It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem.
For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars, and so on – whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time.
But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man – for precisely the same reasons.
So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams (1999)
The three pillars stood out clearly now, three pillars topped with two cross pieces in a way which looked stupefyingly familiar to Arthur’s addled brain.
“The three pillars,” thundered the man. “The Steel Pillarwhich represented the Strength and Power of the Galaxy!”
Searchlights seared out and danced crazy dances up and down the pillar on the left which was, clearly, made of steel or something very like it. The music thumped and bellowed.
“The Perspex Pillar,” announced the man, “representing the forces of Science and Reason in the Galaxy!”
Other searchlights played exotically up and down the righthand, transparent pillar creating dazzling patterns within it and a sudden inexplicable craving for ice-cream in the stomach of Arthur Dent.
“And,” the thunderous voice continued, “the Wooden Pillar, representing…” and here his voice became just very slightly hoarse with wonderful sentiments, “the forces of Nature and Spirituality.”
The lights picked out the central pillar. The music moved bravely up into the realms of complete unspeakability.
“Between them supporting,” the voice rolled on, approaching its climax, “the Golden Bail of Prosperity and the Silver Bail of Peace!“
The whole structure was now flooded with dazzling lights, and the music had now, fortunately, gone far beyond the limits of the discernible. At the top of the three pillars the two brilliantly gleaming bails sat and dazzled. There seemed to be girls sitting on top of them, or maybe they were meant to be angels. Angels are usually represented as wearing more than that, though.
LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING, Chapter 8, by Douglas Adams
Hobbes describes life as “nasty, brutish, and short.” Keltner believes evolution has given Homo sapiens emotions like gratitude, joy, amusement, and compassion.
Reflect on the spirit embodied by monks at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. Their daily work period is for 3 hours until 12:40 PM. Asked of one monk what he does when the bell rings but he feels that his work is undone, he replied, “You get over it.”
