My little Gnudren,
Autumn has certainly got its hold on us. Once again it is time to hunker down and enjoy the cosiness of dark evenings and give oneself to happy musing (or go Clubbing.) If you have problems musing, try a sip of Cointreau or some such mind expander.
Old Gnu has been sipping musing away.
On channel 5 there is a fascinating series that can be streamed. “A New Life in the Wild” presented by one very perceptive Mr. Ben Fogle. He certainly has experienced life to the full. (See Mr. Waki Pedia for details). In each episode Mr. Fogle spends a week with people who have opted to live off-grid in often extremely remote areas miles from “civilisation”. But actually nearly all of them are only able to do this because “civilisation” is out there, lurking somewhere helpfully in the background. This in no way undermines the value of what these courageous people are doing, aiming at simplicity and self-sufficiency with minimum impact on the environment and finding contentment. In fact, it leads us to think profound thoughts of what makes for happiness and contentment. But unfortunately, in Old Gnu’s mind it’s a reservoir of information about DIY and repurposing discarded items.
Yes, yes, old Gnu knows about the argument if that if we repurpose everything and are all content with the bare necessities, our manufacturing industries might collapse and the national economies would go down the tubes etc etc. But for some of us the joy of repurposing items that have been discarded is truly exhilarating, rather than unnecessarily sentencing things to a landfill. You may have guessed by now that the furnishings of Old Gnu’s end of terrace are beginning to show the influence of Mr. Fogle’s visitations to such fascinating and wonderful individuals. What Mrs. Gnu would be thinking about this if she were physically present is not difficult to guess, judging by the reaction of visitors.
Doing the right thing is always difficult. In terms of repurposing, for Old Gnu, if it works, it doesn’t matter what it looks like. This may also be a good attitude to have towards people if you are a pragmatic employer, but possibly a potentially dangerous one if you are a politician creating national policies.
And this, dear reader, is where in the words of Jesus about “the Spirit leading us into all truth” kick in. It seems that for him Truth was the embodiment of right living, and not just some set of doctrinal propositions. Truth, or an axiom for correct behaviour and decisions, in one situation may be wrong for another situation. (See how your musings can be helped when you sip Cointreau!). That may be why some of the writers of the First Testament (Old Testament) bang on about being led in “paths of righteousness”, in modern parlance, being led in right ways, I.e., doing the right thing. Some of us believe there are core truths that are the same for all time. But it’s no good shouting about them if it is not substantiated in our daily practice and behaviour. In this sense discovering the Truth is a daily challenge.
To sum up and conclude: never sip too much Cointreau when you have hunkered down for a cosy autumnal evening. It could end up hurting your head.
Vetus Pater Gnu
Musicorum et Theologia
Turris LA
XV Mensis Novembris MMXXV