We are fast approaching the Summer Solstice (also called Midsummer; the Longest Day; the Shortest Night; Estival solstice). When I awoke from my deep sleep shortly after five o’clock this morning, the glaring sunshine was already framing the borders of the window blinds. Today is Saturday, what promises to be an ideal summer day, an azure sky, wisps of white clouds on the horizon and moderately warm temperatures.
I continue to be haunted by an adage I see repeated on Vita Mahjong (“an Exclusive Puzzle Game of Tile Matching, a relaxing yet mentally engaging gaming experience particularly focused on older adults”) to the effect that the meaning of life derives from the detail of what is at hand. I find this to be a compelling observation, certainly one more potent than “Don’t worry, Be happy!” although even Aristotle reportedly said “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” The dedication to detail is something to which I have always been drawn, no doubt a reflection of my obsessiveness. But more importantly than the psychological analysis is its alignment with practicality and immediacy.
When considering the scope of human happiness, there are limitless prescriptions: existentialism, nihilism, transcendentalism, romanticism, Platonism, etc. I am more bound by the blunt and less idyllic scribes such as Betrand Russell who famously said for example, “There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.” The practicality of living surpasses the oddity of numerology or the ponderous philosophy of Wittgenstein: “If I am inclined to suppose that a mouse has come into being by spontaneous combustion out of grey rags and dust, I shall do well to investigate them to see how it may have got there and so on; but if I am convinced that a mouse cannot come into being by spontaneous combustion out of grey rags and dust, then this investigation will perhaps be superfluous.” Less you think his deeply considered though is entirely unsound, consider this:
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) was one of the earliest recorded scholars to articulate the theory of spontaneous generation, the notion that life can arise from nonliving matter. Aristotle proposed that life arose from nonliving material if the material contained pneuma (“vital heat”). As evidence, he noted several instances of the appearance of animals from environments previously devoid of such animals, such as the seemingly sudden appearance of fish in a new puddle of water.
Abstract theory may amuse some; but I can never escape the preponderance of meaning in what is at hand. Nor increasingly am I able to convince myself of the necessity of other than doing so; namely, I confront a logical subterfuge whenever I extend the bounds of my curiosity beyond my environment. Fiction, for example, does not attract me. I am however remarkably more absorbed in conversation of local matters with an acquaintance or friend. And – as you, dear Reader, may already surmise from my repetitive behaviour – I am smitten by the beauty of what is at my front door, my so-called “view up river and across the fields”. Honestly, when I contrast what I see at this moment with what I have seen on the coastlines of the North Atlantic or North Pacific Oceans, or the streets of Paris and Stockholm, the slopes of the Rocky Mountains or the beaches of the Caribbean, and when I ponder the meaning and delight arising therefrom, I am unable to resist the conclusion that the definition and blend of the present detail is inexpressible and incomparable. I acknowledge the truth that one must first leave home to discover its worth; but nonetheless the voyage is not perpetual except on home territory.
June 15, 2025
Toronto, 0ntario
Greetings Lads!
I came across a favourite recipe from my days of living on a farm in the wilds of Zululand, South Africa and thought it might give you a giggle!
Safari Stew
Rinse and pat dry 1 medium to large elephant
Add:
1500 chopped onions
1 truckload chopped carrots
1 truckload diced potatoes
3000 peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)
10 barrels of elephant stock
50 buckets of minced garlic
And don’t forget the secret ingredient: 25 smoked warthogs
Finally, for that special touch of extra flavour, add 1 bay leaf
Season to taste with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, then let simmer for 2 days.
Feeds 2000 – it was a big farm!
On a less frivolous note: I was delighted to read your thoughts on travel because you have grasped what I feel is an important realization at our stage of life: that home is where the heart is when achieving a sense of perfect harmony with your bucolic surroundings. This is a gift. Whether or not you find yourself on the road again will be a matter of choice as opposed to yearning. Too many people fail to recognize that while travelling per se, may feel like an act of fulfillment thanks to that dreaded concept of the bucket list, the recognition of balance between the familiar and the sublime is so often right on our doorstep. Even I, despite plans for exotic winter get-aways, know that I have found my idyllic mind-set when it comes to time and place: I am definitely in a place of tranquility that molds my perception of time, stripped entirely of any frenetic pace. Life can be so full of repose – and in my mind, the best journey takes you home.
And, so we drift along, smiling, peaceful and gratefully alive.
Night, night.
Fi