James F. Marshall

Thoughts for the Heart

Page 2 of 4

System Thinking: How Humanity is Swallowing Humans

I — Systems Are Living Beings

You are not you.
You are the world and the world is you.

 

When we think of a system, we tend to imagine a ‘thing’ composed by many parts that somehow work together to achieve a certain outcome. For example, a car is a system made of many individual pieces such as the engine, wheels, doors, or seats, that can move from point A to point B at the driver’s will. However, the notion of a system is just a mental model we create that allows us to categorize the world for practical purposes. If we take a more holistic approach, we realize that the vehicle uses oxygen to burn gasoline, but we don’t consider the air around us a part of the car despite not functioning without it. Every singular system is composed of many other small systems or is itself a part of a larger one. And they all follow the same rules, repeating themselves over and over again. If we go to the most fundamental level of physics, we observe that we are all made of the same quantum fields and atoms obeying the same fundamental laws. In a sense, our reality is merely an infinite reiteration of the same phenomena. Continue reading

The Intangible Other

Inexorable, merciless, relentless – the thing marches on

Known to all yet no one has ever seen nor touched it

Nosy, noisy, pervasive – of this great system we are fond

“Oh, mighty Civilization, for you everyone shall submit!”

 

The crowd gathers once again for worship

They don’t know why so conviction amplifies

That which took our freedom brands the whip

Blinded by rage, guided by fear, now only blood satisfies.

 

But for all your lies, you heartless ruler, I forgive you

For Men has forgotten we overcame Hell

By becoming One our survival rang true

And still, I can’t wait for the day to bid you farewell.

Tributo a Dom Quixote

Cavaleiro andante, disseram-me que eras louco

Entre gigantes e moinhos nada escapou à tua fúria.

Mas é a sanidade total que sabe a pouco

E a tua ambição alvo da nossa injúria.

 

Fugiste à realidade e são morreste

Afonso te impuseram mas Quixote escolheste.

Um equilibrado e ignorado

O outro enamorado e celebrado.

 

Nesta era sem heroísmo onde o bom senso impera

E a fama atribuída é não merecida

Dos teus encantadores e feiticeiros continuo à espera

Pois a mente que só vê o mundo como ele é…é aborrecida!

Flirting With Madness

I hear the calling…the faintest of echoes followed by a scream

I recognize its voice though I ignored it for so long

For she likes to appear only when I daydream

Her charm ever so strong wherefrom my inspiration is drawn.

 

My common sense fears this force of nature and hides in Reality

Aren’t we all subjects to the laws of Causality?

How many have fallen for her Sensuality?

Yet you rational ones can’t even rise dreading her Brutality.

 

Whenever you shout Madness, I say Virtue.

Whenever you shout Fate, I say Destiny.

Wherever they lead there’s no space for two.

Wherever I follow, I command myself immaculately.

 

The most dangerous of lovers she is

But danger is just human vocabulary

My Will cares not for what she does

This faithful companion is the only weight I carry.

Some Personal Metaphysics

There is no Justice, there is Power.

There is no Truth, there are Facts.

There is no Holy, there is Sacred.

There is no Enlightenment, there are Bright Horizons.

There is no Salvation, there is Redemption.

There is no Freedom, there is Destiny.

There is no Eternity, there is Life.

There is no Soul, there is Will.

Amor Verdadeiramente Verdadeiro

Amor verdadeiramente verdadeiro quem te criou?

Um conceito divino ou produto de quem te fantasiou?

Duvido que existas mas não consigo ter a certeza

A mente exclama utopia mas o coração anseia a tua beleza.

 

Por muitos nomes já te fizeste passar

Amizade, matrimónio, irmandade e até maternidade.

Porém os meus olhos só veêm condições a realizar.

Se…eu…tu…então…nestes contratos não encontro santidade.

 

Os sábios concluem que só através de Deus te revelas

E na intensa devoção finalmente descobrimos o teu segredo.

Foi então que falei com Ele e vi o teu medo

Amor fazes-te mais puro do que és, tal como as donzelas.

 

E nós neste mundo terrestre insistimos acreditar em ti

Porque senão somos consumidos pela solidão.

Apenas parte do espectro humano tu não és tudo o que senti

Sozinho, mas inteiro, caminho em busca da minha redenção.

Far Away From Home

Co-existing among aliens I may feel

But is it me or them?

Far away from home I’m not so real

So why am I so quick to condemn?

 

Different words and sound we utter

In all our dreams and visions we differ.

Yet it all disappears when a common thread exists

Isn’t that how friendship persists?

 

What binds me home in this distant land

Is the same thing that brought me here.

Nowhere happy. Nowhere complete. In this limbo I stand.

After all, yours truly, is always near.

 

The more people I know, the lonelier I grow.

The more cities I see, the more their sameness repulses me.

The more countries I visit, the less I understand its spirit.

I experienced too much of this world, and nothing new is unfurled.

 

With weary legs I walk and a spoiled mind I judge

Passively waiting for my free entertainment.

Outside I search but it’s my inner side I grudge

For it so clearly reflects and projects my ailment.

Ascendance

Here in the Skies where Earth looks small,

And Hell is but an insignificant hole;

I float and fly as an Angel of Light

I dive and cry as a Demon of the Night.

 

Beyond good and evil I give my will free reign

Unshackled from myself none of it remain.

The Universe’s my ally, stars my companions, and planets my playground

Begetting galaxies and conjuring black holes where darkness is crowned.

 

Humans I ignore and Gods I despise

The former’s ignorant and the latter unwise

Deep within my consciousness I witness a new reality arise

I finally see him…we bear the same ruthless eyes.

O Eu Que Nunca Vem

Embrulhado neste corpo irreconhecível

Encontro-me no meu Eu.

Mas supresa! Logo aparece outro invisível

E um terceiro que se ri, e um quarto que já se perdeu.

 

A esta amalgáma dou a minha vida

E à voz que grita mais alto obedeço.

Paro. Ólho. E vejo. Eis a minha alma, a voz mais querida:

Porque apareces tão pouco? A tua presença agradeço.

 

“Com quem falas?” A alma questiona por sua vez

Com o verdadeiro Eu! Ou melhor, o verdadeiro Nós!

Silêncio. Era apenas outra voz. Mais uma vez estou a sós.

E assim surgiu a revelação – És tu que me lês!

 

“Mas meu caro, eu não sou tu, apenas escrevo por ti”

Que absurdo! Somos um e o outro. Escritor e leitor

“Mas quem somos afinal?” escrevo. Somos tudo e todos respondi.

Pois o Mundo assim se fez – não há criador sem observador.

A Pandemia

Anoitece e o céu descansa

As árvores engrandecem, a sua sombra ominosa.

Trancados. Enlouquecidos. O vírus avança.

A praça silenciada; o restaurante que não abre; a nossa existência: criminosa.

 

O planeta relaxa, respira e cura-se

De uma infeção para outra – dois males fazem um bem.

A sua cruel justiça escuta-se

Sob o pânico e terror que foi e ainda vem.

 

Sozinho eu discurso.

Palavras, o meu recurso.

Isolado eu cresço.

Confinado, convalesço.

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