On Solitude by Michel de Montaigne, author of one of the Greatest books of All Time, my note on some of this fleuve are at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-essays-of-michel-de-montaigne-on.html - 10 out of 10

 

On Solitude by Michel de Montaigne, author of one of the Greatest books of All Time, my note on some of this fleuve are at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-essays-of-michel-de-montaigne-on.html

 

10 out of 10

 

Michel de Montaigne was one of the brightest minds of all time, however much we could try and poke holes, or apply some of our standards to his writing and go ‘oho, this is not ethical, appropriate, inclusive or whatever today – for instance, I am thinking now of the passage where he says something along the lines of

 

‘I am not interested if a coachman is clean, if the waiter is smart, I need them to do their job’, this is no way near what he said actually, but that is how it gets distorted in my head, and this serves as a warning, it is what you are about to get more of, if you stay on this page, we could try and entice you, twist this around-

Hey, this is creative, inventive, you will get an unexpected, outré angle, even if it means reading with opaque glasses – let us get back, revenons a nos moutons, as the French say, and insist on the paramount importance of Solitude, which has both its attractions, and some very serious shortcomings, dangerous traits

 

Psychology studies https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/11/positive-psychology-by-kate-hefferson.html have shown that Solitude kills, in fact, for those who are recluse, really live isolated from the rest of humanity, it is twice as dangerous as smoking, so imagine that, we all know about tobacco, as in the smoked kind

I have read in The Economist that the republicans – that is the sect of crazies that worship Orange Jesus, one of the most disgusting idiots we could find, and I am so enraged by this, indeed, I keep returning to this topic, but then I see this as the epitome of evil, stupidity and if we read and try and put some thoughts here, separate the good from the bad, show we have learned something from say Montaigne, then this is the litmus test

 

Actually, I am now processing this, and feel like here we have the upside of Solitude, so it is dangerous, we need to be with fellow humans, but then if they belong to that massive cult that worships the Orange Dracula, then I am sorry, but I am way better off in Solitude, with all the risks involved, it is preferable than the other pain

If the alternative is getting out of Solitude with a bunch of morons aka MAGA, well buddy, you just leave me the hell Alone, even if I die twice as fast that if I take up smoking (again, I was smoking while a student because…I was hungry, these were the days of communism and we were on practice and had little food

 

But then there comes 1989, and I take part in the Revolution that toppled Ceausescu – I have a standard ending, in order to place this act that I am so proud of, then something with AT&T, maybe I find a lawyer reading this and we come into money, and some other gadgets, quotes, it is down there, if you want to jump

I have read somewhere – maybe in this book, which I review here  https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/10/stoicism-philosophy-of-calmness-by.html that the brain is so big, when compared with other animals, not because of the need to get food, but because of the…social challenges

 

In order to juggle with what Fred needs, Mary wants, the spouse objects to, you need a lot of ‘grey cells’ – Hercule Poirot https://realini.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd-by-agatha.html kept referring to those – now, the wife was in her usual Contempt mode, I wanted to take part in the ten kilometers run

This Sunday, and she said no, well, I have done it two weeks ago, and in 56 minutes, which is astounding, considering that I will be 61 in February, then I have had little training, albeit I owe it to the great Magister Ludi, the one who paid for the running shoes, equipment, tax, even sent a man to give me the kit

 

And an Uber, the driver of the latter stole my competition shirt, and at the end of the run, I had to wait to see if they have an extra, so that I will have this special memory, and something to wear and show off, so that people can see The Run of The Arenas, so this guy is really an athlete, and so on, well talk of Solitude

Emotional Intelligence https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/08/emotional-intelligence-by-daniel-goleman.html is the domain of Daniel Goleman, the ultimate expert, and again, my feeling is that I have read, probably in his book, that EQ is twice as important as IQ, because we do not live in Solitude, we are social

 

The Female Brain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-female-brain-by-louann-brizendine.html is another psychology classic by Louann Brizendine and we find about the difference between the Female Brain and the Male Brain, they are so much better in Emotional, Social arenas, superior skills

Speculation, yet again, it seems it is somewhere, in some book, I could not have come up with this – nevertheless, I have invented a position, on head, lotus position, and abdomens, the link is a few lines down here – it goes back to the times when males went hunting, and women stayed with the kids and the other families in the caves, ergo, they needed to interact, to develop communication and social skills, which we can appreciate – I also strongly recommend 50 Psychology Classics https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/11/50-psychology-classics-by-tom-butler.html a must read, if you ask me…

 

 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.”