Who Saw What the Day JFK Died?

19/04/30 at 7.02am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

Notes from Jim Marrs book Crossfire, Part III AFTERMATH, Section Dallas

Dallas

Dallas police blocking the nearby intersections with no orders to the contrary— recall the eight-minute disruption of the Dallas police radio motorcade channel during the time of the shooting—released traffic, which began pouring through the crime scene.

There was no shortage of lawmen as nearly twenty sheriffs deputies, following sheriff Bill Decker’s orders, ran to the railroad yards behind the Grassy Knoll.

It is significant to recall that James Tague, who was slightly wounded when a bullet fragment struck the Main Street curb near the Triple Underpass, last spoke with deputy sheriff Buddy Walthers before having to move his car…12:40 p.m.

Captain Will Fritz…told the Warren Commission he began making detailed notes after hearing of the assignation at the Trade Mart.

Recall that witness Ed Hoffman was able to drive from Stemmons Freeway to the railroad yards behind the Depository, circle the area, and leave unchallenged.

The point is that there was no effective containment of the crime scene or of the Depository for at least ten minutes—and perhaps as much as twenty-eight minutes—after the shooting.

By the time it was determined that Oswald was gone (from the Texas School Book Depository) —about 2:30 p.m.—he was already in police custody.

…Dallas Morning News reporter Kent Biffle,

Note: A reporter for The Dallas Morning News, [Homer Kent] Biffle was one of the only journalists inside the Texas School Book Depository while investigators gathered evidence on the sixth floor of the building. He later covered Jim Garrison’s New Orleans investigation for Newsweek magazine. In 1959, as a reporter for the Fort Worth Press, he wrote stories about Lee Harvey Oswald’s defection and tried to reach Oswald by telephone in Moscow. Recorded June 28, 1993. Mr. Biffle passed away on August 23, 2015. 

News cameraman Harry Cabluck photographed the scene and recalled seeing more than one gouge in the ground. He, too, was told that a bullet had struck there. One photograph of the slug even appeared in the November 23, 1963, edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, with the caption: ASSASSIN’S BULLET: One of the rifle bullets…lies in the grass across Elm…

Note: Harry Cabluck career has spanned more than fifty years — forty of which were spent at the AP. He was in the presidential motorcade on that balmy day in November 1963 when John F. Kennedy was shot

Other witnesses to the bullet marks on the south side of Elm Street were Wayne and Edna Hartman, who were in Dallas for jury duty. After hearing shots in Dealey Plaza, the couple “ran like the devil” down to the grassy middle area of the plaza. Mrs. Hartman told this author:

Edna, “What are these two mole hills?”

Policeman, “Oh no, ma’am, that’s where the bullets struck the ground.”

Edna, “…people were telling us the bullets came from over there (Grassy Knoll).”

If one or more bullet slugs were in the grass, what happened to them? What role did an extra slug play in the assassination?

…the bullet in question landed inches away from the manhole cover…Later on the day of the assassination, the Stemmons Freeway sign, which according to some bystanders was struck by a bullet, disappeared. It is missing in photographs made in Dealey Plaza the next day.

In 2004 the Asahi Television Network of Japan procured two separate copies of the Zapruder film, both of which contained approximately six frames missing from the copies shown around the world to the public…in the missing frames…a small hole appears in the Stemmons sign…this is a bullet hole.

In 1974, Richard Lester, using a metal detector, discovered a bullet fragment on the far south side of Dealey Plaza just east of the Triple Underpass. 

