danielsjourney.com blog
2001-2005
those who want to keep up know where to look
From Riddell’s Sacred Journey:
At the heart of evil is the proclivity for deception. The essence of evil is to deceive, distort and confuse. It prospers by imitating that which is good and true, only to invade and colonise it with death.
…evil creates confusion wherever it spreads. Issues which were previously clear become mired in layers of subtlety until no one can be sure what is happening any more. And even when terrible things are being done, it is not at all certain how they occur or who is responsible.
…in the continuous spectrum between bad and evil, there is some indeterminate region in which a boundary is crossed. Usually it is occasioned by repeated and unrepentant acts of deception. Sustained lying seems to create a vulnerability to a deeper corruption. Psychologists speak of dissociation, a mechanism by which people are able to perform horrendous deeds yet create enough psychic distance for themselves that they fail to feel any guilt or remorse…
…
…It is in denial that real troubles start. When we begin not only to try to convince others, but also to believe for ourselves that there is nothing bad within us, then we are flirting with real danger. In self-deception genuine evil may gain a foothold, festering in hidden darkness until an opporunity presents itself to erupt in a seething force which sweeps all before it.
…But…deceit and lies can never overcome truth, however much damage they may appear to cause in the short term. Ingrained dishonesty and the evil it produces are ultimately self-defeating.
the farewell mix:
Michael Miller - Grace Town
i hope there’s grace in this town
because i need grace right now
i’m sick of walking down these streets of tarifa
and waiting for some magic revelation
or secret jesus to appear
and erase you
When I’d listen to this song the last couple years, I thought that last lyric was “and grace you.” Now I’m thinking I like that a lot better than the real lyric.
Michael Miller - When We Come To
everybody knows it’s just a lie
except me and you
sipping tea with shisha in the dark
and making stories up about who we are
everybody knows it’s just pretend
except me and you
when we come to…
addie fills the holes up in her arm
to kill the little secrets in her heart
everybody knows they do it too
except me and you
when we come to…
and:
Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth
Tuesday night at the bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens
Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window
Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes
and still:
The Mountain Goats - This Year
Tom Conlon - Leaning