Blog H

A hundred years from now I really think 'Happy' will be an extinct word; Bob Dylan once, when asked, indicated that he'd never been happy; thousands of respondents in a global survey did not comprehend a question about 'Happiness', and I view daily many people driving bright shiny new motorcars who in no way reflect their possessions in their visage; scowly, grumpy, lumpy, poorly dressed, overweight, underweight, pale, wan, drawn, flushed, perhaps we feel buying something new improves the image? I am not fooled, but I indulge anyone their fancy, and am the happiest shopper in the world, like in a crowd at a fashion show, horse race, or village fair, happy to watch, to know, to see the familiar reactions to new/different/amazing, as long as whoever I'm with is 'happy'...... am I a cynic? I walked through Japan for six months, in 1987, and was fascinated with that culture... they have no word for 'exciting', exhibit a control in a crowd that has to be experienced to be comprehended, and finally revealed to me where they go in this throb of uniformity; the 'wa' is their inner space that is where they can hang out in peace, not bothered by others' conventions, rules, pressure, and if any culture has it right, Japan gets closest. But scratch the surface wherever you go in this world, and a Dr Mengele is likely to leap out, whether you choose whiteanglosaxonprotestant or whatever, it lurks in us all, and seems to be beyond regulations to suppress. I'd like to think I can protest to someone, but over the years I've tried all sorts of objecting, and the most satisfying period of my life was a brief encounter, in Australia, once, with a series of ex crims who went out and destroyed and vandalized every night; they had already rationalised the futility of lawful protest, and found their only justice in faceless destruction. I could not stand to be in a space like that very long, but my opinion was that they were 'happy', so, one up to them..... Can you offer something better? Please don't push a bible under my nose; there are dozens of books I can escape with, none of them are more than fifty or a hundred years old, and a variety of yoga sessions can do better than that, but what is there, that we can all follow/getinto/find that has us all at peace with one another? When I was seven I was in Aden, wandering wide eyed amongst the port's colour and noise, when a big black soldier, with a funny hat with a tassel whacked the muzzle of his rifle into my chest, signifying, I wonder to this day, 'don't go here', or some other interdiction. I didn't get it, distressed and confused, stumbling back to my parents, but every time, since then, when I hear some plaintive voice crying out 'you're not allowed', I find the officious twerp and say firmly 'yes you are, you just have to ask nicely', and hope some day there will be a place where I can be me, and you can be you, and I won't have to wonder if it is all in some stupid, officially sanctioned rulebook, guidebook, or religious text, which still, despite the best intentions, is going to be twisted and manipulated into another hateful doctrine. The Dalai Llama is probably as good a representative as I've ever heard of, and he's a man without a home..... Nuff said.