Note- a bullet fragment found in 1974 near the triple overpass in Dealey Plaza by Richard Lester. (52) Lester turned it over to the FBI on December 1, 1976, requesting that an analysis be conducted to determine if it might be connected with the assassination. (53) The FBI laboratory obtained from the National Archives the bullets test-fired in the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle in 1963, and on July 28, 1977, examined the bullet fragment and compared it to the Mannlicher-Carcano test-fired bullets. (54) The laboratory determined that both the Lester bullet and the test-fired bullets were 6.5 millimeter caliber, but the Lester bullet was found to be a jacketed, soft- point or jacketed, hollow-point sporting bullet, whereas the Mannlicher-Carcano bullet was to be a full metal-jacketed, military-type. Although the rifling impressions were similar, four lands and grooves, right twist, the widths of the land and groove impressions were found to vary by about 0.01 inch. The individual identifying characteristics were found to be different. Thus, the laboratory concluded that there was no indication the Lester bullet had been fired from the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. (55) The laboratory returned the test-fired bullets to the Archives (56) and the fragment to Lester at the completion of its examination. (57) The select committee obtained the bullet from Lester on November 10, 1977. (58)

An intact .45-caliber bullet was discovered in May 1976 by Hal Luster

Note: A whole, unfired .45 caliber bullet was found in 1976 by Hal Luster by > the concrete retaining wall on the knoll (Dallas Morning News, > December 23, 1978).

Dean Morgan of Lewisville, a suburb of Dallas, related that in 1975

Note: Dean Morgan: In 1975 a maintenance man named Morgan, while working on the roof of the County Records Building in Dealey Plaza, found a 30.06 shell casing lying under a lip Of roofing tar at the base Of the roof’s parapet on the side facing the plaza, according to his son, Dean Morgan. The shell casing is dated 1953 and marks on it indicate it was made at the Twin Cities Arsenal. One side of the casing has been pitted by exposure to the weather, suggesting that it was exposed on the roof for some time. The casing, which is still in Morgan’s possession, has an odd crimp around its neck (Marrs 317; Roberts 80-81

According to Morgan, his father, while searching for water leaks, discovered a 30.06-caliber shell casing

The shell casing is dated 1953 and marks indicate it was manufactured at the Twin Cities Arsenal.

Rifle experts have explained to Morgan that this is evidence that a sabot[1] may have been used to fire ammunition from a 30.06 rifle.

In other words, assassination conspirators could have fired 6.5-millimeter bullets from the Oswald rifle into water, recovered them, then reloaded them into the more accurate and powerful 30.06 with the use of a sabot—which is held in place by crimping the cartridge.

…a member of the anticommunist Minutemen organization, led by Missouri biochemist Robert DePugh,

Note: DePugh said several days…maybe as much as a week after the shooting he got a large envelope in the mail from the Dallas area. One of his members (he refused to identify the man) wrote Bob that several days after the assassination he was taking a slow walk around the plaza and happened upon a small circular piece of plastic in the grass at which he picked up, pocketed and then walked away…in case anyone was watching.

…a college student named Billy Harper …

Note: Billy Harper, who discovered the piece of bone when he was in Dealey Plaza on November 23rd taking pictures, took the fragment to his uncle, a Dr. Jack C. Harper, and Dr. Harper took the bone to Methodist Hospital where it was examined by Dr. A. B. Cairns, who was chief pathologist.  Cairns opinion was that “the bone specimen looked like it came from the occipital region of the skull.”

Richard Carr, …

Note: After the war Carr worked as a steel construction worker in Dallas. On 22nd November 1963, Carr was working on the seventh floor of the new courthouse building on the corner of Houston Street in Dealey Plaza. Just before President John F. Kennedy was shot Carr saw a heavy-set man with horn-rimmed glasses and a tan sport jacket on the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository.

James R. Worrell Jr.,

Note: A man and woman in their 20’s became Dallas’ 115th and 116th traffic fatalities of the year Saturday when they were killed in a motorcycle accident shortly before 2:30 p.m. in the 2100 block Of Gus Thomasson. Dead in arrival at Parkland Hospital was James R. Worrell Jr., 23, of 13510 Winterhaven, Farmers Branch, operator of the motorcycle. His passenger, Miss Karron Lee Hudgins, 22, of 9756 Skyview, died shortly after arrival at Parkland. Both suffered severe head and internal injuries.

