In relation to my previous post, here’s a video I keep returning to when I want to hear something real. Wisdom is sometimes hidden in his words, sometimes in plain view. Still the interviewer doesn’t seem to notice it at all. But then why would he? Bruce Lee was a martial artist, what can he possibly know about philosophy? It’s exactly this limiting way of thinking that he argues against during the interview.

I get a kick out of thinking about how the world works, what Western civilization is about and generally philosophizing about all sorts of things. It gives me a fresh (and I dare say human) perspective on life. It’s almost like rebooting my brain to get rid of all the meaningless nonsense that has accumulated in my memory. Sometimes it helps to read a nugget of wisdom to nudge my mind in this direction.

So when I’m tired of all the bullshit that surrounds me, I have a look at this page for some quick and dirty inspiration.

_{Thanks to Fluor for accumulating these nuggets of wisdom.}

… Back in 1958 …

“When Bill Evans-we sometimes called him Moe-first got with the band, he was so quiet, man. One day, just to see what he could do, I told him, “Bill, you know what you have to do, don’t you, to be in this band?”.
He looked at me all puzzled and shit and shook his head and said, “No, Miles, what do I have to do?”.
I said, “Bill, now you know we all brothers and shit and everybody’s in this thing together and so what I came up with for you is that you got to make it with everybody, you know what I mean? You got to fuck the band.” Now, I was kidding, but Bill was real serious, like Trane.
He thought about it for about fifteen minutes and then came back and told me, “Miles, I thought about what you said and I just can’t do it, I just can’t do that. I’d like to please everyone and make everyone happy here, but I just can’t do that. I looked at him and smiled and said, “My man!”. And then he knew I was teasing.

From ‘Miles, the Autobiography‘.

Well here I am
Right back where I was yesterday
The day before
And the day before that

Sitting on a high bar stool
Holding my dreams up to the sound of jazz music

I live uptown
Where I don’t exactly know
I’m always down town
And it seems I’m always with the blues

I talk to myself in public places and hum jazz tunes
I love jazz
But soon I have to make it up town to that ol’ furnished room of mine
I guess that’s why I stall so long down town
But I like the cafe bars down here
Especially the ones across the streets from theaters

I once wanted to be on the stage
But this is the closest I’ll ever get to one
I couldn’t afford a seat next to the Sears

That was jazz music you heard blasting out
Now I’ve got 15 cents between me and starvation
And I’d probably have to walk all the way up town
Cause I’m playing that music again
You see, I love jazz music

That’s pretty music, boy
Pretty but it ain’t really pretty
It ain’t like girls in magazines
It’s beautiful
It’s terribly beautiful, man

Say like a woman you’ve been with last night
Or say an hour ago

Sad huh
Sorta reminds of that old building I live in
My room, looking out over [?]
Now catch this.
Dig!

Now here I am standing at the window in my old building
It’s nighttime in Harlem
I sure wish I could just relax and be cool
It’s just like my mother said
Don’t cause nothing to wish, Jack

[?]

Yeah, early in the mornin’ time
Late in the night time
I’m with the blues

Sometimes I’m laughing and having myself a ball
And that’s why God keeps tellin’ me that the blues ain’t all up there in that ol’ room
Sometimes it’s dancing and strikes like a woman
Skips in the heart like children playin’ ball
And maybe that’s why I always manage to change once in a while
Even with the blues

Whether I like it or not, I love the idea of living, man
And sometimes it’s tough, man
And I don’t mean tough like when Miles is groovin’ with his horn
I mean tough like when I can’t make that morning meal
When I’m duckin’ the landlady and everything I have is in harm
Like when I think

When I think about all the places I haven’t been and won’t ever like to get there
I think maybe I will
Yes that’s the way I think
Like the song says the sun gonna shine in my backdoor someday
All the way down to the bottom of my stomach and up again
That’s the way I feel

Pretty, man
But not pretty
Beautiful like a woman
A real woman

(from the ‘Tijuana Moods‘ sessions)

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.”

~ T.E. Lawrence (“The Seven Pillars of Wisdom”)

Here’s one of my favorite songs about talking:

And what’s more, I found this great article about being an introvert in a world full of extroverts.

Whenever I meet someone who doesn’t talk much, it is a great relief to me. I get much more comfort and satisfaction from a simple smile, knowing glance or gesture. From just being there with someone, having the option to throw a few words around but not having the peer pressure to say anything at all when you don’t feel like it or just don’t want to. People usually say enough through their body language.

Maybe I just think differently (being an introvert), or was raised in a different way but to me talking is, in most cases, not much more than externalizing your own insecurity. Validating your own existence, getting other people to agree with you. And if they don’t, quickly adjust or polish your belief about something so you fit in some more. Or at least act like you agree, so other people will accept you and think you’re really neat.

Why else would you give someone your opinion about something? Yes, to enlighten, or to get a discussion going. But that’s only 1% (and now I’m being really generous), the other 99% is complete and utter bullshit, hot air, staving off boredom, fighting the dread of silence in social situations, the insecurity about your own beliefs about petty little things that don’t matter at all and worst of all: bad breath.

To me not talking much has two great advantages: a) you have much more time to observe and b) you have much more time to think. Put a) and b) together and eventually you get a wise human being, someone you can really look up to.

Read a hopeful bit of news here…

I’m definitely hanging tight!

Her skin is like dusk on the eastern horizon,
O cant you see it, O cant you see it
Her skin is like dusk on the eastern horizon
…When the sun goes down.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a number of reasons that it is.

Albert Einstein wrote about the ‘evils of modern society’ and how it could be better for all of us… here.