二十 四 ; èr shí sì

[getsome_sleep]

"Once upon a time," said Zhuangzi, "I dreamed that I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Zhuangzi

Comments

ignoring srs topic over journals is a go

[lingeringlegacy]

That is a beautiful drawing. Who is Zhuangzi?

[getsome_sleep]

My thanks. One practices.

He is a philosopher from my own world, or one much like my own. I have found his writings in a book taken from the Wilderness, and they strike a powerful chord.

[getsome_sleep]

I shall say that Zhuangzi may yearn to be a butterfly, but surely the butterfly is happy without considering whether it would be better to be Zhuangzi.

[getsome_sleep]

Gui-Key is very quick.

[azhdarchidae]

[And someone is remembering their conversation, and someone is a teenager and secretly believes everything is about her.]

Why are you writing about this?

[getsome_sleep]

[Well, she is the one who gave him the idea. So in theory it is all her fault.]

Call it a reverie.

[azhdarchidae]

[Someone is also not remembering the proper definition of 'reverie', and is in fact mistaking it for another word. Trick memory only goes so far.]

What do parties have to do with it?

[getsome_sleep]

[Oh, wow, Above. You have now successfully confused him.]

I am not sure when a party became involved.

[iattractmushi]

I think, in this case, I might just prefer being a man. At least I'd have the memory of being a butterfly.

[As painful and bittersweet as that memory might be.]

[getsome_sleep]

Perhaps the memory of being a man would be pleasing to a butterfly.

[iattractmushi]

Maybe. [A pause; he's suddenly not sure which side of this metaphor they're standing on.] Though if the butterfly's life isn't a happy one, it might get more happiness out of the dream of being a man.

[getsome_sleep]

Indeed; it is only natural for one who is unhappy to dream up a better life.

[spandexisyouth]

[So many pentaps, as well as a lot of stops and starts in the writing. Poetric imagery, how difficult you are.]

A dream of being a butterfly would be a nice one I think, but there are too many important things that would be forgotten and neglected if one stayed dreaming of being one instead of realizing that they were a man.

[getsome_sleep]

[He doesn't do it on purpose really...]

Indeed, I agree - if one were certain that one was dreaming.

[spandexisyouth]

We are people, though. And even if we were not people, to stop working and being because we think that maybe we are butterflies instead would be a waste of the time given to us.

[getsome_sleep]

Thinking is never a waste of one's time. We must always question our assumptions, even the most basic ones concerning what is real and what is not.