There is no meaning in the word unless it is an extension of a personal relationship and it is about the relationship, not about objects or things. Words about things are empty, and carry little meaning. There is little meaning in the management of objects around us. Moving them, cleaning them, buying them, selling them—it is all empty and meaningless. The meaning comes when we give them away to another person as an extension of caring or love, not as a transaction, or a evening up of favors, but with no expectation for reimbursement, payment or reciprocal kindness. Only as a gift does it gain meaning, and this only because it is an extension of a relationship. The same goes with management of objects. If the movement, cleaning, buying or selling or giving of objects is an extension of a relationship, with no expectation for reciprocity, it gains meaning for the relationship. None else.
Tag: relationships
Objects Have No Meaning
There is really no meaning in a word. The meaning is in the thing and the word is not the thing. And even things don’t really have meaning. It’s our relationship to the things. Actually meaning cannot be found in relationships to things either, but in personal relationships only. There is only emptiness in things and in relationships to things. It is a bottomless pit of regret and abandonment that never ceases to disappoint. Things disappoint every time.
Aunt Jemima Controversy Explained
The new name for Aunt Jemima is Pearl Milling Company. They are starting to switch everything over now, but the old label is still on some products for sale. The picture of the black woman character will be retired.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Jemima?wprov=sfti1
The brand basically exploited the blackface Mammy character of the motherly house slave that was popular in vaudeville. Not the best symbol. Have you ever read the autobiography of Malcolm X? Or seen the Spike Lee movie starring Denzel Washington? It’s really about a subconscious denigration of black women linked to their social position in slavery and later as housekeepers. White people used their power to institutionalize their social, economic and sexual position in society at the loss of black women. It may not offend most people because it’s so ingrained in our culture for black people, and especially black women, to be uneducated servants. It is a long history and there are still parts of the underbelly of our society in which it still rings true.
The history serves as an excuse and strength of argument and social attraction of black social and political groups like the Nation of Islam, which was in its heyday in the 1960s under Malcolm X. You should see the movie. It’s very entertaining, not to mention educating. The book is great too, written with Alex Haley, who wrote Roots. The controversy is not about who buys the product. It’s about the fact that a certain part of the population has been exploited and abused and a negative stereotype was used at their expense. It’s just wrong to use a name and likeness of a figure like “Aunt Jemima” to make money. It’s a part of the past that is shameful to all races and should be discouraged and put away to only learn from.
Life is Relative
And it’s not just an alienation from language, or communication. It’s rejection of the individual, lack of acceptance, judgment. Words are empty when trying to express the grief and sorrow that results from this situation, a hopeless condition.
Lack of connection. No community. No friends. No religion. No god. Just a meaningless existence with no purpose, no focus, no hope. Everything social is either scripted or random. There is nothing real out there, or in here.
And there is only the chance to connect based on a common existence or perceived state of loneliness, ennui, loss of meaning, relativity. Everything depends on everything else. Nothing is certain. Life is one absurd action, thought or event after another.
Far Away
There are no words
That come to mind,
Seeing things pass by—
Another day is gone.
My sweet is far away.
I hear her voice,
But she won’t stay.
She has other things to do today.
Many moons will rise and fall
Before she comes back to me.
Many lonely days will pass
Until her face I see.
When she returns,
She will find me
Exceedingly happy,
Joyful, thankfully.
Gone
Stilled.
The breath and the blood,
Slowing to a stop.
Where is the smile?
The laugh?
Or even the cry?
Seconds tick by…
No movement.
No voice calling.
What happened
To the thrill
Of living life
To its fullest?
What of risk,
Rides and rough-housing?
What of playing games,
Teasing and pranks?
What of kisses,
Hugs, and holding hands?
Life.
Gone!
Starting Over
Leave your heart
At the door,
Slammed shut,
With a thud.
Cover your eyes.
I don’t want you to see
How thin I’ve become,
Wasting away,
In loneliness.
And how I’ve hurt
On this special day.
