12 Steps to Compassion by Karen Armstrong – author of A Short History of Myth https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-short-history-of-myth-by-karen.html and other remarkable books - 9 out of 10

 

12 Steps to Compassion by Karen Armstrong – author of A Short History of Myth https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-short-history-of-myth-by-karen.html and other remarkable books

 

9 out of 10

 

Karen Armstrong is the ultimate expert on religion, I think I remember reading about that in The Economist, for the first time, but during the past few years I have had the chance to read at least five books by this outstanding thinker, expert, that would include 12 Steps to Compassion, but there could be a couple more

 

I have started with A History of God https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-history-of-god-by-karen-armstrong.html and it could be a landmark, an epiphany (I am still waiting for redemption, miracles) given that Karen Armstrong explains with splendid logic, common sense, expertise, the history, significance…

Therefore, some of the obstacles in accepting, receiving, worshipping God have been dismantled and the way is open for a return to the fold of the Church – the scholar explains that in the ancient world, people knew about myth, legends, and could make the difference, saw the symbolism, and did not take holy texts literally

 

This is what happens today (well, throughout history really) when you have creationists, Karen Armstrong explains that they do more harm to the faith than most others (if memory does not fail here) with their insistence in maintaining that the earth is only a few thousand years old, whatever the Bible says

Then they also take the Noe legend ad literam, you have this boat, and then the Great Colorist and Sculptor has squeezed inside a few million animals, all in pairs…well, they do not speak of the million, but if we look at the creatures that populate the planet, you have billions of species, so how do you make room for them

 

Karen Armstrong makes it clear that we have to look at the metaphor, the myth and its meaning, not lose track in the insistence on the letter of the holy texts – some of those fundamentalists however have come to rule countries – a few days ago, the monster who was president of Iran died, he was responsible for thousands of deaths

In America, you have some of those Taliban in the highest positions, one is this Johnson, Speaker of the House, and if I remember well, one of those creationists, a fellow who uses a software to check the devices, for porn and other things, and the ‘partner’ who shares this type of information with him is his teenage son!

Nevertheless, 12 Steps to Compassion is about…compassion, what else, and here I am, showing how little I have understood, if anything, from the opus that is supposed to make me look at the aforementioned, and express understanding, humanity, kindness, emotional intelligence, magnanimity and more…

 

Perhaps I was thinking of Fields of Blood and Religion https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/fields-of-blood-and-religion-by-karen.html another book by the same illustrious expert, which analyses what the title makes clear, the excesses, bloodshed which results from people misunderstanding, distorting the teachings of religion

Milan Kundera https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-unbearable-lightness-of-being-9-put.html has explained that we show compassion for those we see as our peers, on the same level, and it is pity, when we place them on an inferior level, that was in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, if we do read in 12 Steps as well

 

Notwithstanding those teachings, which we find in Buddhism – the Buddha said that keeping angry, a desire to revenge is like holding hot coals, with the intention of throwing them at our foe, until we do that, these will burn our hands – I must say that I try to be tolerant, embrace others, they even speak of enemies…

Only, it does not work for me, I also remember of another story, with our greatest thinker, Andrei Plesu, philosopher, writer, luminary https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/03/limba-pasarilor-aka-language-of-birds.html who had had trouble in the communist regime, when he was not allowed to publish, then he was banished

 

However, at one pint there was this chance, connected with adding a note praising the dictator, something everyone had to do, routine, a condition sine qua non, but the honest, glorious Andrei Plesu decided to ask three friends, mentors – as I remember it, it is not really the accurate narrative – and he received three different opinions

One was Conul Alecu Paleologu, who said that this the regime we have to accept and there is no alternative, he has to do like everyone else, and put a formal text for the Beloved Son of the Nation, the second was less categorical – come to think of it, we could remember The Categorical Imperative of Immanuel Kant

 

The second suggestion was elusive, on the one hand, the friend (I forgot who it was) wanted to see articles, books by Andrei Plesu in print, but he could advice on what is a moral choice, he could have suggested Nathaniel Branden https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/six-pillars-of-self-esteem-by-nathaniel.html

Constantin Noica was the third man asked for an opinion, and he was imperial, determined, unequivocal – ‘you have no business with the ruffians aka nu ai treaba cu golanii’ – no compromises, no prisoners’ as Lawrence of Arabia shouts in the monumental movie, one of the best five ever made

 

 Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world  – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”