Enchanted Cottages, I know I'm rambling but it IS my blog.

[Ene]

It was a blistering day in August when P.K. and I drove along a winding Appalachian road to the middle of nowhere and never land. We had received a call that our old friend, Al, was dead. Al had long ago made it known that he didn't want a coffin or fancy funeral. He didn't want to be embalmed. He wanted to be put in a body bag and laid to rest in the field near the edge of th forest surrounding his property. So, in shorts and flip-flops, his family and a few dear friends, maybe twenty of us, trekked across the field to the mound of dirt and stood around. A close friend sang a song that I had written, a song that Al loved and had wanted performed at his funeral. Then Al's grand-daughter read Psalm 23 and his wife spoke a few words. A couple more people said words then we turned and headed back to the hobbit-like home that he had built for himself and his wife, which sat nestled in a wooded area. Al loved to eat and to cook so we ate a big meal that his daughter and wife had prepared and we talked about Al's unique way of seeing this world. He had never been at home here and believed that real reality was what waited on the other side. Al was an INFP and was known from Iceland to Florida for his wise, Merlin-like sayings and the odd, quirky gifts he would bring. He rarely laughed out loud and had a sarcastic sense of humor. He enjoyed simplicity and quietness, although he was a clutter bug and saved all kinds of strange little things.

We talked about his sayings and one that has stuck with me was this one, “Opinions are like “butt-holes. Everybody’s got one.” And of course, each person's exists to serve his or her own purpose.

I was reminded of Al's saying again recently when I made the mistake of posting quotes and statistics on a particular forum. The quotes and statistics brought out the tiger claws in people. They weren’t even my words, just some numbers I found. At any rate, I soon discovered through interactions that many people really don’t care what the numbers say, or what research says, or what history says, or what the Bible says or what anything says. They care what THEY say and as long as the supporting evidence lines up with their own concept of reality they are fine with it no matter where it comes from, but the second any type of evidence, opinion, fact, statistic, historical documentation or eye witness account…any source whatsoever, doesn’t support their version of reality they become huffy, indignent, emotional, irrational or aggressive. It seems that to put forth a claim that something is other than the way they perceive it to be brings out a whole array of negative responses and emotions…yes, emotions, even in the most astute, self-controlled ones. Oh, and did I mention arrogance? It certainly brings that o, even those who pride themselves on their logic. Do they not realize that their pride at being "superior" for their lack of sentimentality is also an emotion? and a very immature one at that? King Solomon once said, “Every man is right in his own eyes.” How right he was! I’ve seen it, watched it in others and in myself.

The same friend who said opinions were like butt-holes also said, “We all live in enchanted cottages.” Again, he was right. This week I came to grips with something I have known all along, in the natural realm people will believe anything you tell them so long as it’s what they want to hear and it goes along with their concept of reality.

I think people metaphorically bite and devour each other in hopes of making ourselves look better or feel superior, but for what purpose? All we really do is drag each other down. It is unwise to compare ourselves to others, whether in typology or any other field. I just thought of a little allegory. Hey, I'm an INFJ. That's what we do, speak weird stories in allegories, similies and metaphors. It's okay and it's not a personal thing aimed at anybody. It's just my way of thinking. When we compare ourselves and try to make ourselves look better by tearing at those different than us, what we do is either cause feelings of self-depreciation or feelings of false ego. Neither is good. It is easier when a tree does not envy a rock but sets out to be the best tree it can be by providing shade for the rock and the rock does not envy the tree but decides to be the best rock it can be by providing a resting place beneath the tree so that weary travelers may sit and rest.