Those are pearls that were his eyes.

I've been on a slight T. S. Eliot kick these past few days. "The Waste Land" strikes something of a chord for me, and I rediscovered it while reading Macbeth. I don't quite remember the exact circumstances.

In light of the fact that I am now eighteen years and nine days old, I thought perhaps I should re-start this blog. I don't know if anyone reads it anymore, I don't know if I have anything particularly interesting to say today as opposed to any other day, but this way at least I feel like I've done something to acknowledge my reaching adulthood comparatively unscathed.

"The Waste Land." 'You gave my hyacinths first a year ago; they called me the hyacinth girl.' What speaks to me most about this poem is the lack of answers. Eliot's train of thought is unclear and fairly flighty, and the work doesn't make terribly much sense, at least not to me. And yet... and yet. The multitudinous allusions and repetitions and tiny little recurrences and the structure and the titles and the words...

-"What do you read, my lord?"

-"Words, words, words."

"While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth."

Language, the ability to vocalize and communicate thought, is what sets humans apart from animals or trees or rocks. We think, therefore we are. Not only do we exist, we know we exist. And it's long been said that knowledge is power.

However, in existing, we must take responsibility for those around us - other humans, other existences, other beings.

Please forgive my heavy reliance on Christian doctrine - I was baptized Catholic shortly after birth, and grew up in the Episcopalian and Anglican churches. Were I better read, I would pull from other teachings. That being said, I refer to the Ten Commandments that Moses passed on to the Israelites: Thou shalt not kill, covet, disobey those with authority. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, although that's not in the Commandments, I believe.

That phrase in italics, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, appears in many forms throughout world history and religion. Kong Fuzi, Confucius to the Anglicized reader, dubbed it the Golden Rule. It is at the center of almost every major form of organized religion, and - differently phrased - at the heart of secular morals.

"Treat others the way you would like them to treat you."

"If it would bring you displeasure, don't do it to others."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness..."

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or of the right of the people peacably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

All forms of loving and respecting others as you would have them love and respect you. Every last one of us is an individual - I for one would like to be treated as such. So, in light of the cliche "You have to give respect to get it," I try to live my life in such a way as does not infringe on the individuality of any other...individual.

This is part one of at least two parts to the post. I apologize for cutting this short, but time does not permit that I finish my thoughts at present.

Until next time.

Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata.

Shantih shantih shantih.