The Ever Present Present
Posted: June 30, 2016 Filed under: Etcetera | Tags: concept of time, ever present present, linear concept of time is an illusion, philosophy of time, theory of time, time is a measurement of movement Leave a comment
I recently overheard a conversation of a pair of elderly friends reminiscing about a wonderful experience they shared many years ago. One of the women wistfully commented, “I wish we could go back to those days.” She and her friend remained in the lobby — they were not whisked back to another year, say 1964 for example.
I come to a favorite topic of mental rumination: time. Time is simply the measurement of rate of movement of an object or objects within a defined spacial relationship. For example, a year is the measurement of the time it takes the earth to make a complete orbit around the sun. A day is only the amount of time it takes the earth to make a complete turn upon its axis. A day is broken down to 24 hours, each hour lasts 60 minutes, and each minutes lasts 60 seconds. Another measurement of time, for example, is the sprinters’ times to run the course of 100 meters. Time does not exist as an entity for us who are three dimensional creatures.
Watership Down Character — Fiver
Posted: June 26, 2016 Filed under: Speculative Fiction | Tags: Fiver - the mystic of Watership Down, Fiver of Watership Down, Fiver's significance in Watership Down Leave a comment
Hazel and Fiver
The Character of Fiver in Richard Adams’ Watership Down can easily be overlooked. Fiver can be passed over by the reader and assigned a secondary role behind Hazel and Bigwig, or Thlayli. However, this is a mistake. In fact, Fiver’s role as prophet, seer, and mystic propels the rabbits forward on their adventure of discovery and transformation. His gifts save the rabbits and bring clarity to their encounters and their mission – to create a new type of warren for a new breed of rabbit.
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The Longest Day of the Year
Posted: June 23, 2016 Filed under: The Eucharist and Living the Eucharist | Tags: acting in soldarity, compression of time, experience of time, solidarity 1 Comment
Foxglove
The patients of the anticoagulation and diabetes clinic in which I work often make statements which prompt some reflection. “Well,” he said, “today is the longest day of the year.” He referred to the summer solstice. This day holds out the longest period of daylight of the year. This day is not longer than any other day — it lasts only 24 hours. However, this particular day holds some degree of dread for me. With the very next day those wonderful, lingering, warm daylight hours begin to gradually shrink. They shrink to the dim, gloom, and dark of late autumn and winter (I live in western Washington).
Watership Down Characters – Bigwig (Thlayli)
Posted: June 12, 2016 Filed under: Speculative Fiction | Tags: Bigwig as Champion to Hazel, Bigwig in Watership Down, Significance of Bigwig in Watership Down, Watership Down character Bigwig 1 Comment
Bigwig, or Thlayli
There are three primary rabbit characters in Richard Adams’ Watership Down. There are the two brothers, Hazel and Fiver. The third primary cunicular hero is Bigwig — his name in the lapine language is Thlayli. He is large — even imposing — and possesses great physical strength. The evening after Fiver pronounces his vision of doom and death for the Sandleford warren, Bigwig approaches Hazel and Fiver and we read this dialogue:
“Hello, Bigwig,” said Hazel. “You’re off duty?”
“Off duty,” said Bigwig, “and likely to remain off duty…The Threarah’s [name of the Chief Rabbit of their warren] rather good at making himself unpleasant when he’s been woken up…I told him that the Owsla’s privileges didn’t mean all that much to me in any case, and that a strong rabbit could always do just as well by leaving the warren…lettuce stealing isn’t my idea of a jolly life.” (p. 15).
Watership Down Characters — Hazel
Posted: June 6, 2016 Filed under: Speculative Fiction | Tags: character development of Hazel in Watership Down, Hazel in Watership Down, Hazel-rah, Significance of Hazel in Watership Down, transformation of Hazel in Watership Down, Watership Down, Watership Down character Hazel Leave a commentRichard Adams’ Watership Down is perhaps my favorite work of fiction, and is among my favorite authors. I find the book profound in its message of courage and transformation, and even salvation. It is far more than a novel about human politics. All quotes come from the Perennial Classics print of the book (2001).
The outstanding theme of Richard Adams’ Watership Down is transformation — the salvation brought about by transformation from a lesser to a greater person, or rabbit in the case of the novel’s heroes, especially the protagonist Hazel. Transformation can only come through one’s movements through challenge, struggle, hardship, and even suffering. Movement of the person (rabbit) through such situations may not lead to a transformation into a better or greater person, but may lead to the formation of a bitter, violent soul. Thus, as one moves through trials one needs a model — a guide — to imitate. “We become who we imitate.” Hazel had as his model the cunicular exemplar: Lord El-ahrairah. It is this archetypical rabbit’s character and acts that transformed Hazel from a scared, simple “bunny” to the king (Chief Rabbit) of the glorious warren named Watership Down. Read the rest of this entry »
Father Irenaeus Williams 