One of my favorite pastimes (apart from the demoralization thing we talked about a while ago) comes from finding the true meaning, from my point of view, and original context of some of our most common phrases, ideas, or beliefs. This one just kinda came back to me. As more come up I'll try and share them.
Next time anyone out there on the intahrweb thinks of saying "ignorance is bliss," please first go here and learn the true context of the phrase. Things really take on a whole new meaning when one takes the time to attempt to understand and fully comprehend the entire story before making a statement / judgment / rationalization. There are probably times when it is said that the implied meaning from the Ode is used, but I find that to be the case on fewer and fewer occasions as time wears on.
One of the beauties of literature lies in its ambiguity (that is, unless you are reading a legal document, and then the lawyer made some BIG mistakes). While yes, the author, in this case Thomas Gray, wrote this Ode with a certain meaning in mind it is up to each of us to internalize the words before us and really give them strength. Of course therein lies the fatal flaw. As there are 6.blahblah billion people in this world, there will also be 6.blahblah different interpretations of the Ode. But, if you can have with me a meaningful discourse and present your point of view as it differs from my own I will be happy to hear it. Just don't accept at face value what you hear because many times it is total crap that I or anyone else just made up. It is up to us, as a society to involve our brains in our daily life as opposed to letting the boob-tube or webernet do it for us, and yes, I too see the irony in posting that.
So, as Karen would say, I'm off my soapbox now.
Post Script
Should I ever do the opposite of what I have said above, (without first winking, smiling, giving a nudge, saying "know what I mean" et al.) make sure and give me a sharp smack on the head. While I know some things, I definitely do not know all and I always want to learn more.
2 comments:
I love you, say la vee. Who knew you were such a good writer? You've come quite a long way since the days of Mrs. Jansen's 1st grade class where you labored to get out all of about six sentences to describe the chilling episode of the four wasps that stung you. It went something like this: "I took my dog to go potty. Four wasps were on my back. I was screaming. it hurt."
Thanks for that Momsy. Of course making me write is still like pulling teeth. This only happens when I get a bug under my skin.
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