Midge
was out in the fields on a little hill with the cattle one day
catching grasshoppers and a crowd of many people approached her and
asked her about this new age which was coming, and how could men be
gods and gods be men? So Midge began by telling them of her sojourns
to other lands and the many things she had learned. And she said to
them, “This is my understanding of an idea, and ideas are beyond
time, which a great thinker named Martin the Buber will bring to the
earth in the distant future. All things become one with each other
when they have an
'I – Thou'
relationship, gods and people become one.”
And
the crowd grew very interested and drew closer so Midge continued,
“We cannot seek the
'I - Thou'
encounter with the gods to become one with them, because all
encounters are fleeting; it is only a matter of time before any
'Thou'
dissolves into an 'It'
again and as soon as we begin to reflect on the
'Thou' it
becomes an 'It'.
We can only ready ourselves for it by concentrating both aspects of
our self, the oscillation between encounter and the
'I – It' of
experience, in our hearts. If we ready ourselves for encounter it
will definitely occur, and the proof that it has taken place will be
in the transformation that we undergo, after absolute encounter we
come to see every other being (nature, animals, people, gods) as a
'Thou'.
We come to feel affection for everyone and everything, and to have a
sense of loving responsibility for the whole course of the world.”
Now
some weren't catching quite the whole drift of what she was saying
but Midge went on anyhow, “Filled with loving responsibility, given
the ability to say 'Thou'
to the world, man is no longer alienated, and does not worry about
the meaninglessness of lasagna. He is one with the whole world, and
will help others to reach this goal as well. He will help to build an
ideal society, a real community, which must be made up of people who
have also gone through absolute relation, and are therefore willing
to say 'Thou'
to the entire world. Thus in the coming new age gods and men will be
able to live in a binational community wherein there is much respect
for each others views.”
Some
in the crowd were very curious and asked her when this new age would
come. Midge smiled and said “For some it is here now, for others
it will come in this generation, and for yet others it will come in
the distant future after many earthquakes and global coolings and
warmings have occurred.” By this time the crowd was getting a mite
hungry from all this heavy thinking so they all sat down on the
hillside and had a picnic of grasshoppers and honey which some had
brought with them. And everyone was amazed that there was enough to
feed everyone with even some leftovers.
It
came to be known, this afternoon get together, in Justin the Bieber's
Crime
and Punishment,
as 'the discourse on the hill.' And everyone, whatever their take
on it, was truly amazed.
What
a Midge, eh?
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