

MELTING COLORS

By Vangjel Canga

Copyright 2013-2020 Vangjel Canga

Smashwords Edition

Front cover image:

"Untitled"

Copyright Vangjel Canga

Contact:

elheartista@gmail.com

http://elheartista.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/elheartista

About this book:

Selected poems from the author's books:

"The Visual Non Visuals", "Passenger Illusions", "Modern Poetry", "The Bouquet of Poems", "Colors of Feelings" and "Messages"

(Available as print and ebook versions.)

as well as some other poems.

Also a story from "The Word and the Interpretation"

a collection of short stories and 'thoughts'

For more info about the other (poetry) books:

https://www.facebook.com/TheVisualNonVisuals

https://www.facebook.com/PassengerIllusions

https://www.facebook.com/PoeziModerne

https://www.facebook.com/TheBouquetOfPoems/

https://www.facebook.com/ColorsOfFeelings/

Contents

Poems:

Names in time

Engraved in the silence

Coins of time

Shoe romanticism

The Visual Non-Visuals

Colorful musical eyes

As the sunflower

I gave my hand

The slavery of men

Unemployed Week

Modern Poetry

Flower demining

Commander and winner

The Market of Earthenware

The Return

The Bouquet of Poems

The Floral Motif

The museum of sweet holiday-work

The girl who lives by the river

Dah DiDaDah Dit Dit Dah

Smelling like the sea

The rose of the essence

The name of the sea

Short Poems

Stories:

Isn't it absurd

Thoughts

About the author

About this book

Update History

Names in time

I tried to form your name

By combining the sound of cicadas

And those of grasshoppers during summer

But the effort jumped outside of the thorns

And got stuck in a tree

I had forgotten

That once I had recorded your name

In the creases of the trunk

But the wind reminded me of it while playing

The gramophone that I hadn't noticed

The quality had degraded during the years

Influenced by the noise of the leaves

The essence, though, had remained the same

As then, when for the first time

you told me your name

I saw you one day - you were looking for my name

so I decided to come

and write it here

Engraved in the silence

A drop fell on a piece of white cardboard

Then evaporated - and the cardboard remained white

Was it a tear drop - leaving behind the saltness?

Was it a drop of perfume - leaving behind its fragrance?

Or maybe in a hot desert where it hadn't rained for a year

It brought a taste of freshness?

Still a memory remained

Even though the poet's words

Were not written with ink

For sometimes the silence is engraved in the light

And sometimes the words are engraved in that silence

Coins of time

Filling the baskets with coins made of reed

I pay for the game with the water of the flowing river

Fish with astonished open eyes do not understand

That I am fishing the leaves of the trees

The trees or their shadow is the big clock hand?

Is the sun an electronic clock or not?

The marks for hours and minutes are missing -

For every second another leaf in the water

On the mosaic clock of yellow and red leaves

The hands are stuck in the middle of an empty basket

The wind will blow and take all the leaves away

For every second a coin made of reed

Shoe romanticism

Seven knocks on a boot

Opened the door of a lace

"Leave a little space there for me!"

Frozen over the engravings on the shoe

The crystals saw the snow fall

Over the warmth of a sock

The embroidery on it gave the hand to the engravings

So that they could stay together (covered with laces)

In the morning after a winter night...

The Visual Non-Visuals

I will close my eyes to see the non-visuals

And hide with open eyes to confuse those who can see

I will write with paper on a piece of ink

Which the rain will take and write into the clouds

I will close the clouds into another window

I will open the window on another cloud

See the sky through it, let the sun shine through

Close the eyes to the visuals, but not the visuals to eyes

Colorful musical eyes

"Good morning"

I said to the musical eyes

But they looked towards some other place

And I didn't hear their music

In this little crowded place of rhythms

Notes play in colored eyes

Going wherever their interest is

But I didn't see their color

My eyes looked through colored interests

The same things as everybody -

"Good morning" the music said to me

And I looked at it with colored eyes

As the sunflower

If you'd cut the petals of the sunflower

That you have put on the table in your office

Would the distance that they would form

Be as much as the distance of a few meters

Between us, when we get out of the station

Or as much as the distance between the train cars

(we never enter into the same one)

Or as much as the distance between our offices?

When outside it's cloudy and it's raining

Do your sun-colored hair

Make the sunflower

Turn towards you?

* * *

I've heard them say

That the distance between two people

Before becoming friends

Is just a simple greeting

But, in this case, I wonder

If I would drop petals

In the distance of zero words

In the distance between the train cars

In the distance between the offices

In the distance between us

Would you turn towards me

As the sunflower?

