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JP
Senior Member
since 1999-05-25
Posts 1343
Loomis, CA

0 posted 1999-08-05 12:48 PM


I had a vision one day, let me share it with you...

Below me I see an ocean in the grip of a violent storm. As I look forward I see the storm rages stronger, behind the storm subsides. I see buoys set at great intervals on this ocean, stretching past both horizons. My attention drifts down to the sea directly beneath me and I see a series of seven small boats which are tethered together. In each of these boats sits a man. Intrigued I look closer to see what each man is about.
The first boat is far, far ahead of the others and the man inside is rowing furiously forward. The strain of his effort shows in his face as his eyes constantly search the horizon ahead; his ears listening for the ringing of the bell on the next buoy. Occasionally he glances back and shouts instructions to the men in the boats behind him, telling them the way through the great swells and surges of the tumultuous sea.
The man in the next boat watches the other's progress. At times he sits, watching without rowing. At times he rows forward, adding his strength to the other's forward progress. He listens intently for the instructions from the leader and relays them to the boat behind him. The roaring of the wind makes this a difficult task and every so often the message gets confused in the melee and he is unsure of what to do; but he constantly urges the boats in the rear to come forward and catch up.
Following that second boat is a group of three, tied together side-by-side. In the left boat sits a man with glasses, the middle boat holds a man in a blue suit and in the right-side boat sits a man in a black turtleneck sweater. The three men seem to be in constant argument over the best way to circumnavigate the great swells before them. The man on the left rows strenuously to his left, the man on the right rows fiercely to the right. The man in the middle watches the two other's to see who makes the most progress, then lends his hand to that man for a short while. They can barely hear the instructions being called back to them, mostly due to their constant argument. At times, however, they hear enough and heed the directions. But more often than not, they continue their own struggle to move ahead. Their efforts seldom seem to do more than counteract each other, but overall, with the pulling of the lead boats they do appear to make gradual forward progress.
In the next-to-last boat the man sits, huddled against the storm, his hood pulled over his head, his hands covering his ears trying to block out the screaming fury of the storm. His oars drag in the water and he makes no effort to row forward, or even to stay his gradual forward motion. He neither advocates, nor questions, the direction or progress of the lead boats, yet he resignedly allows himself to be pulled slowly forward.
The last boat I see is smaller than the rest and is facing to the rear. The man inside has his back to the raging storm and is staring longingly to the way from which they have come. He rows indifferently, not struggling in his endeavor to go back. The pining look on his face deepens as he sees the buoys they have past slowly fade from his sight.
Overall the journey of the boats is painfully slow and seemingly futile. The progress made hardly seems to be worth the struggle the men are putting forth. But as I watch, I notice the men in the boats gradually change as they approach and eventually pass each consecutive buoy. Then, the truth of their journey and struggle dawns on me.

I see life, the physical world about us, the mental and emotional challenges presented to us every day, the societal influences and fluxes (science vs. Religion, political and moral changes, etc) that constantly buffets our existence as being represented by the stormy ocean. This is the plane on which humankind must make its arduous journey of evolution. Where this evolution will lead us I can only speculate, but I believe it to be another level of existence. A changing of our human form and its limitations to a less corporeal form which embodies the finer aspects of humanity; intellect, inquisitiveness, tolerance, patience and understanding.
I look now to the boats and the men in them. The boats themselves represent the vessel we use for our journey, which of course is our physical bodies. The men in the boats represent the various "mindsets" of humankind. The first of these depicts the visionaries, or the greater thinkers/philosophers of our history. These are the men like Socrates, Plato, Siddartha (Buddha), Jesus, Neitzsche, Bertram Russell and others, who constantly scanned the horizon of our existence and sought out the path to our next level of existence. They constantly strained and struggled in their efforts to reach their goal, and indeed made the effort to pass the directions on to the rest of humanity. These instructions were passed to the man who is a "forward thinker," the man looking for the way who is willing to do what is necessary to gain ground. But this man still has his doubts, and his insecurities. He relays the information he has gained to the rest of society but is hampered by his weakness of conviction to move ahead or to remain with the crowd.
The three men side-by-side signify science, politics and religion respectively. Science and religion are constantly trying to move forward by going their own way, arguing with the others on the proper course. Politics stands idly by, waiting to see who gains ground and then back that faction. They do on occasion heed the instructions from ahead but usually not.
This brings us to the sixth boat and man. Neitzsche called the man "the herd," I prefer the term "the 6th man." This poor soul huddles down, trying to protect himself from the tempest. He neither has a desire to move ahead or go back, he is content to be pulled along like a dead weight by the struggle of others.
Finally we come to the last man. He who longs for the past. He who desires the simpler, less violent (according to his clouded reminiscence) existence which is now gone. Fortunately for the human race this man is smaller than the rest and he pines for the past more than trying to regain it.
Each buoy humankind reaches and passes marks another stage in our evolution. The journey is an arduous one. It is a journey which we either pursue deliberately or are dragged on willingly or not; but we are all making the trip.


