What Defines a Man?

BeautySong

I thought I'd sing, a BeautySong,
in the pastel fires of autumn's sunset,
to quell the flames of my regrets.
But regrets are merely wishes gone wrong,
to such an endeavor, I shan't belong.
So the thought progressed, to what could be,
if I gave to others, the good inside me.
I began to sing, a BeautySong.....
With vibrant voice,
harmony abounds by choice,
these words to which we must belong....
Freedom,
Peace,
Compassion,
Love........
This is, The BeautySong

I could give you a biography, but that would be a partial picture and would be tainted by perspectives and personal opinions. Instead, you can make a quick judgement based on what follows.........

I am Skot David Wilson. I was born on 31 January 1961.

I was raised on the Jersey Shore, on the Bayshore directly South of Staten Island, New York City. It was a small town about an hour by train to New York City. It was a unique place to grow up. I am the product of parents who were raised through the Great Depression and World War Two. My father was a union worker and a Mason, and I lost him at 17 when he was 57. My sister and mother and I went in different directions, but I still have them, and am now a father myself. While my parents' generation may have been still working on problems of the rights of women and minorities, there was also more of a sense of morality, integrity, and honor in many respects when they were young. People aspired to be more back then, and I see too many people today with no real drive or dedication of a sense of duty or respect towards one-another. A handshake had more meaning then, as did one's word.
I won't go into all the life circumstances that shaped my beliefs, but I will state what a few of them are, and a few terms that define me. I am a Unitarian. Basically, that means I have and express my own personal relationship with God, and that I believe that God reveals truth to me personally, and it is my responsibility to live by my own conscience and respect the views and beliefs of others. Different Unitarians have different beliefs. It is perhaps the most honest religion I can think of.

I am Taoist in much of my belief and philosophy. It means, to me, that I see the world as flowing, my life and my individual self being much like a passing cloud, a pattern that arises from and return to the everything that is, but always a part of it.

I believe we evolved and that it is part of the flow of things in the Universe, and am secure because I can resolve my beliefs in what we call God with my own mortality. I have understanding, and accept the Great Mystery, and that gives me peace in that respect that most followers of most religions lack, because mine comes without doubt.
I am, in many respects, a Conservative. I am a Capitalist. I believe in the Constitution. For these reasons I am a Democrat. There are some people in the Democratic Party I'm not fond of, but my general view is that both parties can screw you, but at least the Democrats will kiss you when they do it.

I see Republican leadership as Libertarians, and see them trying to bring back a bad version of Feudalism. I see them as Corporate Socialists, and as traitors. The Communist and Socialist and Totalitarian regimes of the world want all the power and wealth to be controlled by the elite at the top, just like Republicans. I see people as mostly ignorant sheep, being lead to slaughter by the wolves. America needs to reinvest in itself, ourselves, and we should reduce trading with nations that devalue their currency and feel we are destroying our ability to generate wealth that builds the middle class which keeps us free. I came up with a saying....

"A nation that makes nothing loses everything."

For no other reason than to be a good father, I know it is my duty to fight what I see as wrong. I am, as a result, someone that engages myself in social and political discourse. I am often a lone wolf when it comes to my perspectives and views and I think that is because I am pragmatic. It some respects I might seem arrogant, but I also feel if you know you're right you have an obligation to say it clearly and loudly, and do it with the humble understanding that others just may not understand truths that are universal.
I'm a husband, and while my marriage isn't perfect, I take my duty and commitment seriously. My wife and I may fight, but we love each other, and that says something. I find within myself a wellspring of hope that replenishes me constantly. There are things I didn't bargain for and don't like, but I'm an optimistic pessimist, trying to always look at the bright side of life.
I'm a father and have my hands full with my son. He is off the charts smart in many respects, but he doesn't fit into commercial suburban society. He has some of the best and some of the worst qualities of Judy and I, and once he gets past the bulk of his teen anx I think he'll simply shine.
You could say our family is political with a strong social conscience and sense of justice and fairness.
My son and I worked to save a historic fire station, and have spoken out at City Council, School Board, and Water Management District Meetings. Alex is a bigtime Sea Shepard supporter. He adds how Japan treats whaling as just another reason to not like Japan's government. He is very vocal about Japan never apologizing for Pearl Harbor. He goes too far sometimes, but he finds a justification for his opinions before he expresses them. He is also bigtime into World War II and love big band music and appreciates that era because he feels we had higher standards back then.
He follows after me in being Ovo-Lacto-Seafood Vegetarian. In simple terms, we don't eat mammals or higher order birds or squid and octopuses because we feel they are simply too close to us, and because of the industries that abuses resources to produce them. We eat chicken, but not ducks or geese.
I could discuss in great detail how I feel about being part of existence, and don't see defining myself without re-stating the connection I am aware of in never-ending fashion.
I write poetry. I love to dance. I like cooking. I love passion, and approach most things in a tartaric fashion. I don't think we allow ourselves to glide through life with the joy we could, and that, to me, is sad. I take a different path. I fix things and help people, and with a synthesis of reserve and abandon, melancholy and joy, compassion and contempt, and other ironic contradictions, make war against that which I hate without hating in the process.
I'm in college at 49 to reshape my career path, and want to form an environmental consulting business, being turnkey for anyone wanting to install eco-friendly options into their life and logistics. I'm starting with paralegal studies. I'll mix that with something related to green living and energy. I'd like to find somewhere that offers environmental consulting as a degree option. Is this a lecture or the beginning of a discussion?