I gave my hand

I gave my hand to an iron handle

of an old door

but that was cold

I gave my hand to a warm sleeve

of a blouse made of wool

hanging on a wire

but that was empty

I gave my hand to a bracelet

in the vitrine of a shop

but it asked for money to pay for it

I gave my hand to a glove

I gave my hand to a drawer

...

but the answers weren't any different

I talked to you about my struggle

and asked of you simply

to give me your hand...

The slavery of men

I saw it giving orders

In the field of battle

The slavery of men -

Paying for both sides

Rooting for both sides

And for neither fighting

Whether it was a war

Protest, revolution

One group or another

People or the government

When they called for 'freedom'

And they called for 'righteousness'

And many called for enslaving

The slavery of men

Putting it in a prison

For forever - or killing it

But then the result

Being just a meeting

Coming out again

Slaves of smiling slavery

\- - -

I saw it holding a speech

In front of a large crowd

The slavery of men -

Paying for both sides

Rooting for both sides

And embracing neither

Whether it was left

Center or the right

Whatever color they had

All the different parties

When they called for a change

And for better days

Justice and fair laws

And the rights of men

Upheld by removing

Their remaining slavery

Obviously a lie -

Having more of a burden

Paying back to slavery

Principal and interest

\- - -

I then saw it featured

In the magazine of advancement

The slavery of men -

Paying for research

Rooting for the sciences

Doing itself neither

Getting most of the benefits

A little for the masses

(Desiring to be alike

Asking for an autograph)

Calling for more money

Betting all they have

On some complex scheme

Given all the logic

Hidden in the books

Paid by education

Controlled, too, by slavery

Of the finest minds

Sitting as the president

Of universities

\- - -

I saw it surrounded by many

Listening to it carefully

The slavery of men -

Paying for education

Rooting for more learning

Itself emptying the mind

And calling that wisdom

Of the highest grade

Teaching in a soft voice

Teaching a loud message

Calling for more debate

For more understanding

And for no more fighting

Such as made with weapons

To accept the differences

And to help the needy

To accept the fate

Of this failing world

And in sleepy state

Forget all its lies

\- - -

I saw it in a large stage

(Probably a stadium)

The slavery of men -

Paying for the poor

Rooting for the people

Itself caring for neither

Singing there for peace

Candles lit in memory

Of some fading time

Or some lost ideal

Calling for more debate

Calling for more money

Calling for a change

Calling for more freedom

The debate was the call

The money fully paid

The change (they thought) was there

The freedom in the call -

Obviously, didn't notice

The slavery of men

\- - -

I saw it in a future

Two, or three, or many

The slavery of men -

Of those reading a poem

And dreaming about change

Of some singer singing

In some university

All paid by a famous

Respected businessman

Fighting politician -

Of those reading a poem

Thinking by themselves

Thinking independently

Looking for an answer

Amidst the anarchy -

And I tried to warn them

Slaves of simple poems

That in all those actions

It could still be hiding

The slavery of men

* * *

I saw it in a future

Forever lost, forgotten

The slavery of men -

And there was no war

And no politicians

No businessmen buying

Songs and education

Then had even changed

Minds and hearts of people

And there were no slaves -

Paradise they called it

And there were no differences

No more exploitation

Of one to another

Of one to the many

Of many to one -

I don't know the time -

I saw it in a future

Forever lost, forgotten

The slavery of men...

Unemployed Week

On Monday morning

I laugh at the world

On Monday evening

I laugh at myself

On Tuesday

I just do the reverse

On Wednesday

I ponder on the sense of it all

On Thursday

I cry...

But on Friday

I take pleasure

in all the little things

On Saturday

I rest

and drink from the water of life

Then finally, on Sunday

...I work!

Modern Poetry

Is this then what

they call modern

poetry - broken

lines continuing

thoughts left (somewhere)

hanging the future

balances of yet unseen

stanzas that start

tying disconnections -

untying connections

found perhaps in

moody (obscure)

scenes

details one is

supposed to know

these rather famous

people - Muji and

Halili

drinking milk! -

watching the latest

superhero movie

growing each second

stronger and stronger

themselves - "Zana

makes you strong"

you know it -

it is not even

arbitrary

time at 13:37

GMT+1

or the road

"Kreshnik 1"

unlabeled dust

flying and playing

timeless..

as stories I guess

native in content

foreign in meaning

vice-versa in depth

surfacing again

bubbles of styles

in meter with time

playing with rhyme

that one can design

and later combine

with deeper thoughts

of eastern winds:

"Who can ever find

The center of east and west

Ain't it everywhere?"

like here

...

yes there

...

no maybe

there is no such

place of

doors opened

with keys of wind

is there

enough of this

past, present

future

"modernity"

