So I am gonna define a word here. Philosophy. Which meaning is regularly used as " A particular system of philosophical thought". I'm going to challenge that definition and modify it to this. "A particular system of thinking, feeling, or believing.". Now I'm going to explain why.
A philosophy, I believe, is the internalized intention. It is your thought processes, your reasonings, your logics, your feelings. These are not apparent, visible or measurable by any metric, rubric, or standard. After a certain age they become the basis for most of your meaningful actions, or at least for some of us.
Now your actions are separate from your thoughts and likewise vice versa. I am sure you have had an argument where you have you been "Oooh I could just throttle you right now.". But you don't, or won't. Another example you have probably have told yourself to get out of bed, or goto the gym. But your body for whatever reason didn't. Or at least I have that problem. I can think of one example of where my father in a moment of frustration slammed his fist into a pinball machine that he was repairing, breaking it more. His intention was to fix the problem. His actions complicated it further. (He later fixed the problem he caused, and the original issue as well)
Actions are Separate from Thoughts. They are, however, also something important, they are the externalized expression. These things are physical, they can be seen, felt, or heard. They are measurable. They are at times distinct and at other times subtle.
There is this age old question, "Who are you? Your thoughts? Or your actions?". I say to you, both. These things together, your philosophies AND your actions are who you are. If you made a Venn Diagram of these two things, that space where the two overlap is what I'm going to call "Thee Identity". These two things are symbiotic. They work off each other, they benefit from each other, they evolve and become more complex together. Or they should at least.
The integrity of who you are is based on how much those two things overlap. Think of Integrity like its a boat. If you puncture the side of that boat, you have now compromised it's integrity. It is now sinking. That's an exaggeration for dramatic effect, but if who you are becomes compromised. It's comparable to that.
Now to summarize. Your Identity, who you are, is a beautiful mixture of two contradictions. How you think, and how you act. The immeasurable and the measurable. Integrity is how much those two things overlap. It No matter what you believe, your experiences or your biases, your identity if formed by those two things. It is your DUTY as a living person to think about your actions and to act by thinking.
Incase you really wanted it! This is the dragons den in the game. She isn't a gym leader anymore. But she does run the city. They haven't gotten to the elite four yet but I plan on making her a member. She is the mentor to a rival of the character players. She gave the rival an egg that hatched into a dratini and the player character one that will hatch into a bagon. The dragons den has ice type pokemon and dragon type encounters too. Every trainer there isn't a dragon Trainer but a dragon hunter or a dragon buster so they use dragon, fairy and ice type pokemon.
this really isn't an ask, but, a while ago I saw your concept of Claire as an ice type trainer, and I sorta ran with it. I gamemaster for a pokemon ttrpg, and in the game Claire founded her own Dragon's Den, but in an ice cave. My players thought it was cool spin on the concept, and you gave the springboard for some really cool environments so thank you for that!
aaaaaa that's so cool! so glad something i drew had such an impact! :D
feel free to keep me posted on how your sessions go!
A gentle breeze rustles the trees. A Streetlight’s light casts yellow over green leaves. Your head on my Shoulder. Mine in your hair. In a backyard. On a trampoline.
In our world for some reason we do things , for a main reason. And that's for our own gain or advantage. I do this, I get money, I do that, I get connections. I complete this task I obtain something of value to me. And if somehow we give out love, usually that's a byproduct. Meaning that was not purposeful, and not the intention.
But what if that was not the case, what if our reason was love, and love solely? And anything else is gain? I don't think it'd matter honestly. Because if we treasured those that we love like the treasures they are, we would know we have what we need. We've lost sight of those ideas, our virtues are corrupt. Even our actions lie.
Lemongrass in the Summer Sun. Just as bare feet dance so beautifully on the browns of the earth. A water hose then becomes the plaything of two people. Laughing Laughter that can still be heard.
If you have a limited world you become content with mediocre often times worthless things.
I wonder how many per mutations I am from my daydreams? Michael Faudet once wrote "I am hopelessly in love with a memory. An echo from another time, another place." I would modify this to "I am hopelessly in love with a memory I dont yet have". How many decisions, or indecisions, a moments wembling, a pause, a misplaced stutter, getting caught in traffic red when it should have been green. A vain attempt at times to scry into futures yet unseen. Has my own ambition tripped me up from my own success? Some other version of me is also on this couch right now, somewhere. and there is laughter his rooms. McAlpine would sing "Somewhere I lost all my senses, I wish I knew what the end is. Over and Over, I am watching it all Pass... I wish I knew what the end is" Dostoevsky would say, "I am not angry at him. I know his thoughts. His heart is better than his head." I am not angry at him; I knew what the end is
So a while back I heard someone say that we appropriated our ability to speak from God. And whether or not this is true, humor me.
I guess let's start from the beginning. In Genesis, it talks about how there was a formlessness , and God spoke "Let there be..." and suddenly there was things that there were never before. Formlessness Defined by Words Divine. Light, Dark, Land, Sea, Skies, and every living thing from just God's "Let there ..." . And then later in the Gospel John it reads "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That's how John starts his Gospel, that's how he opens his message that's how important it is. That God is Word. From the very beginning.
So now picture this God creates us, Humans. And we are created in God's Image. So we desperately try to communicate with God, and how do we do that? Feebly, I guess. Because what do we do? Speak. God had just created everything with words.
Now that's Blasphemy. Because would it not be? Blasphemy, is using Words Sacrilegiously. And Sacrilegious is the misuse of anything Sacred. Words are the Tools of Creation. So Words are Sacred. Our Words or Use of Any Speech is Blasphemy!
Now, most of that is me, way over thinking and stretching that to the extremes. But do you see what I mean? Words are powerful. With tact they can sway minds and hearts, and some words are carried across time. They build relationships, people, promises, companies, and nations and according to the bible all of Creation. Words are powerful things, and once dispensed they can't be returned or given back. Just as much they can build and create, they can destroy and take. And that was everything I was trying to convey.
I had this thought occur to me today. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I suppose tho that a Katydid cannot sleep when a Lark sings. Something may be beautiful to you, but it may be damning or dangerous to another.
There are some flowers that bloom in the sun of green groves. But not for them is our praise. There are some flowers that grow through the mud. And for them our cups are raised. People will envy your strength, but never the struggle that brought you to it. They'll love the nectar, but the never the ichor.