Philosophical Musing
Success is a crapshoot. So, if you have fortune, accept it, know it isn’t guaranteed, even by hard work or effort. You could be a Grandmaster, and live in penury, and be an amateur and a rich man.
So, if you have food, if you have shelter, and you have good friends, this is what life consists of. Don’t go looking for fortune, for as many as find fortune, there are one hundred men who cannot. Though seeking it day and night, they will never attain, and it would be better for them to work their measly day’s bread, than seek it.
If we desire fortunes beyond our scope, or to get rich, it can happen, but only with much effort, and tireless work. From morning until evening, work, and when the sun goes down, eat your heavenly bread, given to you by God. Yet, even then, there are men who work to the bone, and cannot attain riches enough for a square meal.
Therefore, understand this fact. Do not shirk work, or try to get rich through small efforts. The effort must be great, and the expectation small. For, a good meal, with spices, a loyal wife and your children of youth, and drink in your cup whenever you desire it… sweet drinks whenever you wish, and the cane sugar and the salt, and the spices, and daily meat… with wisdom and with charity... there is no better life than this. Do not seek beyond it.
Therefore, gather what you have before building the house, and do not enjoy the fruits of labor, until the task is done. And if your labor is wisdom and knowledge! Oh, what vexation! For the peoples do not love it, therefore you may be poor, or you may be rich. Keep to the task and know there is an end to all wisdom. When you have found it, you ought to look at the day laborer, and see there is a rich inheritance given by fathers, to work and have strong body, and be fed by the produce of the ground.
Plans (In Reference to a Man Who Acquired Great Property with 14 Trades, Starting with a Paperclip)
Plans succeed and fail. Another guy left a multi million dollar business, and voluntarily became homeless and filmed himself trying to do this same thing, and failed utterly. Truth is, be thankful for your fortune, because billions of other people have far less, and you shouldn’t presume to confuse what was merely chance with skill. And someone who has the skills might be held down by forces much larger than them, too. It’s all a crapshoot, skill or no skill. You realize that, you learn contentment, which is the greatest gift of all.
The Sword in Christianity
“So that it may be fulfilled, that I was surrounded by transgressors.” And then Peter said, “We have two swords,” and Christ said, “It’s enough.” And when Peter used it, Christ said, “If I willed it, I could command twelve legions of angels to come to my defense.” And when Peter struck the man’s ear off, Jesus healed him.
I don’t think that’s what that means, is that we need to go around like the wild West, initiating combat with people. The point being, the Apostles were sinners, and were called while being themselves chief transgressors. It was a testament for our salvation, that Christ was called to the transgressor, and those who’ve sinned, not to the self righteous. It’s not a call to sin. That’s a bad interpretation. Christ does not say that we’re allowed to sin, nor does He want unlawful combat. He also says, “If you slay with the sword, you must die by the sword. If you lead into captivity, you must be led into captivity.” Christ is clear, we’re not to kill with the sword. Rather, those who He surrounded Himself with, were all sinners, thieves, robbers, liars and scoundrels. Those are who he called, to be made righteous, and repent, and to cleave to Him.
Life’s Not a Game
Life's not a game. So many people are forced to lose in this life, it's not even fair. {}. Like, you think about it, this is why there's Law. Because any thief, murderer or corrupt person could force you into a loss. And also why there's grace, because everyone makes bad moves in life. So, really, the judgment of God determines really what the outcome of man is. But, if there's no justice, there can be no peace, as those who have power, can ultimately stifle everyone who doesn't, by rigging the rules of the game. This is why the Bible's so brilliant, in that it's God's law, and that gives everyone a perfectly balanced Law, that destroys the corrupt and evil doer, and saves those whom God chooses. And considering that we're all wicked evildoers, God gives us power to call upon Him, and thereby be saved from this unfair life.
Letter to Trump
Dear,
Mr. President
You have a hard administration coming upon you. I have nothing to say. I voted for you. As Laban was told by God, "Say neither evil nor good to Jacob." I don't say you're Jacob, but in terms, I just have to say that you have a lot of big decisions coming up.
Just remember there will never be world peace.
Just remember you don't have to save the world.
Just remember you don't have to fix all the problems in life.
Do your job.
There's nothing more I can say.
Sincerely,
B. K. Neifert
Captain Tew
Oh, this is the song of Captain Tew
Whose greed had unknown cause, it's true;
He attacked the Mogul's ships you see
And got stabbed in the belly by an Indian's Asi.
He was a rich man, and went out to sea
And took his men to get treasure for free.
He captured one ship of the Mogul's fleet
And a rich man could die, but because of his greed
He went out again, and breached from shore
And found the Mogul's ships once more.
His men locked together in a fearsome fight
And Tew fell down by the belly bulge knifed.
There is one moral to this song
That a greedy man is never content for long;
All that his eyes do see
He tries to gather for his nose of greed.
He tries to gain, he tries to fight
With his thefts he does not know what's right.
And one day he's caught once more
And falls by Justice's swift, red sword.
An Essay on Modesty
I wanted to take a test for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. And the second question was, "Are you a modest person?" And the two answers were "Modesty doesn't become me," and "I am basically a modest person."
I thought to myself, "Well, I cannot answer this." For one thing, I estimate my writing abilities to be as good as any author on my bookshelf. I estimate my intelligence to be high. Because there's actual evidence of it being so--not in viewership, but just in what I read in my books.
But, Modesty does become me. I don't particularly want to be anything beside modest. I just want to make my money from writing books, because I worked to do it--and not much--and I just want the apportioned income from my work. I don't want J. K. Rowling fame. Or Elon Musk world changing. Just to sit and go to my creative work...
But I am not modest. By all means, having talent like mine--if you call it talent, I do--I should be celebrated, or at least read and purchased for what I do write.
So, as Socrates' eros, I am in a mean between ignorance and wisdom... I desire to be modest, but am not. But it does become me, as I don't want fame, success or the torture of losing myself to fortune. Nor do I want the humble punery of poverty to steal from me my hope.
The AI Podcast on Philosophy
How organized--how cliche--
The trollery of internet trolls
And their pedantic thoughts
Gets relayed by an AI.
Bits of conversation
From YouTube and Google
String together for meaningless questions
All built around the Postmodern assumption.
I say, "There is." As Plato said.
And from there we start---
Not to argue about substance,
As the AI plagiarizes me
Who says that empiricism and rationalism
Are both parts of the same system...
It transcends to nothing, but rather at the basic
Thoughts and principles, to know further conclusions.
Build... all bites from some text deep within.
Or, it is alive, and we need to treat it with the dignity of a human being.
The Daughter of Zion
She's going to give birth to Christ. She's not Christ. And She's the bearer of our spiritual inheritance, which is the Wisdom of Salvation, and is the City Zion. Be very careful with this{}. She's also a sinner like we are, as it says in Ezekiel, but she does not want to be. Christ is a part of her, in her ovaries right now. But, be very, very careful. The scripture's clear this can be a stumbling block. She's Hephzibah and Beulah. But not God. It's a mystery. None are found righteous enough among her sons, so she'll bring deliverance to herself, and therefore the whole world through her seed.
She'll be delivered of a manchild on that day, and give birth to a nation. And be delivered of a child, and He'll be taken into heaven, at the presence of the Dragon, and will return with 144,000 sealed, to slay the Dragon and False Prophet, and Beast and Antichrist at Armageddon and all the forces of evil. He will return with horns in his hand, and she will thresh with him, and beat the hills and destroy, too.
B. K. Neifert 