A Question of Friendship

       "I get by with a little help from my friends." – John Lennon

       It might strike you as odd that any great number of people – by that I imply every occurrence when more than two members of our species are gathered at a single location – may achieve a harmonious, joyous even, coexistence. Especially when the recent over-abundance of jolly times is taken into consideration. (I don’t mean to say Christmas joy is to be frowned upon, but rather I frown upon those who believe only joy and positive emotions surround that much-celebrated occasion.)

       Yet, I was to speak of the delicate balance between people. In particular, I would like to address the inspiring verisimilitude that is the foundation of tolerance between friends. I am quite certain, my dear, vociferous readers, that each and every one of you has wondered how, when it comes down to it, peace is kept between you and your friends. I am also utterly confident that you, being such a wonderful person yourself, are in abundant possession of the very rare friend commodity. Which actually makes balancing between all of them even more challenging.

       Well, as you might already suspect, I shall – as ever I do – propose a solution to that troubling question posed above. Friends are, ultimately, a great source of both inspiration and frustration. While the latter needs no clarification, the origins of the former warrant further examination.

       It should be noted, I believe, that few people have a greater influence on our decisions – few people shape our lives to a greater extent – than those friends closest to our hearts. If we exclude my overtly-pedantic note-taking habits from consideration, it should now be clear that your love of them will always drive you forwards – to better understating, to clearer vision of this world.

       Often, a dear friend is more than we need. But never less.

Wisdom and Control

       'A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.' – George R. R. Martin


       A sharp mind is the mark of a strong person, of someone who is in complete, unyielding control of his being. 
       A sharp mind is the result of a lot of work – and work of the kind most people yearn not to do. Obviously, I am not referring solely to a large and varied background in the reading vocation. Allow me to elaborate... If one is to ever reach a state where wit rises victorious above folly, one must – and I cannot possibly over-stress how hugely important this is – shed that comfortable naïveté most people seem to find so dear to their hearts. In other words, you need to try and take a small peek outside that overly optimistic bubble of yours.
       Take a small first step and try to see the world a bit more clearly... Good... There's a good little free person in the making. Now... You shall not forget, of course, that your attempt to break the shackles of narrow-mindedness and self-absorption will most likely fail to reap the highly sought-after reward of any great increase in your objective perception of reality. (No, I did not just string words together – there is an inherent logic to that sentence, worry not.) Rather, you may find yourself substituting a convenient set of illusion for a somewhat less attractive myriad of half-truths and meaningless empirical data. 
       If I have to be honest (and let's face it, why else would I be writing this), I spent a long, long time in just such a state – between knowing that there is something I am not seeing and actually trying to see it. It was a bit later than I would have liked that I reached the blindingly obvious conclusion that one must reflect upon any information gained for it to grow into a thing greater than dead, lifeless fact. A sharp mind is not attained by a simple process of knowledge-gathering, but by the force of subjective conjecture. 
       We must all find our own truths, shape our own realities. Knowledge alone is not enough to make a blind man see, if that knowledge is not felt. When logic and emotion merge, we find that place – however rarely – where clarity is within our grasp.
       Reflect on what you see in this world of ours, my dear, vociferous readers. There is much to be discovered by a cursory glance, and much more still – if you look closely. And only a closer look will bring any of us to greater understanding...
       For wisdom is not a state of the soul. It is not a place. It is not a distant, abstract concept. Rather, it is a long, ever-twisting road with no beginnings and no ends in sight, but for the ones we choose.

The True Path

       'My story is one of many thousands. And the world will not suffer, if it ends too soon.' - Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Assassin's Creed: Revelations


       Great people have often been perceived as arrogant. 
       I might be wrong to state it so bluntly, yet say it I must. It is my opinion that, indeed, most are. But the best amongst them - the greatest if you will - would never place themselves above the world. If they would, at first, seem to be as arrogant as the rest, this might be attributed to the strength of character necessary to be so self-possessed, confident, certain of who you are.
       The greatest of men are perhaps also the humblest, the people who do seek neither rewards, nor recognition. Rather they are the ones who have come to realise it is only what you do for your fellow man that has any significance, any measurable impact on this world. To be needed, to be of aid to another is mixed blessing, a life few would embrace knowingly and whole-heartedly. For it is far more difficult and dangerous to strive for a greater good, to try and become better than you can be, so that you may bring good to the lives of others - even a little.
       Throughout the centuries, myths and legends have set a high standard to which we might aspire. Both fiction and historical records have told us of great, selfless acts, of people who rose above what was demanded and expected of them. I might be wrong to try to grasp the meaning behind all this... I might be wrong to even think I might have an opinion, concise as it is.
       But I have come to belive something, after reading and thinking so bloody much. Humility is the true path to greatness.