not mandatory by any means, although observing the work of some creative minds that do indulge can have tremendous benefits.  They do not even need to be creative.  I suggest going to a dark, secluded alleyway at four in the morning, and shinning a flashlight on the enchantment taking place within.  Do not fear, they have had contact with the outside world for many decades.  Mind your manners, respect their customs, and you will do just fine.  It is polite to accept if they offer you some drugs, and it is the only way to be fully accepted into their tribe, but it is not a major faux pas to decline.  Their ways may seem rather crude, and alien to us actual human beings, but their native tongue is extremely complex, to an extent that most rational men and women are unable to comprehend.  To us, many of their conversations sound like little more than nonsensical babbling.

There are things that can only be found in foggy environments.  Once the mist clears, so do most to all of the things found within it.  What remains are impressions splashed on the mind, body, and/or soul, which can easily turn into scars if not careful, or eye-catching tattoos, depending on various factors.  As many of us grow, we decide to seek things that do not fade so easily, and can be seen from a distance.  As I have said in the past, “Spend at least less than half of your time dedicated to the fleeting rewards in impulsive desires,” if the pursuit of lasting structures is important to any extent.  This is not to assert that a trip inside a haze is useless, or unnecessary at any stage in life.  A foggy climate can be generated by other means such as contemplating Zen koans, or mathematical quandaries, which can have unique rewards, and also consequences if not approached with the proper state of mind.  Sometimes the mistakes endured by some reward us all.

Good and evil are subjective constructs becoming the absolutes they have always been.  This is so for a reality of countless souls progressing through countless lifetimes, towards an enlightened state of oneness.  That has nothing to do with anything written here, but I bet I just blew the mind of one person out there who is really high right now.  (Ultimately, there is only action and reaction, which again, probably just blew the mind of someone really high.)

In relation to self actualization, and all that good stuff, there are drugs that can be of temporary assistance.  Eating a bunch of magic mushrooms may enable someone to ingest a sublime wisdom flowing from within the Earth, that few people can interpret, and some cannot even handle, perhaps, but the short term benefits can hinder long term gains, especially in relation to desire management.  It’s not easy to remain in the present if the next hit is constantly on the brain.  Certain drugs may form a bridge, allowing one to touch Zen using a shortcut, but a tenuous bridge traveled many times will likely result in a fall at some point, and what was once a path to be walked is now a wall to be climbed, which can be especially strenuous, depending on whether the bottom was struck, and how hard.  How something is attained can dictate how it is maintained, and the maintenance required dictates the value of what has been attained.

The last thing I would like to leave you with is the fact that I could cause a person or two to flip out, if I could share what I soberly experience when rapt in the heights of appreciation.  Seriously, no drugs required.  I would happily give you a sip if I could bottle it up.  Perhaps a synthesized version could be manufactured at a pharmaceutical lab.  Ideally, it would be highly addictive, so that maintaining this state would become everyone’s top priority, making this a better place for us all.  Now that is a world I want to contribute to the building of.  Sad thing is, as profitable as this could be, it can be achieved by you, for free without any harmful side effects.