June 26, 2023 – A

Moonrise/Sunrise 01/17/2015 Oil Paint Rendered — Huntington Beach State Park, Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina
What's good for the antelope
is bad for the lion,
and vice-versa.

So what's good? Or bad?
Who's to say?
How do they know?

Good and bad all depend on who's talking
and what they have at stake in the matter.

Good and bad are always good or bad
from somebody's or some thing's point of view.

Take all of the points of view out of the universe
and there is neither good nor bad in the universe.
There just is.
What's what is then all there is.
No judgement.
No opinion.
No right or wrong.
Things just are what they are. 
Period.

Which means that nothing means anything
if there is nobody and no thing
for meaning to exist.

Meaning is always what we say something means.
It is like right and wrong,
good and bad,
meaning depends upon some point of view.

This or that means this or that
to somebody or some thing.
There is no meaning if there is no body and no thing.

Which gets us to this:

I would like to say that crazy
is being unable to,
being incapable of,
seeing/finding the humor in a situation--
in any situation.

But.

That gets us to comedians who kill themselves.
They must be bad comedians, right?
And to crazy people who laugh at everything.
And my idea of crazy being incapable of humor
makes no sense in light of the evidence,
which, I think, is grounds for laughter.

When nothing makes sense,
laughter is all that is left.
If we can't laugh about the joke
being on us
for expecting things to make sense
because we need for things to make sense,
to fit together,
to explain why and what for,
then what is laughter for?

And we have to laugh about that
because it is all absurd and ridiculous,
and we should be ashamed for expecting
things to be different than they are--
for wanting/needing things to be different
than they are--
but, we aren't ashamed,
and we do expect things 
to be different than they are,
and that is hilarious.

Where do we get the idea that things
can't be what they are?

Who are we to say so?

Things make no sense!
Why do they have to make sense?
Why can't we nod in agreement,
laugh about the dichotomy
of insisting that things make sense
when things make no sense whatsoever,
and get back to doing what needs to be done,
anyway,
nevertheless,
even so?

For no reason than because it needs to be done?
Like feeding the baby
and changing their diaper,
and letting the dog go outside to pee? 

–0–

Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters, five granddaughters, one great granddaughter, and a great grandson on the way, within about ten minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything.

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