{"id":3968,"date":"2012-09-07T08:51:10","date_gmt":"2012-09-07T15:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=3968"},"modified":"2012-09-07T10:54:21","modified_gmt":"2012-09-07T17:54:21","slug":"symbolic-speech-for-an-ultimate-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/09\/07\/symbolic-speech-for-an-ultimate-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Symbolic Speech for an Ultimate Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n

There’s a passage on the last page of Ecclesiastes that reminds us to remember the One most important to remember while we’ve still got something to remember with.<\/p>\n

Got that?<\/p>\n

The author uses all manner of symbolic speech, some of which we can understand, the rest just by gist.<\/p>\n

(Of course, we never use symbolic speech.)<\/p>\n

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, \u201cI find no pleasure in them.\u201d<\/strong>*<\/p>\n

Okay, that’s clear enough, and fair warning.\u00a0I’ve seen where long life doesn’t seem so much a gift in later years when pleasures are gone.<\/p>\n

He continues:<\/p>\n

Before the light of the sun and moon and stars grow dark, <\/strong>like, don’t wait until you’re blind before you start looking . . .<\/p>\n

and the clouds return after the rain,\u00a0<\/strong>when one season of dreariness is followed by another and setbacks follow setbacks . . .<\/p>\n

when the grinders cease because they are few,\u00a0<\/strong>when food holds little interest and there’s little to chew with if it did . . .<\/p>\n

and when the doors to the street are closed and<\/strong>\u00a0those looking through windows grow dim,\u00a0<\/strong>when you’re not able to get out, and nothing’s worth pursuing anyway . . .<\/p>\n

when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint,\u00a0<\/strong>when it’s the middle of the night and sleep won’t return, or when hearing gets harder and harder . . .<\/p>\n

when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets,<\/strong>\u00a0like when your height is barely five feet, the hip can break and down you go, every step’s a hazard . . .<\/p>\n

when the almond trees blossoms, <\/strong>meaning the hair turns white and then falls out . . .<\/p>\n

and the grasshopper drags himself along,\u00a0<\/strong>meaning, maybe, the joints are stiff, the frame is bent, and there’s no more jump in the jeans.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe that’s what it means. It’s all symbolic, given to get us to take most seriously the most serious thing before\u00a0the jig is up, the bucket’s kicked, the dust is bit, the chips are cashed, the farm is bought, the Grim Reaper met, the ghost given up, you’ve breathed your last, taken your bow, you’re six feet under, pushing up\u00a0daises, and your body is food for worms.<\/p>\n

Did I say we don’t use symbolic speech?<\/p>\n

To be more\u00a0concrete, to date, 99,000,000,000 people have died.<\/p>\n

The mortality rate is still 100 percent.<\/p>\n

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.<\/p>\n

Your graduation date is scheduled.<\/p>\n

Do your homework.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

___________________<\/p>\n

*Ecclesiastes 12:1-7<\/p>\n

Next: Kings and Fools Switched.<\/em> Coming Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a light take on a heavy subject, our graduation day, for which we should probably be studying . . . or getting close to the teacher. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3968"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4312,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968\/revisions\/4312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}