How I wanted to say
Something cute,
Something caring,
Something happy;
But all that came out was,
“That’s nice.”
All I cared about
Was hiding my fear,
Not starting a fight again,
Over something stupid.
I want to start over.
I want to be closer.
I want to embrace your
Wilting body.
Let’s go down
To the river,
To drown our sin,
And come up again,
And bask in the sun.
Let’s hold each other again,
Like we once did,
When God smiled on us,
And we had not
A care in the world!
A Reflection on Juneteenth
Crimes unimaginable
Sins unfathomable
Wrongs not righted
With an apology,
A soft word,
Or the stroke of a pen.
Pain to the deepest parts
Of the heart and soul,
The very fiber of one’s being,
A wound that doesn’t heal,
But rather cuts deeper
With every smile,
Every handshake,
On every pay day,
Every trip to the grocery store,
Every night at mealtime,
When they look at their children,
When they look at ours.
Privilege continues
Despite the lip service,
Despite the promises,
Amidst the meager gifts,
The dregs of easy charity
From the tatters of a bursting purse,
The guilt trip laid on thick
To the middle class and even
The working poor.
Those that lack for food,
Clothing or shelter,
Living barely day to day,
Not knowing where one’s next
Meal will come from.
And at the church the preacher
Says try harder, pray more,
Save your dollars
So you can send your little ones
To a good college,
Make them study,
Keep them out of trouble,
Tell them you love them,
That you’re proud of them
For that report card.
What do you say
When the white kid
Calls them the n-word?
What do you say
When you don’t have a job
Because you refused
To kiss your supervisor’s butt
When he would talk to you
Like you were nothin’,
Just a cog in his machine,
A disposable, replaceable,
Optional, neglectable,
Insultable, disrespected,
Used, abused, tossed out
To the street
Like so much garbage,
Black man?
Power
Wrong meets right.
The fight is strong.
Laugh, they will.
Cry out, they must.
Shout, at the top of their lungs—
Justice must prevail.
So many innocent lives
Have been crushed by the fist
Of the oppressor!
So many suffer
Because of the greed
And the arrogance
Of the powerful.
The powerful?
Who is powerful?
What is power?
Don’t you know that
The wind has changed course
On this hot, dry day.
The wind! The water!
The earth! The animals!
The birds! The insects!
The trees! Yes, even the trees!
Look at an old oak tree,
And tell me about power!
Look at a rushing stream,
And tell me about power!
Watch a lion kill its prey,
And tell me about power!
Is a gun, power?
In the hands of a six year old, a gun is just as powerful as in the hands of a grown man!
A gun is just a tool.
It’s what you do with a tool
That makes it useful.
It’s what you do with a tool
That makes it powerful.
And when a thousand voices scream,
That’s power!
When the people speak as one,
That’s power!
Don’t be afraid.
Be excited!
Be joyful!
Be glad!
For power has come to the people,
And they will not be denied this moment.
They have prayed,
And they have worked,
And they have suffered
For this moment.
Listen to the wind blow
Through the trees!
Justice has come like a mighty rush of wind,
And anything that’s old, anything that’s weak,
Anything that’s not tied down tight,
Is gonna blow away!
Those old tricks, old ways,
Cowardly words, weak attitudes,
Straw men beware!
The wind of justice has come to blow you…
Away!
Getting Older
Growing up is a fateful journey,
Full of both joy and despair,
With yearning for a sense of completeness
And sometimes a wish for escape.
I wish I could spend more time
With my family and friends, but
Somehow life seems to get in the way.
Everything from irritable bowels to
A toilet overflowing and flooding several rooms—
From a new job as an administrative assistant
To my wife taking classes at the local community college—
It’s always something.
But as time passes,
I will grab that opportunity to touch base,
Even if just with a note or a phone call.
As I get older, and especially,
As my nieces and nephews get older,
Time seems to fly by and becomes
Much more precious.
Decisions become a challenge, sometimes,
And dates and times seem to crowd in
From every angle.
Oh, if I could only go back!
What I would do differently.
Stumbling along the sidewalk 