Addendum again! The Need for Debate

Darn these buttons and my sloppy mouse hand!  I sent this before I was
finished with it.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sally Caves" <scaves@...>

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Cowan" <jcowan@...>
>> William Blake,
>> "We become what we behold", or as Stephen R. Donaldson phrased it,
>> "We become what we hate".
>
> How beautifully put, and how absolutely true.  "We become what we behold,"
> and "we become what we hate."
>
> Kwe tobre omtso ke, uoantso etsa.
> Kwe tobre omtso uaja, uoantso etsa.
>  It reminds me of the Gospel of Philip:
>
> You saw the Spirit, you became Spirit.
> You saw Christ, you became Christ.
> You saw the Father, you shall become Father.
> So here you see everything and not yourself,
> But there you see yourself,
> And what you see you will become.
>
> I even translated it into Teonaht in my (now vanished) Wyrlorf story:
>
> Il Ispro elfy ke uo il Ispro elfy uoan.
> Il Kerresto elfy ke uo il Kerresto elfy uoan.
> Il Pantor elfy ke uo il Pantor esfy uoan.
> Harym pottywem omfy ke uo felletsa vera,
> Ma hova felletsa esfy lumkke;
> Send kwe tobre omfy ke, uoanfy etsa.
I was prepared to add, before I aimed for the "cut" button and got the
"send" button instead, that I have loved this passage for a long time, and
often pondered it when I was angry about something or someone.  "You become
what you hate"; "what you see you will become."  The wise thing is to turn
away from what you hate, and pursue and deal with what you love, because
hate involves you in hate, resentment in resentment, spite in spite.  The
reverse is also true:  what you see will become what you are.  If you are
angry, what you see is anger.  If you are defensive, what you see are
attackers.  It's worth thinking about.  Thanks, John.

On the other hand, a nice, very brief, very witty response to a deliberate
offense has its purposes! ;)  But it's best, and more disabling to the
offender, either to ignore it, or to pour "coals of fire upon his head" in
your kindness.

Sally