Wit & Whim
There was no difficulty naming my blog because the name is the force that inspired me to create the blog. The warm sun baking my skin, Dostoevsky forgotten for a moment, I allowed my mind to wander and it wasted no time ushering in my daydreams, which slowly wended their way into memory. As I sat up, licking my dry lips, it struck me just how fast Whims can run away with you and all the odd little places they have the power to take you. This is not a new revelation; I have long since come to terms with the knowledge that whims are the most powerful creatures in the world. But their strength and prowess astound me anew each time that I encounter them. It is as Jonathan and I documented some long time ago; Wit and Whim may often be complimentary forces, but Whim holds the mastery.
Whim is easily my favorite word and holds fountains of meaning for me. But how did Wit come into all this? Is this boy so arrogant that he should declare himself a Wit? Probably. But Wit does not enter this picture because of any illusions that I have about myself. A while back Jonathan and I created, as by the twisted machinations of a pair of our extraordinarily odd alter egos, a series of lectures on Wit & Whim. These, while being incredibly humorous and containing a multiplicity of inanities, also contained some decent insight that was particularly striking in the midst of the idiocy. Suffice to say that it is not lightly that I claim that Whim is the master, if you need further proof just look at the way we run our lives, the way we react, and why things go wrong. Even if we strive for the cause of Wit, Whim is always the master.
Wit & Whim, having established the dominance of Whim, went on to study the various Whims that we encounter in daily life. The comparative strength of good and evil Whims is a major point which we came back to time and again. After a time we discovered that it has less to do with the power of the whim, whims are as powerful as they need to be, and is more a function of how interested the whim is in the subject! We were left with the realization that those who are possessed of some Wit are rendered less interesting to evil Whims and more interesting to the better classes of whim. However, there is one breed of Whim which strikes indiscriminately amongst all individuals regardless of Wit, the Mischievous Whim. These Whims, though fewer in number than other Whims, often travel in packs, act decisively, and seldom settle for half measures.
And so was I seized. Here is my blog. The Whim departed, I am left to rest and contemplate what I have wrought. I am left to wonder. Why, as I lay content in the sun, blissfully ignoring all responsibility for an afternoon, did it decide I looked like fun? How, when I was tucked and hidden away from the eyes of the world, did it chance to find me? What, when I chose to serve no purpose did it choose to purpose for me? And was it there the whole time? I know not what kind of whim it was that seized me, but I like to think it was a Mischievous Whim.
Whim is easily my favorite word and holds fountains of meaning for me. But how did Wit come into all this? Is this boy so arrogant that he should declare himself a Wit? Probably. But Wit does not enter this picture because of any illusions that I have about myself. A while back Jonathan and I created, as by the twisted machinations of a pair of our extraordinarily odd alter egos, a series of lectures on Wit & Whim. These, while being incredibly humorous and containing a multiplicity of inanities, also contained some decent insight that was particularly striking in the midst of the idiocy. Suffice to say that it is not lightly that I claim that Whim is the master, if you need further proof just look at the way we run our lives, the way we react, and why things go wrong. Even if we strive for the cause of Wit, Whim is always the master.
Wit & Whim, having established the dominance of Whim, went on to study the various Whims that we encounter in daily life. The comparative strength of good and evil Whims is a major point which we came back to time and again. After a time we discovered that it has less to do with the power of the whim, whims are as powerful as they need to be, and is more a function of how interested the whim is in the subject! We were left with the realization that those who are possessed of some Wit are rendered less interesting to evil Whims and more interesting to the better classes of whim. However, there is one breed of Whim which strikes indiscriminately amongst all individuals regardless of Wit, the Mischievous Whim. These Whims, though fewer in number than other Whims, often travel in packs, act decisively, and seldom settle for half measures.
And so was I seized. Here is my blog. The Whim departed, I am left to rest and contemplate what I have wrought. I am left to wonder. Why, as I lay content in the sun, blissfully ignoring all responsibility for an afternoon, did it decide I looked like fun? How, when I was tucked and hidden away from the eyes of the world, did it chance to find me? What, when I chose to serve no purpose did it choose to purpose for me? And was it there the whole time? I know not what kind of whim it was that seized me, but I like to think it was a Mischievous Whim.
Oh, my ......... ;-) This ought to be an interesting blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're enjoying your classes, Patrick!