Acquilla Clemons,

Note: Shirley Martin also interviewed Acquilla Clemons who had also seen the events around the killing of J. D. Tippit. As John Kelin, the author of Praise from a Future Generation (2007), has pointed out: ‘As Shirley Martin, accompanied by her children, interviewed Acquilla Clemons. Mrs. Martin was not at all confident that she would be granted the interview, so her daughter Vickie carried a tape recorder hidden in her purse. Vickie later transcribed the surreptitious recording of their conversation with Mrs. Clemons, and the tape was passed on to Mark Lane. As they prepared for the interview, the Martins did not yet know that, like Helen Markham, Acquilla Clemons had been visited by menacing authorities who advised her not to talk about what she had seen.” At first Clemons refused to answer questions but eventually confirmed that two men were involved in the killing.

Ed Hoffman,

Note: Four witnesses of varying degrees of credibility, Gordon Arnold, Cheryl McKinnon, Lee Bowers, and Ed Hoffman, also claimed to have experienced shots or other sinister activity on the grassy knoll.

Page: 309 Sandy Speaker,

Note: “It has also been suggested that [Howard] Brennan, like a number of other witnesses, was pressured into changing his story. His job foreman, Sandy Speaker, told author Jim Marrs, “They took [Brennan] off for about three weeks. I don’t know if they were Secret Service or FBI, but they were federal people. He came back a nervous wreck and within a year his hair had turned snow white. He wouldn’t talk about

[the assassination]

after that. He was scared to death. They made him say what they wanted him to say.” (Marrs, Crossfire, p. 26) Whether Speaker’s story is true or not, it is interesting to note that years later Brennan refused to cooperate with the HSCA.

Howard Brennan,

Note: Howard Leslie Brennan (March 20, 1919 — December 22, 1983)[2][3][4] was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. According to the Warren Commission, Brennan’s description of a sniper he saw was probative in reaching the conclusion that the shots came from the sixth floor, southeast corner window of the Texas School Book Depository Building.[5] Indicating that Epstein wrote that Warren Commission attorney Joseph Ball told him that he was “extremely dubious” about Brennan’s testimony and that Brennan was unable to discern a figure in the building’s sixth floor window, Gavzer and Moody quoted Ball denying that he had made those statements about Brennan.[22] They also noted that Lane wrote about Brennan’s statement to the Commission that he had poor eyesight, but that Lane did not mention that Brennan testified he was farsighted at the time Of the assassination nor did he emphasize that the vision loss Brennan sustained occurred two months after the assassination.[22]

A. J. Millican.

Note: A. J. Millican, who testified that: Just after the President’s car passed, I heard three shots come from up toward Houston and Elm right by the Book Depository Building, and then immediately I heard two more shots come from the Arcade between the Book Store and the Underpass, and then three more shots came from the same direction only sounded further back. (Decker Exhibit 5323, 19H486) Millican also testified that: “A man standing on the South side of Elm Street, was either hit in the foot, or the ankle and fell down.” (ibid.)

[1] Sabot: a device which ensures the correct positioning of a bullet or shell in the barrel of a gun, attached either to the projectile or inside the barrel and falling away as it leaves the muzzle.

Belief

19/03/22 at 6.59am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

My experience with belief is such my experience with knowing
I seek belief in something or someone
            much as I wonder at the flow of water or the fall of grains of sand.
The more I experience and observe
The more I realize I do not understand
The more I distance myself from understanding.
As my pursuit of a belief in something matures
            I recognize my naivete about that subject
            And the complexity of belief as a whole.
Those in whom I would believe
            Prove as impenetrable as the reasons for nature’s wrath.
No construction or regimen can prevent the eventual
            Devastation of disappoint in a person whom have placed your faith.
No study can tell you when faux integrity
            Will fall upon you and crush your simple belief.
It would be better to study the water’s flow
            Or the fall of the grains of sand
            Than to work at belief in something of man
            Or man himself.
Though never fully understandable
            Water and sand are concrete in their content
Man and his manufacture live far too malleable
            For either belief in or understanding of thus
Take away my desire to believe
            Reinforce my faith in the pursuit of knowledge
            And the satisfaction of its fruits
That one day soon I will lay me down
            Among my dead beliefs and those I once believed in
The reality of water’s flow and sand grains falling
            Will comfort me, and my faith shall be with them.


