October 17, 2008

• House
  

  There's a television series about an acerbic doctor called, House. Much to my chagrin, some people who think they know me have suggested a correlation between the good doctor and myself. After watching reruns of the series I'm beginning to feel less chagrined. Under that crusty veneer is a character dedicated enough to the truth to lie to get to it. What I mean by that is he does not lie for selfish reasons, to forward a selfish agenda. He lies to get past fears that people have which stand in the path of healing for themselves or loved ones. He also lies to bureaucrats. Serves them right since they seem to make a habit of lying to everyone else. Speaking of bureaucrats, experience has shown me that rigidly clinging to external rules is not a sign of intelligence. Flexibility includes the ability to hold two opposing views at the same time without giving undue weight to one over the other. Okay, it’s rare for people to have the ability but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and can’t be cultivated. What it does mean is our society doesn’t place much value on such an ability and the effort it takes to acquire it. Can I just say here that House isn't very popular with patients, pompous doctors or medical staff? He cracks the case and gets the patients well but he does it in an unorthodox way. He doesn't sugar coat the medicine before administering it. No one seems to appreciate that. People he helps rarely thank him and he doesn't seem to care as he appears to be a self-actualizing individual.

  Sometimes I feel like House here in xangadu. Perhaps it was a mistake or premature to return to xangadu after a nine month absence. Why did I come back? Oh, I remember now. I thought I needed to be in touch with humanity, normal people, regular citizens. As it is, I live a rather reclusive, monastic life by choice. Newspapers, radio and television news are things I normally eschew. I don't like predigested anything. I have to laugh when I look at the calendar. Today is Friday. One of the unwritten rules in xangadu is not to post on Friday because people don't read as much on the weekends. Your post gets lost in the list when they come back to work on Monday and surf the internet in place of working the job. It's based on the, Why write if no one is going to read it? premise. Also I notice we have a little Feedback box we can tick to enable comments and feedback. There may be a couple of ways to view this. Why write if no one is going to read it and give you feedback? The other might be, Why write if people are going to give you feedback?

  Another aspect of xangadu is reciprocal feeding. I'll visit you if you visit me. I'll comment you if you comment me. There are different schools of thought on this too. Surprised? No? Neither am I. If they don't like you enough to come around and read your drivel why should you go and read their drivel? Of course, our drivel isn't drivel to us. It's our life for Christ's sake! Admittedly, we do tend to take ourselves and our problems far too seriously. Why should that stop us from driveling? God! I sound like House. Mea culpa. I'm glad I came back. I'm glad I get to read drivel. I'm glad I get to write drivel (though it rarely seems like that's what I'm writing when I'm writing it). One man's truth is another man's drivel. Who said that? Oh, I did. It's a stretch for me to be here and participating but it's a stretch I sorely needed. Xangadu has changed since first I came here. It's bigger and younger while I'm smaller and older. We appear to be moving in two different directions. That's okay because I'm getting value from being here. I think, in my own way, I'm bringing some too. Thanks for reading, visiting, feeding back and driveling. This is life.
  

  • 7:18 pm
  • 38 Comments