Dear Subscriber,
I haven’t taught in a classroom or online for many years, but a former student came running by me on Lake Murray. She kind of circled around, as I don’t jog, pointed at me, and said, (I could barely hear her over my Alan Watts lecture in my ear buds about “living in the present”) and said, “Mr. Musgrave?” She told me she knew it was me by my “walk.”
I nodded yes, took the earbuds out, told her “Ah, the Musgrave walk,” and we proceeded to run (her) and walk (me) and talk. Not an ego trip, because I found out she was now a grandmother, so that makes me Socrates, but what she said made my heart/mind chakras light up a bit.
She told me she’s using all the skills of research and argument I taught her in my “Advanced Argument and Research” class in her daily life! She got her grandchild into the best school in Las Vegas because she did the research about the lottery acceptance rules, as her grandchild has autism. Also, she told me that once her grandson got all the support he was entitled to by the school administration, his grades improved so much he was at the top of his class!
What’s strange is that I was so far from being a teacher in my head that being thrust back in time gave me quite an existential jolt of joy. My philosophy of life is that we must be able to change every second we exist, as we are reborn every second. The past has disappeared, so we can learn from it and improve our present.
I guess it’s all true, as I still know how to do my own research, and I enjoy educated argument, and I laugh a lot at myself and others for ignoring stuff, such as women who are today grandmothers who can argue their grandsons into getting the best grades in Las Vegas!
How cool is that? Pretty cool.
BIKES AND MINDS
He was sitting alone, with his motorbicyle.
Leaning against the young eucalyptus.
He was as lean as an Auschwitz camper.
I thought he might have a grave illness.
Staring out on Zen Lake. Pensive. Pondering.
What is the purpose? Why am I here?
You know. The usual.
But then, my perspective changed.
He may be a vegan, in tip-top shape,
Live to be 115 or maybe older.
He may be a monk of some kind.
Out for a frolic, but then meditating to relax.
It hit me (again) for the umpteenth time in my life:
All is possible in the eternal consciousness.
It’s all up to me, as I am part of infinity.
And he is part of his.
Om is the sound of all our struggles, pains, and joys.
J. Musgrave 2023
Thanks for your attention. Have a great hump day!
James Musgrave
EMRE Publishing
San Diego, CA