Derek Lin Translation Tao Te Ching 10

19/03/14 at 7.09pm   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

1.  In holding the soul and embracing oneness
2.         Can one be without straying?
3.  In concentrating the energy and reaching relaxation
4.         Can one be like an infant?


5.  In cleaning away the worldly view
6.         Can one be without imperfections?
7.  In loving the people and ruling the nation
8.         Can one be without manipulation?
9.  In the heavenly gate’s opening and closing
10.       Can one hold to the feminine principle?
11. In understanding clearly all directions
12.       Can one be without intellectuality?


13. Bearing it, rearing it
14. Bearing without possession
15. Achieving without arrogance
16. Raising without domination
17. This is called the mystic virtue

Lines 1 – 4

1 載  營 魄   抱 In holding[1] the soul[2] and embracing[3] oneness[4]
2 能  無 離  乎  Can[5] one be without[6] straying[7]?[8]
3 專 氣 致 柔 In concentrating[9] the energy[10] and reaching[11] relaxation[12]
4 能 嬰 兒 乎  Can one be like[13] an infant[14]?

[1] 载         zài;          to carry; to convey; to load; to hold; to fill up; and; also; as well as; simultaneously

[2] 魄         pò           soul; mortal soul, i.e. attached to the body

[3] 抱         Bào         to hold; to carry (in one‘s arms); to hug; to embrace; to surround; to cherish

[4] 营         ying;        barracks; battalion; to build; to operate; to manage; to strive for

[5] 能: 能   néng;       can; to be able to; might possibly; ability; (physics) energy; 

[6] 無; 无; wú;          not to have; no; none; not; to lack; un-; –less

[7] 離; 离; lí;            to leave; to part from; to be away from; (in giving distances) from; without (something); independent of; 

[8] 乎;        hū;          in; at; from; because; than; (classical final particle similar 吗, 吧, 呢, expressing, question, doubt, astonishment)

[9] 專; 专; zhuān;     for particular person, occasion, purpose; focused on one thing; special; expert; particular; concentrated; specialized

[10] 氣;气; qì;           gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi

[11] 致; 緻; zhì;          fine; delicate; to send; to devote; to deliver; to cause; to convey

[12] 柔;       róu ;        soft; flexible; supple; yielding; rho

[13] 兒; 儿; ér;           son; r non–syllabic diminutive suffix; retroflex final

[14] 嬰; 婴; yīng;        infant; baby

Lines 5 – 12

5 滌 除 玄 覽 In cleaning[1] away[2] the worldly[3] view[4]
6 能 無 疵 乎  Can one be without imperfections[5]?
7 愛  國 治 民 In loving[6] the people[7] and ruling[8] the nation[9]
8 能 無 為 乎  Can one be without manipulation[10]?
9 天 門 開 闔 In the heavenly[11] gate’s[12] opening[13] and closing[14]
10 能 為 雌 乎  Can one hold to the feminine[15] principle?
11 明 白 四 達 In understanding[16] clearly[17] all[18] directions[19]
12 能 無 知 乎  Can one be without intellectuality[20]?

