Friday, December 4, 2015

Malibu morning picture of the day - Friday, December 4, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

The clouds and sea have that gold-silver quality, at least in one direction this morning.

 And here's a second look to the south. Lots of cloud cover today. It almost looks like someone's hair that needs to be brushed.

Hey, it's been a long time since I gave you all a Chinese idiom lesson.

Today's four-word expression is:

孟母三遷,

roughly pronounced "mung mu sahm chian" and literally means "Meng" "mother" "three" "move." It is representative of a concept that American middle-class parents know very well. When that young hipster or slacker couple get married, have a baby, and the kids turns 5, suddenly life in Hollywood, or K-Town, or Silverlake, or the Arts District no longer seems good or appropriate, and places like Arcadia, Westlake Village, and Burbank look pretty good. Basically it's moving to a better neighborhood so that your kids can go to a good school and get a better shot in life (and not "get shot").
Meng-tze "Mencius"

"Meng" (the first word) is Meng-tze the Confucian commentator and philosopher and revered scholar of history. When he was born, his mother moved the family near a cemetery and she noticed little Meng was play-acting like a mourner. So she moved the family near the market, whereupon she noticed him then acting like a salesman/vendor. So she moved a third (三遷)time near a school and Meng started to act with good manners and like he wanted to go to school. She decided this was a good place to live, so they stayed put. Smart woman, and she raised a smart son.

He would have NOT gotten along with St. Augustine or Hobbes, since he believed that people were pretty much naturally good. One of his quotes is: "The tendency of a man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downward."

However, as we end a work week marked by a lot of strife and conflict in the world news, let's leave with what such an optimist had as a thought on such things:

"When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit, because their strength is not adequate to resist."

Love and be strong,
Pops

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Be truthful and frank, but be polite. If you use excessive profanity, I'll assume you have some kind of character flaw like Dr. Wong. Tks!