Hint of something in the air, crisp, fragrant, dash of salt edge off the ocean.
Gnomes.
Keep seeing them pass by in the columns of people passing by as well as the sparser clouds of humanity drifting through the canyons on their way to work. They're not all short gnomish-gnomes, let's not stereotype. Admittedly sometime an unrelated gnarled face or a twinkle or furrowed brow tweaks the pattern recognition and I THINK of gnomes, but it's not the physical that I'm talking about here, more the Platonic form...circle, square, trapezoid, truth, beauty, goodness, and gnomes.
Clear to me on reflection that they are there for a reason, probably watching the going ons for amusement or edification. Some of them have probably been away from the guild long enough that the memory of gnomehood is misted out. But I can see them, and they can see me.
I wonder about their belief systems, never studied much on gnomes - maybe I should. Pagan or druidish I would guess, that seems to feel right. One thing I find fetching though, is that they don't have any rods and reels out.
It's another thing I see, or hear, or see through hearing, strange psychic synesthesia. All these believers, all these fishers of men, and ALL their equipment.
Float a tag cloud in and over this cityblock, hit generate, and randomize it a few times until you see the patterns, then center in on the religious ones.
Buddhism Christianity Islam Judaism Mormanism Jehovahs Witnesses.
Not clear at first why Christianity Mormanism and Jehovahs Witnesses are grouped together; at least not obviously clear. They all have routes in Abrahamic tradition, and ostensibly follow the same book if not exactly the details or surrounding canon and then BOOM it's clear as crystal, it's about the hook.
Religion is many things - spirituality is another altogether - but religion - this goulash, is a mix unto itself. Sociology, anthropology, culture, psychology, a hint of god.
And one of its main appendages is the hook. Pastors, missionaries evangelists, all out with their rod and reel, casting and pulling, casting and pulling, casting and pulling in a connected web that looks from space like the planets biggest organic mousetrap.
Their bait is based on their belief - Mormons, clear eyed and warm chested, offer feeling and peace, JW's their own peculiar reasoning, evangelists a mix of guilt and promise.
Yes, their bait is their belief and the biters are those hungriest for their offerings.
But I consider as I watch them; strip away the lost - those that will never be caught; pair it down to the core group, and you have to wonder how many are truly present enough to be making a truly free-will choice to bite down.
It's clear to me that number is very small indeed, which means that the movement that is trying to bring them in will in a majority of cases be devoted to the care and watering of this demographic; and in doing so will lose some of their proffered shine, replaced instead with the various grime and grit and violence and terrible beauty and laughter and pride and paradox that IS a person. In this metaphysics, see, you might be 100% full of your belief. But you can't give out any of that 100% without filling up on something else; sometimes it is more of the belief, sometimes it is what's been brought in from the street.
Which all begs the question ... who is catching who...
the harvest holy ghost on fire streetworker after the prostitute
or the dark fire of the prostitute seducing the streetworker with desire and belonging, two vines wrapping around the worker like vines, looking for food to fill the void
the JW after the shut in
or the shut in with a cold open door of memories waiting to haunt a new generation
Indeed.
And through it all, the gnomes, watching, taking notes, or just BEING
as the reels are brought in, rods put away and shops locked up
for another day.
.
Clear to me on reflection that they are there for a reason, probably watching the going ons for amusement or edification. Some of them have probably been away from the guild long enough that the memory of gnomehood is misted out. But I can see them, and they can see me.
I wonder about their belief systems, never studied much on gnomes - maybe I should. Pagan or druidish I would guess, that seems to feel right. One thing I find fetching though, is that they don't have any rods and reels out.
It's another thing I see, or hear, or see through hearing, strange psychic synesthesia. All these believers, all these fishers of men, and ALL their equipment.
Float a tag cloud in and over this cityblock, hit generate, and randomize it a few times until you see the patterns, then center in on the religious ones.
Buddhism Christianity Islam Judaism Mormanism Jehovahs Witnesses.
Not clear at first why Christianity Mormanism and Jehovahs Witnesses are grouped together; at least not obviously clear. They all have routes in Abrahamic tradition, and ostensibly follow the same book if not exactly the details or surrounding canon and then BOOM it's clear as crystal, it's about the hook.
Religion is many things - spirituality is another altogether - but religion - this goulash, is a mix unto itself. Sociology, anthropology, culture, psychology, a hint of god.
And one of its main appendages is the hook. Pastors, missionaries evangelists, all out with their rod and reel, casting and pulling, casting and pulling, casting and pulling in a connected web that looks from space like the planets biggest organic mousetrap.
Their bait is based on their belief - Mormons, clear eyed and warm chested, offer feeling and peace, JW's their own peculiar reasoning, evangelists a mix of guilt and promise.
Yes, their bait is their belief and the biters are those hungriest for their offerings.
But I consider as I watch them; strip away the lost - those that will never be caught; pair it down to the core group, and you have to wonder how many are truly present enough to be making a truly free-will choice to bite down.
It's clear to me that number is very small indeed, which means that the movement that is trying to bring them in will in a majority of cases be devoted to the care and watering of this demographic; and in doing so will lose some of their proffered shine, replaced instead with the various grime and grit and violence and terrible beauty and laughter and pride and paradox that IS a person. In this metaphysics, see, you might be 100% full of your belief. But you can't give out any of that 100% without filling up on something else; sometimes it is more of the belief, sometimes it is what's been brought in from the street.
Which all begs the question ... who is catching who...
the harvest holy ghost on fire streetworker after the prostitute
or the dark fire of the prostitute seducing the streetworker with desire and belonging, two vines wrapping around the worker like vines, looking for food to fill the void
the JW after the shut in
or the shut in with a cold open door of memories waiting to haunt a new generation
Indeed.
And through it all, the gnomes, watching, taking notes, or just BEING
as the reels are brought in, rods put away and shops locked up
for another day.
.