Lines 13 – 17

13 生 之 畜 之 Bearing[21] it[22], rearing[23] it
14 生 而 不 有 Bearing without[24] [25] possession[26]
15 為 而 不 恃 Achieving without arrogance[27]
16 長 而 不 宰 Raising[28] without domination[29]
17 是 謂 玄 德 This is[30] called[31] the mystic virtue[32]

[1] 滌 滌;  dí;             to wash; to cleanse

[2] 除 ;       chú;         to get rid of; to remove; to exclude; to eliminate; to wipe out; to divide; except; not including

[3] 玄 ;       xuán;       black; mysterious

[4] 覽 览;    lǎn;          to look at; to view; to read

[5] 疵;        cī;           blemish; flaw; defect

[6] 愛 爱;    ài;           to love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do something); to tend to (happen)

[7] 民;        mín;        the people; nationality; citizen; (Chinese surname)

[8] 治;        zhì;          to rule; to govern; to manage; to control; to harness (a river); to treat (a disease); to wipe out (a pest); to punish; to research

[9] 國 国;   guó;         country; nation; state; national; (Chinese surname)

[10] 為 为; wéi;         as (in the capacity of); to take something as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice)

[11] 天;       tiān;         day; sky; heaven

[12] 門 门; mén;        gate; door; gateway; doorway; opening; valve; switch; way to dosomething; knack; family; house;

[13] 開 开; kāi;          to open; to start; to turn on; to boil; to write out

[14] 闔 闔; hé;           door; to close; whole

[15] 雌;       cí;           female

[16] 明;       míng;      bright; opposite: dark 暗; (of meaning) clear; to understand; next; public or open; wise; 

[17] 白;       bái;          white; snowy; pure; bright; empty; blank; plain; clear; to make clear;

[18] 四;       sì;            four; 4

[19] 達 达; dá;           to attain; to reach; to amount to; to communicate; eminent;

[20] 知 ;     zhī;          to know; to be aware

[21] 生;       sheng;     to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; raw; uncooked; student

[22] 之;       zhī;          (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的); him; her; it

[23] 畜;       chù;        livestock; domesticated animal; domestic animal

[24] 而;       ér;           and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet(not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast)

[25] 不;       bù;          (negative prefix); not; no

[26] 有;       yǒu;        to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be

[27] 恃;       shì;          to rely on; mother (formal)

[28] 長 长; cháng ;    length; long; forever; always; constantly; forte

[29] 宰;       zǎi;          to slaughter livestock; to govern or rule; to cheat customers; imperial official in dynastic China

[30] 是;       shì;          is; are; am; yes; to be

[31] 謂 谓; wèi;         to speak; to say; to name; to designate; meaning; sense; (Chinese surname)

[32] 德;       dé;           virtue; goodness; morality; ethics; kindness; favor; character; kind; 

Tao Te Ching 8 – Living the Flow – Wayne Dyer Commentary Analysis

19/02/24 at 4.37am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

The Tao and Water and You are synonymous.

If someone squeezes you, you elude them. If someone relaxes their grip, that one experiences you readily. If you keep stationary, you become stagnant, but if you flow with the moment, you maintain purity. You don’t seek highness to be above others but settle for the low and the common. Gather together and course your journey and fall again in the form of your progeny, be they natural or in likeness. You have no fixed map for your journey because the journey draws its own map and plays no favorites as to the heights or depths or triumphs or tragedies or intention. Yet, you provide and benefit.

Asking for you to be content yet fluid seems paradoxical. Yet, if one can be both content and fluid simultaneously, then it becomes easier to be gentle with others and allow them to be free to go where they are inclined to go without interference. Again, for me, naturally trusting and treating everyone as equal seems counterintuitive. However, being in harmony with the present moment and knowing how to behave might help with practicing measured trust and enhanced acceptance of others.

When you’re free to flow as water, you’re free to communicate naturally – information is exchanged, and knowledge advances in a way that benefits everyone.

Be careful and receptive to the uneducated, homeless, or troubled members of society. The low often make it easy to be loathed but it can be your challenge. Sometimes, you can try to shield yourself from the unresponsive with acceptance, gentleness, and kindness as a response. There is the great likelihood that your efforts will feel wasted, but the curse will be on them, not you.

Sometimes, just your existence irritates others, and so, you are poorly equipped to battle with that. But if the irritation emanates from the other one not being the focus of attention, you might be able to cure that one. Nourish others with the flow of attention, listening and interest.

