Caspar
Traveler
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- Sep 6, 2022
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I was flipping through a thesaurus for synonyms to the word 'climax'. A wonderful way to use my time, I assure you, and I happened upon a curious word: 'Kairos'. As it happens, this is an ancient Greek word 'καιρός' whose definition I've reprinted below from Wikipedia's article.
What chanced my interest? The title of this post. I think life is best lived ironically and hypocritically - really, you're going to do it anyways, so you may as well be honest about it and enjoy the mayhem. Ahem. I digress; I was thinking about the good life, essentially, and the candor which "let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor." I was thinking about the denouement which surely awaits; the euphoria I hear from the symphony as I plod along up the next hill. After all, 'to those who cannot hear the music, the dancers must seem insane.'
As an aside, I've noticed this about my writings all too often. I listen to a piece of music which inspires and uplifts me, and it carries over into my writings as to form some sort of cavalier, nonsensical rambling - as you're seeing, I'm sure. Though, frankly, the logic of the syllogism is a farce; naught but a pretense. You, as I, have had on our souls imprinted our own oaths long ago; I can only share with you my epistemologically inaccessible personal experience that it may enervate you to my end. Which, fortunately for you, is to dance with all your might that a more blessed tomorrow may deign us. Of what use is some logical proposition? Who honestly cares? I want to live, not to reason - at best, I reason to live and often not even this!
Life is brutal. Off-key, ouch! But it is! Whether 'tis being undermined by others, whether 'tis being fleeced, 'tis being surrounded by shirkers and downers, 'tis the dissatisfaction of not having your desires met, or 'tis the loneliness. Life deceives with sweet nothings, ropes you in, and bares herself quite fiercely to your immense dismay. Unfortunately for myself, I long ago tempted the gods; I prayed to heaven that I meet with hard fortune and a difficult life so that I may become real and true. The service is quite timely, I must say.
And it is very meet and just, right and salutary, brethren, that it be so. The great dream is to escape, to overcome. The pain makes a man true and permits him to bear himself with pride and dignity. It makes him whole. The escape means nothing without the captivity. In that phrase is the whole rise and fall of civilization captured. For once he has escaped, he shall lose his reason for taking flight, and soon bonds shall find him again. It was captivity which led Hannibal across the Alps and captivity which led men to stand on the Moon.
To me, the words of my beloved teacher read thus, "For nothing is self-sufficient, neither in us ourselves nor in things; and if our soul has trembled with happiness and sounded like a harp string just once, all eternity was needed to produce this one event—and in this single moment of affirmation all eternity was called good, redeemed, justified, and affirmed."