Maybe I should just point to the crumbs I left behind... these are websites that show some of what I have tried to do or have done:



http://astorybookaffair.blogspot.com/

http://apowerofone.blogspot.com/

http://agreengardengrows.blogspot.com/

http://gradeconfiguration.blogspot.com/

http://whiteroofamerica.blogspot.com/

http://awaronwar.blogspot.com/

http://electskot.blogspot.com/


These are links to playlists of music I complied that I like.


http://www.playlist.com/playlist/20842015243
http://www.playlist.com/playlist/19504209419
http://www.playlist.com/playlist/19474554635

My favorite authors are Alan Watts, Anne McCaffrey, Thoreau, Hemmingway, Steinbeck, Orwell, Huxley, Faulkner, Bradbury, and Kipling.... My favorite band is Nektar. I have other favorites, but amazingly hard as it is for me to pick one favorite anything that says something. It is said that you can learn a lot about a person by their tastes..... I love blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherry tomatoes, and sweet white corn, pretty much in that order....

I love salmon, flounder, tuna, trout, and bluefish, NorthEastern that is, and lobster, scallops, clams, shrimp, and conch in those orders, mostly. I like good bread and butter, and usually white cheeses. I make kick-ass lasagna, and baked mac and cheese, and Yankee style homefries, and pancakes from scratch. I think Bulgar wheat is much better than rice or pasta and that makes me wonder why my fellow Americans have no clue about what lies outside of their door or line of sight. I think what my tastes say is I enjoy the variety and richness that life has to offer, and that might be why I have many favorites instead of one most of the time.
I like semi-sweet dry wines and rich cold beer in bottles, and very, very steep tea with cream or milk and a little sugar, and to listen to NPR or watch a race. I admire animals because when they show their emotions they are more honest than we are. I like the myriad of colors that nature offers, and have been lucky enough to witness the Aurora Borealis, green flash, and even a blue flash that occurs when the sun transitions the horizon.
I love romance. I like blonds, brunettes, and redheads, in any order, usually with green or blue eyes, but can deviate as my libido directs me, but the most physically sexy female on earth becomes ugly to me if they have a mean or selfish or nasty attitude, and a Plain Jane can radiate beauty with a true smile and warm heart. I give this example because I feel too many people look at the covers of books and have no idea of the content. The most beautiful and colorful flowers and animals on earth are often the most deadly.


Our like and dislikes are part of what we are, they represent and define us, but that is part of the ever changing flow of life to me, and I love it, so it makes sense to me to relay something of myself in more than just a flashcard's worth of information, but rather to paint a few small pictures and allow an idea to form.
I love philosophy, and have a wealth of what is often called useless information stored in my gray matter, but the way I see things is that humanity is blighted with cancers and diseases of ignorance and hate and greed and an ability to refuse to accept truths or take responsibility. I think there are very few people who really grasp what we are, what we arise from, and where we may be going. I see humanity as unique and able to attain glory, but also capable of stupidity, selfishness, and evil that makes us a threat to even ourselves. As a result I am happy not to fit in, and I guess there's not much else to add, so as abruptly as this started it stops.