Let your thoughts float freely.

Masau Emoto’s The Hidden Messages in Water commentary is delightfully poetic but hardly concrete. However, if the intent is to fill one’s mind with pleasant thoughts and kind words in order to crystalize one’s life into a beautiful container rather than a crumbling and broken urn, there can be no harm in it.

Dyer’s characterization of Emoto as “Stupendous” might be taking this poet too emotionally. Yet, consciousness and balance in our intentions bring positive change into the realm of possibility. As far as impacting the entire planet, I will be content with the miniscule impact I can engender in myself through consciousness and balance.

Do the Tao Now

Drink water silently – nourish others with each sip

Note how many places visits you – singing drip by drip

Serving you and slowing too – a natural way evoked

Say a prayer of gratitude – then drink and swim and soak.

Tao Te Ching Verse 7 – Lin vs Dyer Analysis

19/02/05 at 6.06am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

Lin declares both Heaven and Earth everlasting (i.e. lasting forever or a very long time) while Dyer uses the term “eternal” to describe Heaven (i.e. without beginning or end) and the term “endure” to describe Earth (i.e. suffer, something painful or difficult, patiently).

Is there significance to these differences in terms? Eternal and everlasting connote the ethereal while endure inspires mortal fortitude. Although Dyer uses the word endure, it is Lin who emphasizes emulation by suggesting we discard selfish desires and self-centeredness and, instead, mirror Heaven and Earth functionally and somehow our service to others leads to longevity.

Both Lin and Dyer suggest that sages putting themselves last results in their coming in first. But, without reasoning, this seems to be merely an inspiration to an aspiration. Again, Dyer uses the term endure, which is, I think, the most important concept in this verse. Through prolonged and persevering purity, good things shall come. But when we pursue good things only, our motives are corrupt, and our ends fail to be satisfactory.  Not very sagely.

Again, Lin’s commentary infuses his gossamer translation with linguistic tangibles.  Using terms such as genuine, inspire, humility, memories and reverence – Lin fleshes out the sentiments the vague exhortation – to place oneself last in order to elevate oneself to first. Such a sagely practice surely elevates one above a community largely concerned and consumed by achievement and goals.  

The final lines of each translation both address selflessness. Lin refers to achievement and goals. Dyer talks of needs and fulfillment. Lin’s terms strike me as artificial, manmade; while Dyer’s touching terms connect more viscerally. However, Lin’s commentary on his translation again bring the verse to life. Noting that the translation is a paradox, he emphasizes that the sacrifice referred to means ego, not physical body. He does this by underscoring being a good example, contenting with the humble and remaining unknown. When words become knowledge and knowledge becomes a living example, a life becomes eternal through intangible values. Miraculous in this day, indeed.

Do the Tao Now, the Situation is Dyer

19/01/08 at 5.43am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

The idea that I can approach my interactions involving other people fair mindedly becomes more challenging when put in the context of real life. If we have a contemplative setting where both minds are at peace, responses can be well measured and deliberate. However, as one wends his way on a dark highway in a treacherous storm while foolishly trying to talk to a loved one in deep crisis about the right path, right words can hardly be found. No doubt practice makes perfect, but the environment of practice hardly resembles the imperfect situations we find ourselves in, let alone the asymmetric and mottled souls we encounter, flee, or create. With this in mind, what aspect of your experience should you incorporate into “a short sentence to silently reminds you to approach situations with an unbiased attitude”? Rather than Dyer’s rhyming “Guide or help me right now, Tao”, I prefer “Guide me to a future, without suture”. Preventing judgement from surfacing, in the present, is certainly worthy. Anticipating and reckoning with the tomorrow’s approaching turgid tides involving others deserves honorable mention.

Offer your treasures to everyone.

