My Dream

The reason I've been putting this post off even though I have had it brewing in my mind for far too long now is that I think I was afraid of the implications of what I was saying. Beyond that, the implications behind those implications.

With regards to the title of this post, I have many dreams. Dreams of grandeur, prosperity, happiness, a life where I will be surrounded by loved ones. Beg your pardon for being sappy and idealistic. However, there is one that is not only the first, but currently, is the strongest force within the repository of my psyche. It nags at my processes, sometimes disturbing my thoughts. That is the one to build a home.

Now, many people live in houses, in condominiums, apartments, townhouses, cabins, ships, and the like. However, even those with a hovel to return to might not have a home to return to.  You see, dear reader, a house is a building, created with bricks, wood and mortar. A home is a place where one can return to for a brief respite from the world. A place where family gathers and happiness is born. 

Now, contrary to popular belief, these things are mutrally exclusive, that is to say, they can exist apart from each other. Many dwellings exist in this world, where one does not come home to the warmth of a family, but the cold that loneliness is. Some may not have a house, but they are very much at home, with those that are dearest to them. 

More later on, when the time comes...

-Gabe

Minimalism

Not to be confused with the artistic meaning of Minimalism, where the artist does as little as possible, explicitly, while conveying a deep meaning, implicitly, to draw the audience's full attention to the details of the few visible aspects of the piece, be it music or a painting; the minimalism I am talking about is a philosophy that I, myself, live by, because I am selfish, afraid and a miser.

Piqued your interest? Thought so.

The core of minimalism is this: There is enough in this universe to see to man's needs, but not his greed. However, some might argue that there is no arbitrary line where need turns to greed. I beg to differ. Need is defined, by myself, not as the requirements to simply survive, but the desire to obtain whatever is needed to thrive, to provide an environment where mankind's greatest potential may be brought forward. Greed is the desire to obtain for the sake of having it, perhaps simply because he wished to be richer than his fellow man.

It is not need, man's imperitive to thrive, that will bring this world, and the fates of future generations to ruin. It is the greed of man, the wish to hoard and to indulge, because it is not only the depletion of the resources of the world, for it is a given that when man reaches the stars, resources can and will be found elsewhere. However, greed deprives required resources from those that need it, and those who have not the means to survive might be the ones who hold the keys to mankind's advances.

The greatest waste of a life is to go through it without bringing advancement. It does not matter if it is personal, or if it is helping those with potential reach it.

-Gabe

The sword, the world, the hammer...

To those of you whom have me on Facebook, you would probably have read my statuses at one point of time or another. While, they usually do not reflect what I am actually doing, some are glimmers into what goes on in my world. Random thoughts, quotes from media, that sort of thing. Now, one of the more recent ones was:

"I carry the weight of the world on my back, the judge's hammer in my left, and the soldier's sword in my right"

To most of you, these words are probably something of a manifestation of a desire to affirm my masculinity though the symbolic values of each of the objects; men carry the weight of the world, and I put myself in that position to affirm my masculinity. Men fight to protect their homes and families, and so they carry the sword. By projecting an image of myself holding a sword, I might by trying to, yet again, affirm masculinity. Also, swords, according to Freud, are also very phallic symbols. Men are in positions of power, holding the authority to pass judgement onto others, hence the judge's hammer. However, while this is a possible interpretation, the true root of the statement lies not within myself, but my preception of another.

I have two names, Gabriel and Daniel. Now, these names are of biblical origin, and hold meanings in Hebrew. "Gabri-El" means "strong man of God", or interpretable to be "God is my strength". Since ancient times, the sword has been the symbol of strength, hence the sword. "Dan-I-El" means "Judgement of God" or "Judged by God". Hopefully the former, in my case. The judge's emblem is the hammer.  And we all know the story of the man who carried the weight of the world upon His shoulder.

So, by now, all the Christians reading are going, "OOOOOOOH." No, it's not that simple.

You see, I am, I believe, very damned unique. I have yet to meet anyone who is in any shape exactly similar to me. Seriously. There are my friends, people whom I have similar interests, personalities which match, not people who are like me. Probably cause if I were to ever spend time around someone who was exactly like me, I would go crazy.

Having said that, I believe in what I call thinking forward. It's becoming what you think yourself to be. Hence, projecting an image of myself where I am strong enough to support my world, fair and impartial in judgements, and have the strength to carry on in my endeavours, I believe I will one day become that. That's why I put it up.

Remember the lessons of the past, live the challenges of the present, and face the troubles of the future head on!

-Gabe