Francis Meyrick

All Puffed Up

It amuses me. People who have achieved “some ” knowledge. Indeed, “some ” skill. Definitely “some ” expertise. But for “some ” reason, they puff up into wind bags. And then they can impact people’s lives. Often, not for the Good. It just seems to be the way Man is programmed: he just loves Praise, Reward, Recognition. Next thing, he starts floating off his little perch. Delusional. He is still hemmed in by the bars of his tiny cage, but he can’t, and doesn’t see that.

Politicians are like that. How can you, in these troubled times, have the unspeakable gall to charge $300,000 for one of your speeches? With a long, laundry list of petty demands for perks like fine food, to not being asked the wrong questions? You would think that if you really thought you knew what was good for the country, you would be delighted to get your message out for free…

But, no, let’s racketeer like a Snake Oil saleswoman. And who are the simpletons obediently forking over that kind of money? Universities? Oh, well, figures. Intellectuals morons and academic twits.

My point is that a lot of people are Puffer Fish. Wind bags. Me too. I struggle with Praise, Reward, Recognition. I get friends who get mad with me, for not publishing my stories in books. “You could make a lot of money “, they say. And I say, truthfully:

“Well, maybe one day, but right now, I’m quite happy blogging away. It’s simpler this way. No appeal for book sales, no trying to say The Right Thing, no search for corrupting Reward & Recognition. That way I avoid the Poison that seems to come with the quest for Money. The Buddhists call it the Red Dust. Just saying it the way I feel is easier. I don’t have to worry about anything else… “

But a little voice is also at work in my mind, wondering. Scheming. I can’t say I like that little voice much.

I don’t want to be a Puffer Fish, like so many I see around me.

My point is, that the longer you bicycle around this globe, the more leather you collect on your soul, the more you take in your stride. You recognize certain types of very common school fish for exactly what they are…

Remember the Gorilla…?

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Last edited by Francis Meyrick on November 28, 2014, 4:47 pm