19/01/07 at 7.06am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

The deluge will return. It resides behind the stack of concrete slabs, piled along the banks of the stream long ago. Though she does haunt me, and yes, I know I can’t defeat her, I must prepare for the losing battle that one day shall occur. Fill a sand bag, carry to the front line, lay in place, repeat.  The important lesson here being that life’s deluge repeats and reforms. One must know this, adapt to its latest incarnation and persist in dealing with the forces that must be dealt with, cannot be resisted and will eternally occur. There can be no judgement as to the intruder’s intention or the defender’s performance. But it must be accepted that a threat is in motion and a response must arise. Watch the power as it shapes and directs.  Let it go by.  Cut your losses. Preparation for battle must include an escape route. Valiant resistance must recognize that fighting for another day postpones defeat.

Stay in harmony with the impartial essence

19/01/04 at 7.12am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

I desire to be a part of something, but I care not to be favored within that something. My level of knowledge, maturity, genuine beliefs and thoughtful, substantive conclusions deserve fair consideration even though they differ from leadership or accepted thinking.  I wish not to be favored over another because of artificial valuations but rather to be valued for my gratitude, contribution, and commitment. My importance should be for those intangibles which can be built on and trusted not the whim of personal prejudice or immediate gain. However, I wish to be excluded if what I honestly bring forth falls in disfavor to the fluctuating pursuits of an immature spirit in a yet unformed character.  

Musings at 7:37 a.m. on New Year’s Day 2019

19/01/01 at 7.42am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment

When desperate, the best thing to do is do better.  Don’t give up to helplessness. Don’t succumb to selfish grifting. Try harder. Sacrifice. Endure. See hope in the future. There are people and situations which can help you escape your misery. Find them. You’ll find the worst first. Then you’ll find that the best are flawed. But most likely your escape is the escape you fashion from the pieces of a past that you broke.  Pick up the parts that will serve you. Abandon those which cut your hands and break your heart. The puzzle parts are all there for you to put together into a new beginning. At some point you must stop looking back. Look down. Look up. Look sideways. Move forward but protect and defend what is precious to you at all costs.

Tao Te Ching 5 Derek Lin

18/12/29 at 5.28am   /   by Pat Der Sin   /   0 Comment


Heaven and Earth are impartial

And regard myriad things as straw dogs

The sages are impartial

And regard people as straw dogs

The first section of this verse makes me think of my white dog. At times, she seems to be the princess of evil: attacking my livestock, finding escapes from my secure fence, looking for ways to make my life miserable. However, when I settle and watch, I realize evil is a formation in my mind, a straw dog. My flesh and bone dog has needs and desires which I can only imagine and these urges have nothing to do with evil or destructiveness or me.

When I empty my mind of conclusions.  When I allow my eyes to observe. When I let nature take its course.  I can know more about the mind of another…even a dog. Rather than securing each breach in my fence AFTER it has occurred, I watch and determine if a pattern is occurring, if my dog is seeking the path of least resistance, if the increasing desire to escape will come back down to, decrease back to a tolerable level, to a level that doesn’t lead to a dead dog on the side of the road.

The space between Heaven and Earth

Is it not like a bellows?

Empty, and yet never exhausted

It moves, and produces more

Section two takes my breath away. The image of a bellows inhaling nothing, producing nothing, converting nothing into everything. This idea of physical nothing producing physical everything takes me to my thoughts of what a human should do for fellow humans. Act in good faith. It takes nothing. Listen to what is being said to you. It takes a hollow minute. Admit when you are wrong. It takes an empty ego. How better to repair your soul and enhance your standing with another.

Too many words hasten failure

Cannot compare to keeping quiet

Final section. My dog, though she doesn’t know it, benefits from my caring enough to watch her, to understand her, and thereby love her. My companions in life, though they do not always notice, get more than nothing from me when those nothings are good faith, listening, and humility. All of these nothings hold value where too many words have failed. The treasure of quiet, though less than a straw dog, produces more than tangible treasure. Fills the emptiness of desire. Lasts and fulfills in each one’s eternity of want.