Wisdom.

[ducktrapper]

Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, or so I am led to believe. I'm not a biblical scholar, myself, but I might have thought that the Good King's copyright protection would have expired by now and the passage in question (along with all the rest of it) would have entered the realm of the Public Domain.
But I suppose Kings can write whatever copyright laws they wish extending to the end of time, till a' the seas gang dry, and the rocks melt wi' the sun: if they so choose.
If I had more time (or interest) I'd scour the records to see if King James ever paid royalties to Solomon or the other original biblical authors. But lacking both, I will go out on a limb now and assume that James didn't bother with any of that at all.
Kings can get away with all of that kind of thing, you know. I suspect he had a ghost writer anyway; the archbishop of Canterbury perhaps? And King James stole all the credit from him too; the scoundrel!

Sure. But that doesn't let Seeger off the hook with Lindo. Not in my book anyway.
I admit I just plain don't like him and think he was a gigantic phony so ... there you have it. 

[Queequeg]

Sure. But that doesn't let Seeger off the hook with Lindo. Not in my book anyway.
I admit I just plain don't like him and think he was a gigantic phony so ... there you have it. 

And I wouldn't dream of trying to change your mind about that nor anything else, for that matter.

[ducktrapper]

And I wouldn't dream of trying to change your mind about that nor anything else, for that matter.

Why not? Minds are meant to be changed. As for Seeger, the incident at Newport soured me on him. Wanting to silence Dylan just showed him to be the Stalinist I suspected him to be. But I'm open to to argument. 

[Queequeg]

Why not? Minds are meant to be changed. As for Seeger, the incident at Newport soured me on him. Wanting to silence Dylan just showed him to be the Stalinist I suspected him to be. But I'm open to to argument. 

A couple of reasons. First, as I stated earlier, I'm not a fan of Seeger's music. I met him once and we had an interesting conversation which didn't involve politics.
And whatever you may think of Pete Seeger is of no consequence to me. Your long-standing opinion seems both reasoned and firmly entrenched.
So call him a Stalinist or a Satanist or a saint.
Second, you stated that minds are meant to be changed.
True enough, and the mind I am primarily focused on for enrichment and/or development is mine. And I assure you, that's no easy task; a heavy lift requiring my full attention.
 

[ducktrapper]

A couple of reasons. First, as I stated earlier, I'm not a fan of Seeger's music. I met him once and we had an interesting conversation which didn't involve politics.
And whatever you may think of Pete Seeger is of no consequence to me. Your long-standing opinion seems both reasoned and firmly entrenched.
So call him a Stalinist or a Satanist or a saint.
Second, you stated that minds are meant to be changed.
True enough, and the mind I am primarily focused on for enrichment and/or development is mine. And I assure you, that's no easy task; a heavy lift requiring my full attention.
 

Right you are. I've changed my mind on several subjects over the years. Facts over claims! 

[Silence Dogood]

The thing about Seeger or anyone else who sings "protest" songs, to me, is that it seems disingenuous and more like a call for attention to themselves rather than the cause.  I mean, just think if what they are complaining about were to actually get solved: they be out of a job. 

[Queequeg]

Well, Pete's been gone quite a while now but we don't seem to be in any danger of running out of issues for folks to protest.
As long as it's peaceful, I have no problem with it.
But that's just me.

[Silence Dogood]

Bumping this up in case anyone is interested...

One of the best books I read in the last couple years was Viktor Frankl's MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING.  In fact, I read it twice, back to back. I often reread books but hardly ever back to back like that.  I'll post some of the notes I jotted down from the book.  I can't really recommend reading it enough.  Frankl's story of surviving the Holocaust is both fascinating and inspiring.  His glimpses into human nature are as helpful and interesting as anything I've ever come across.

..............................................

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

"Life is like being at the dentist: you always think the worst is still to come, and yet it is already over."

"Freedom is only part of the story and half the truth.  Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibility.  Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibility."  (Taken to its conclusion, Frankl is telling us that responsibility is what actually brings meaning to our lives, not just "freedom".) 

This is one of his ideas that I've spent a long time pondering in particular:

"Live as if you were living already for the second time, and as if you had acted as wrongly as you are about to act now."

Another very powerful idea:

"Stop asking about the meaning of life; instead picture life asking something of you.  Stop seeing the future as a place with nothing to look forward to; look instead for the people and things that will need something from you then."

"Man does not need a tension-less state: rather he needs the struggling and the striving for a worthwhile goal, a freely-chosen task."

[Silence Dogood]

From Tolstoy:

"Remember how passionately you yearned in the past for many of the things which you hate or despise now. Remember how many things you lost trying to satisfy your former desires. The same thing could happen now with the desires which excite you at present.  Try to tame your present desires, calm them; this is most beneficial, and most achievable."

[StringPicker6]

I bought that Viktor Frankl book, but never read it. I need to start it tonight. Thanks for reminding me.

[Silence Dogood]

I bought that Viktor Frankl book, but never read it. I need to start it tonight. Thanks for reminding me.

It's a very powerful read.  It's flat out amazing what people can endure.  Many times we are much stronger and more capable than we realize. 

[StringPicker6]

Got the book out and plan to crack it open tonight.

[Silence Dogood]

Wisdom can also come from very unexpected places.  Here is one of the most astute observations of the human condition that just happened to be contained in a great rock and roll song:

"God, it's so painful when something that is so close, is still so far out of reach..."
 - Tom Petty

I like to call this "Shakespeare with a Telecaster."  It's simply one of the most profound things ever penned in a song IMO. 

[StringPicker6]

Tom Petty had another amazing lyric from his Highway Companion ablum in the song Crawling Back to You:  "Most things I worry about never happen anyway."

[B0WIE]

I recall talking with a wise old man and mentor of mine about coworkers spending all their extra money on lottery tickets and he said, "Your chances of winning the lottery are almost identical, whether you buy a ticket or not."

It may or may not be "wisdom", but it sure was clever. And, true.

[Silence Dogood]

Tom Petty had another amazing lyric from his Highway Companion ablum in the song Crawling Back to You:  "Most things I worry about never happen anyway."

That's great.  Reminds me of the old one:

"You've spoiled all your todays worrying about your tomorrows."

[Silence Dogood]

I recall talking with a wise old man and mentor of mine about coworkers spending all their extra money on lottery tickets and he said, "Your chances of winning the lottery are almost identical, whether you buy a ticket or not." I would absolutely call that wisdom.

It may or may not be "wisdom", but it sure was clever. And, true.

[B0WIE]

Heard a really good guitar-related one on the SCGC podcast today. Richard Hoover said, "Don't EVER think you're getting a better sounding guitar because you get a more expensive wood."
Pretty meaningful statement when you consider the guy sold a $90,000 guitar this year.

[StringPicker6]

That should make anyone with a 03 series Larrivee very happy to hear!

[Strings4Him]

He is no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.