PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS - Part One

OKAY... perhaps my goal here is a bit much too much, being I'm new to blogging. More like an invitation to write a doctoral thesis, but, I'm going to give it a try - 'no risk, no gain'. Correct?  No "gain", nothing accomplished.

First Question: "Who is BobKat?"

Answer: Me, of course. An anonymous "Me". A me that through that anonymity may be able to accomplish a something important, at least that's what I'm hoping.

The alternative is do nothing, and that accomplishes nothing - or so we've been told. Doing nothing can however accomplish something... if done correctly.

One of the skills I learned during the 1970's while at college, during a time when Carlos Castaneda books - ie, The Teachings of Don Juan were popular, is that, when one can not accomplish something by action and/or action is only making life more difficult or impeding accomplishment, that doing nothing can actually be the best decision one can make. In other words, when you're spinning your wheels, trying too hard perhaps, the best solution is to Stop: Do Nothing.

Seems to me, not enough people know how to be productive doing "nothing". Our educations, our society frowns on such a choice - we're pushed by such superstition that "an idle mind is the devil's playground". Good people are always doing something productive!

Bad people, or those with too much idle time are generally those persons who drift to the fringes of society, use drugs, commit crimes, cause trouble.

There is an art to it... Doing Nothing - the art being, during times of doing nothing we can give our minds the opportunity to what they're often not doing, that being, reflection, organizing, processing experiences, thinking - creatively,  and creating.

My Avatar is my Maine Coon-cat - Kramer. To me he looks something like a bobcat, much as my aka is similar to BobCat... the company, which I have zero association with... I'm simply BobKat because I like cats, and my name is Bob.

Translation:

It's my opinion our society has evolved to a new level. We went from cavemen, to agricultural, to industrial, to special interests/capitalistic, to technological... and the technology we're experiencing is moving at a highly accelerated speed... one most can't keep pace with.

This is a bubble.

Since we're so "work oriented" as a culture, as a Country, doing nothing is nearly a crime, or at least a psychological disorder. The problem with that, unless you're a worker bee, on a mechanical/industrial assembly line, you're having to think. You cannot be idle. You cannot do nothing.

Doing "nothing" however, doesn't mean being lazy... though even that is essential at times, as is exercise, of which I do none. By doing "nothing" in my mind it means sitting at your computer, or reading a book, or sitting on the porch. I'm doing "nothing" now.

It's Saturday, and I'm not at work. I'm not doing dishes, cleaning house, which is my job. I do have a pot-roast in the Crockpot though. And I'm blogging... back to "nothing"...

By doing nothing, I've decided to continue the "Pursuit of happiness" topic, investigate our Constitutional Right to our Pursuit of Happiness... what it means, what the law says, where in the Constitution it is listed and clarify what it really means... an ambitious,  noble endeavor, I think.

About myself, I will tell you I have a BA in English, I've had many interesting blue collar jobs, and I'm unconventional. I started college in mid 1970's, worked in several schools and colleges between 1975 and 1998, I've been writing since the mid-70's, and life has been difficult, but with a wealth of good experiences thrown in. If I have an issue it's that the good stuff happens but the routine crap is simply here all the time. I'm an artist... at heart, meaning I have a tendency to see the world and the society I live in as a art-form. That I believe is the source of most of my problems, as I do believe our society sees art outside of our society, and the real world I live in is corporate, commercial, and capitalistic.

@ my two friends with opinions about George, my cat:

George is an ACE mouse-catcher, outdoors he's phenomenal! .. this past summer alone he essentially got a wild mouse everyday... there's hundreds around. I adopted George 2-3 years ago from the Humane Society... he's a great cat. H is well fed, and he loves cat treats... so yes, he's not so much "alert" as he is hoping his pose will earn him some treats.

By the way... our "guest" for this upcoming Thanksgiving feast... "Circ the Turk": More about Circ later... I feel bad he will be slaughtered for Thanksgiving, but I feel honored to have been his friend... and will try to accept that the dinner I eat at Thanksgiving was not without a sacrifice.