conflict

Cleaning the Pool

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Back on my feet. I'm caught up with my correspondence and ready to get back into the groove.
CALLIOPE: You mentioned in passing yesterday that you had written some seditious pieces. I don't recall discussing this with you before you. Could you elaborate?
JOE: Toward the end of my monastic days, I started putting my thoughts on paper regarding reservations about the direction my religious order was taking.
CALLIOPE: Was that so bad?
JOE: I suppose not. My indiscretion was in circulating my writing which eventually fell into disapproving hands.
CALLIOPE: I see. And that led to your being kicked out?
JOE: Not directly. I was given a warning and put on probation due to my views.
CALLIOPE: How did you deal with that?
JOE: I wasn't quite ready to leave so I backed off for a while. I did not stop writing but tried to be more careful about who I let see my writing.
CALLIOPE: Whose decision was it for you to leave in the end?
JOE: I made the decision, but under duress and with a feeling of relief on the part of my superiors.
CALLIOPE: Did your recent monastery visit give you any further perspective on your decision to leave?
JOE: I realize I made the right decision. I think I have a better understanding of the various points of view prevalent at the time and that mine was not shared by the powers that be. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Monastery Pulpit)
JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I trust you had a nice trip to New York.
JOE: Indeed it did. Memorable in many ways.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about one.
JOE: I visited a monk at Immaculate Conception Monastery in Queens where I once lived. It brought back many memories and helped me settle some things in my mind.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: Reading and writing for one thing. There were books I was forbidden to read (Kant, Descartes, etc) which I read anyway. I saw the locked room where they were then kept.
CALLIOPE: What memories did that bring back?
JOE: My own somewhat incendiary writings from the time which eventually got me sent out of the monastery. It was the first time my writing made a difference to anyone.
CALLIOPE: Quite a start. How about now?
JOE: I don't write anything quite so inflammatory. Now I just offer my readers a chance to look at their lives in a more subtle way. The brashness of youth!
CALLIOPE: Amazing isn't it. Where did the experience leave you?
JOE: Wondering about what topics I should address these days and in what manner.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a useful thought.
JOE: We shall see. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Tumblers- New Orleans)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. The sun's out and it's warming up.
CALLIOPE: Enjoy it. You mentioned working on a new column a couple days ago. How is that coming?
JOE: Done. I wrote it about Russ's eightieth birthday party and how I wish everyone in the world could get along the way people did at his party.
CALLIOPE: That would be nice. Do you think it's possible?
JOE: Possible- yes. Likely- realistically I'm not so sure. It seems people have been at each other's throats since Cain and Abel. We don't seem to have the patience as humans to cooperate with each other.
CALLIOPE: Humans don't seem to get it.
JOE: I can't argue with you there. It seems like we can get along for a while, at least some of us can. Then we dissolve into conflict. Having our own way seems to trump living with each other in peace.
CALLIOPE: So what's the answer?
JOE: I wish I knew. I have been searching for it as long as I have been writing. There probably isn't one answer or someone would have discovered it by now. The answer doesn't seem to lie in logic, emotion or belief. I don't know what's left.
CALLIOPE: How about the arts?
JOE: Maybe there's a better chance there. But the arts sometimes express and even incite conflict.
CALLIOPE: I can't argue with you there.
JOE: Maybe peace is the ultimate challenge for humans and it will only result from our combined efforts on all fronts. We shall see. Talk with you tomorrow.

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. After a deluge last night, the sky is clear blue with a few friendly clouds. I am feeling at peace and optimistic.
CALLIOPE: What brought all this on?
JOE: I have been contemplating my conversation with Gerry which we discussed yesterday. I think he is right that to some extent my early conflicts still plague me.
CALLIOPE: Which conflicts?
JOE: The ones which made me feel it was my responsibility to make sense of the world and to some extent contribute to saving it.
CALLIOPE: Rather messianic isn't it?
JOE: Now that you mention it, yes. I took it upon myself to contribute to making the world a better place in which to live. I chose to do this through my writing.
CALLIOPE: Wherein lies the conflict?
JOE: Despite what I have done in my own small way, I see the world as largely an egocentric pursuit by many of its denizens. It seems most people care mostly about themselves and not so much about others. Pursuit of what they want seldom seems to involve consideration of others' needs.
CALLIOPE: Is it you job to change this?
JOE: I am coming to realize that it is not. I think I have made suggestions in my writing of alternative ways to live including a better harmony between our own lives and those of others. But it is not up to me to make the world a perfect place before I leave it.
CALLIOPE: Good realization. So what now?
JOE: I will continue to offer any suggestions which occur to me for consideration of anyone who will listen. I will also concentrate more on enjoying the world as I find it. Talk with you tomorrow.
(My grandson Joey at Strong Museum)