THE “SIGH—CALL 'Og'” of “Thorn” (“Þorn”)
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THE “SIGH—CALL ‘O-g’” of “THorn” (“þorn”) The Latin letter “þ” is imagery of “c” in “time-OUT” with its F-A-C-E to the “wall.” [cf. Ezekiel 4:3, 41:25 / 2 Kings 20:2 / Isaiah 38:2 / Proverbs 24:31 / Ezekiel 12:12, 38:20] “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above MEASURE.” —2 Corinthians 12:7 [cf. Judges 8:7] “ 1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on 3 his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. 4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. 5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!”—John 19:1-5 HIGH road = Place of LOW road = Place of Unfruitfulness Conception (mouth) You take the high road and I’ll take the low road Genesis 13:6-12 “ 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they 7 could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's 8 cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I PRAY thee, from me [this, in itself, is a paradox—i.e. “separation” and “annealing”]: if thou wilt 10 take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted UP his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom 11 and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him 12 all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” June 15, 2016 MANY years ago, Father [to “some,” He is ONLY “God”] had me “temporarily” close a “relative” door. For me, IT was necessary. It gave me MANY years of “peace.” I closed a door “To Day.” It “felt” GOOD. I finished something I had been working on for “some” time now. [THIS is just an “addendum” to IT!] NOW I look “forward” to WHAT “may” COME! Sometimes, the closing of a door can be a “GOOD” thing—a “freeing” thing. We open doors that are essential to our “survival.” We open doors that are necessary to our “learning.” But, most of all, we open doors that are “given” to us for our BENE-“FIT.” Word Origin and History for bene- [dictionary.com] Latin word-forming element meaning "well," from Latin bene "well, in the right way, honorably, properly," from PIE *dw-ene-, adverbial form of root *deu- "to do, perform, show favor, revere." Cf. Latin bonus "good," bellus "handsome, fine, pretty," beatus "blessed." [“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”—Proverbs 13:24] Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper When we were young, our parents placed MANY doors “before” US. MANY we were never aware of. Out of innocence and ignorance, we very “happily” went through those doors. But the day “came” when we “chose” for ourselves. Our choices…“OUR” CHOICES…are the ONEs that de-fine us most! We “make,” or “UN-make,” our own “way.” Countless decisions made by our predecessors—MANY for “our” GOOD—can be “strengthened” or “de- graded” by ONE choice of our own. Have you made any choices “To Day”? Were they GOOD ONES? Were they ONES that “bene fitted” ONLY you, or did you consider the impact THAT choice would make upon the lives of others? As you answer THAT question, I want you to think about the last time someone else made a “selfish” decision that left you feeling BEREFT, BANKRUPT, EMPTY, ANGRY, or DEPRESSED. Consider THAT before you make your “next” decision! Consider THAT “before” you BECOME THAT very person you despise. Close the door to the “monster” you COULD become! I hesitated to use this article because it portrays the “tragic” imagery of a “real” person’s life. But THIS imagery is the closest I have found that “actually” tells Father’s CONFLICT. Therefore, I have placed it here so that “you” may “grasp” Father’s “reasoning” and resulting PARADOX: https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201605/captives-the-mind?collection=1088426 Captives of the Mind Addiction, depression, self-harm, hypochondria—all share a common cause, says a new view of mental distress. By David R. Kessler M.D., published on May 2, 2016 - last reviewed on June 10, 2016 Illustration by Matt Dorfman He left more than a dozen lamps burning in his workroom. They shone upon the desk, and on the unfinished manuscript neatly stacked on top of it. Next to the manuscript was a two-page letter. This was the scene on the evening David Foster Wallace hanged himself. Wallace’s 2008 suicide at the age of 46 devastated the literary community. He was, at the time, acclaimed as the boldest, most innovative writer of his generation. His novel Infinite Jest was widely lauded by critics and thought to have redefined postmodern American fiction. The manuscript on the desk, which he despaired of ever completing, would be published posthumously as The Pale King. Though it was fragmentary, the novel contained some of his best work, many came to believe. Despite Wallace’s frustration with his inability to complete the book, in some ways his life had never been better. He had married four years earlier and was comfortably settled in California, with a teaching job he loved. Why, then, did he take his own life? It’s not that Wallace’s suicide came as a surprise to anyone who knew him well. He had been troubled since adolescence: brilliant, yet stricken with self-doubt and, at times, a paralyzing self- awareness. As a young man, he depended on alcohol and marijuana to dampen his constant anxiety. He had come close to suicide before, and in his fiction he had written of the state of mind that drives one to that abyss. Yet he had also tried to save himself. He had been prescribed antidepressants in college and continued taking them throughout the rest of his life. At the time of his death, he was a dedicated member of Alcoholics Anonymous, having successfully left behind both alcohol and marijuana years before. Though prone to fits of anger and reclusive behavior, he fought his self-destructive impulses and sought community with his fellow AA members, devoted students, and literary colleagues. The questions remain: Why would someone who struggled so long not just to stay alive but also to stay vital and connected end his life so violently? Why would someone with such recognized talent choose not to go on? What was it that was beyond the grasp of his clearly formidable intellect and will? What was the underlying cause of the depression that governed Wallace’s deep unhappiness? “Depression” is a label used to describe a group of symptoms. It is not a cause. From childhood on, Wallace wanted to be exempt from the ordinary. He wanted to excel—first as a student, and later as a writer—and he wanted others to recognize his genius. Yet, as soon as he succeeded—if he earned an A-plus or received critical acclaim—he grew uneasy, and then despairing. He wanted to be a good person, but suspected something crooked about the way in which he’d achieved success, something false in himself. Those closest to Wallace recall that this inner conflict developed in boyhood. From a very young age, Wallace was bent on impressing his parents, two highly intellectual people with their own rigorous standards. His father, James, was a dedicated academic who, with a quiet passion, worked on the same set of difficult philosophical problems for decades. His mother, Sally, was a professor of English at Parkland College, a community college in Illinois, and a commanding presence in the household. She loved wordplay and the sounds of certain phrases. She was also fiercely passionate about grammar, and in 1980 she wrote a textbook called Practically Painless English, designed to teach grammar and composition in a lighthearted manner. She shared these interests with her young children; Wallace responded enthusiastically. The two would make private jokes to each other, playing with the meaning and spelling of words. “He really did seem so badly to want to make my parents proud of him,” his sister, Amy, told me. “He thought that my parents didn’t appreciate how intelligent he was.” Illustration by Matt Dorfman Contradictory impulses—yearning for greatness yet feeling like a fake with every new achievement—pushed him further into himself.