Two quotes and a poem/joke
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” –Mahatma Gandhi
This quote reminds me of the Theodore Roethke villanelle poem “The Waking” mentioned and included in a previous post: “This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.” Paradox bothers some people but fascinates others. It is a different way of looking at the world; it is like the difference between literalism and irony, between seriousness and comedy.
“By love He may be gotten and holden, but by thought and understanding never.” –The Cloud of Unknowing
Wiki defines this source as, “an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer in the late Middle Ages.” To me the above quote from it is about the difference between pathos and logos as Aristotle put it. Sometimes you can only understand a situation through emotion, not logic.
“Pun-respectful” by yours truly
“Sir, you are being pun-respectful to others.”
“Not really, I just have a pun-se of humor that some don’t pun-derstand.”
“Well, this is not really a reprimand.”
“I know that my jokes have been canned.”