------------------
Dum spiro, spero
JP



© Copyright 1999 JP Burns - All Rights Reserved
Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669
Michigan, US
1 posted 1999-08-05 02:23 PM


We can learn much through simplification and analogy, and I think this is a wonderful presentation of some thought-provoking and very meaningful philosophies. It is never easy to convey profound thought in both an entertaining and understandable way, but I think you've succeeded admirably.

As far as the construction goes, I have very little to offer and would make only one small suggestion. The symbols you have chosen are generally Universal and fit well within the context of the larger metaphor. The only exception to that seems to be the description of the three-boat occupants - the blue suit and turtleneck sweater are, I think, less Universal, less fitting, and the glasses are even a bit controversial (who "sees" better or "looks" more closely is open to debate).

As far as the content and philosophy, there are a few points where I might differ, though I suspect the differences are minor.

For example, I personally feel the difference between what you call the "greater thinkers" and the "forward thinkers" is not one of conviction, but rather of originality. I suspect many of our greater thinkers (though certainly not all) were as plagued by doubts as any other human (which is why they never stopped looking for better answers). And I have certainly read (and met!) forward thinkers who were utterly convinced they were on the one true path to enlightenment. No, I think the greater thinks could simply see farther, were able to make some kind of intuitional leap beyond the few hundred yards of white-capped water in front of their boats to a hidden expanse of water they "felt" had to exist.

Also, while I couldn't differ with your depiction of the battle between science and religion, I think I would probably feel a need to expand on it. I feel rather strongly that at some point, as that 3-boat team passes one of those symbolic buoys, the scientist and theologian will discover they have nothing to argue about. I think they will find they each hold a different view of the same Universe - different, but not at all conflicting! Indeed, I think the time will come when one reinforces the other, and I strongly suspect that buoy isn't as distant as some might think. We might even have already passed it! (Oh, while we're still talking about the 3-boat team - I suggest the politician should simply be thrown overboard.)

Finally, I would buy into the ocean and storm metaphors, but with a few elaborations. The ocean is infinite (the journey has no ultimate destination) and the storm never, ever completely subsides for long…

DreamEvil
Member Elite
since 1999-06-22
Posts 2396

2 posted 1999-08-05 04:02 PM


Welcome to Passions in Prose.

I agree with Ron, for the most part. I think that you may have oversimplified the story line.

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Shall I indulge in flights of fancy hampered by clipped wings?
DreamEvil©



JP
Senior Member
since 1999-05-25
Posts 1343
Loomis, CA
3 posted 1999-08-05 05:22 PM


I appreciate your comments Ron, let us remember though that as I said: "I had a vision" this is merely a depiction of a dream given to me one (thankfully) restful evening. Cannot, and will not defend against your points, they are well thought out and well received. (special thanks to DE I knew I could expect nothing but the most unbiased, yet still somehow demeaning, opinion from you.)

------------------
Dum spiro, spero
JP




[This message has been edited by JP (edited 08-05-99).]

Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669
Michigan, US
4 posted 1999-08-05 05:36 PM


Ha! (I just can't hehehe) To be honest, JP, I'm afraid I assumed "I had a vision" was simply a literary device. Well, we all know about assumptions, I guess...

Sure beats the hell out of my dreams!

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