I guess

the old is "ancient"

what once was

"modern"

that so will be

in future times

when one may look

the same and different

and change

all of it - or nothing

and call it "modern"

But I believe

that one can write

not bound by time

not bound by space

or anything

Yet there are bounds

of those that read

in time and space

and everything

till they find keys

Of timeless dust

Of timeless wind

For doors and places

That one has built

He hopes with care

But then who knows

If there are treasures

Or empty spaces

Of fragrance feelings

Or dancing thoughts

But I build keys

Of wind, of dust

Of paper, ink

Of electrons

Till they can open

A door, a place

A mind, a heart

And feel the fragrance

Of thoughtful feelings

Of timeless things

And call them "modern"

Or call them "ancient"

I do not care -

About material

Or about form

Or ornament

And period style -

As they are keys

I'll call them keys

And only keys

And look for doors

For places, minds

For hearts and fragrances -

And match the feelings

Of timeless things -

Flower demining

once again through orders traveling in panic

I gave my hand to a word lost in the crowd

she saw my like a child in the midst of war

and we walked in a field full of false mines

we stopped on a hill under a blooming tree

and blew the flowers away as dandelions towards the field

we saw fireworks targeting the stars

falling back on the ground like seeds that do not grow

* * *

once again through words that walk slowly

I cleared the mines from the dandelion field

like a child I looked for a tree on the hilltop

that once, in time of war, had extended me its hand

Commander and winner

all soldiers have put a lock on their rifles

which no one can open, except for an old commander

who can't remember where he mistakenly has put the key

as the war game now has no meaning

all soldiers have gathered and kill plans with cards

and from uniform pieces build a fabric rifle

\- - -

the commander found the key! - and war started again

this time for who could first open his rifle

based on the quality of the card on his hand

among the general confusion only one soldier

built a key from his card and opened the fabric rifle

and went back to his home a winner - and commander!

The Market of Earthenware

I am the maker of earthenware

It's a profession - or just a hobby

And it's confusing - who shall decide

me or the market - its real status

I learned by practice - went to no school

So, no support from academia -

No BSc-s - no MSc-s - no PhD-s

Yet, all of these - without diplomas

I saw much ugliness - and looked for beauty

I saw no thinking - philosophized

I saw much darkness - and looked for light

I saw greyscale - and painted colors

And worked and worked - until 'twas perfect

Until I thought that I was ready

Until I reached the goal I set

And time had come to make it public

So I reserved a market place -

And found a sea of earthenware

Sitting unused, sitting unbought

But I was not a bit discouraged

For I thought that somewhere, someone

Surely would look for things of beauty

Surely would like to look for depth

Surely would like the style and colors

But there were none - or very few

And I began to doubt statistics

Or blame poor marketing efforts

Or blame the plastics industry

The dust then covered through the months

All shapes, all colors, all designs

And there was ugliness - and no thinking

And there was darkness - and greyscale

But when I polished all my work

It brightly shone and made me happy

And made me sad it wasn't valued

And made me think what I could do

Therefore I thought it might be useful

An earthen monument to effort

As sculpture, art - or literature -

In one of the crossroads of the world

Not that there wasn't all the same

A sea of earthenware - not only

But iron, plastics - and what not

Filling up all important places

But I thought I should try - regardless

Of me doubting most statistics

Or the poor marketing effort

Or the blame on the plastics industry

So now it's sitting in some place

In some half-forgotten road - I guess -

Unless they moved it somewhere else -

One more monument to effort

And I am sitting in the market

Of earthenware - but also others -

Some days in one - some days elsewhere -

And some days in half-forgotten roads -

And what to do - I fill the vases

With flowers - decorate the places -

They brightly shine and make me happy

They make me sad - and inspire my work

And what to do - I am still inspired

Even in these deserted places -

O traveler, if by chance you ever

Come here and read this inscription...

The Return

I returned to that place of memories

Although, in truth, I had never left -

For that place had never left me -

And the colors had not faded

Neither had dust settled on furniture

And how can one call it a memory

What is still real and present

And living?

But still I returned -

Back to that place of gentleness

Where the song of the water still went on

Under the orchestra of the poplar trees

And the sunflower turned towards my song

And the dandelion flower watered the grass

And the firefly lights danced in the night

As if welcoming me again

Though I had never left -

Though I had traveled far -

And it may look like a contradiction

Or like a daydream of beautiful feelings

Of childhood days that are gone

With the paper airplane and the paper boat

To chase travels of grown ups

And a million other things to remember

Except this one thing -

This one true feeling that is here

Once more today -

To tell you, the friend whom I've never met

And yet, that I knew all along so well,

That today I returned, though I never left,

To tell you -

To return

The Bouquet of Poems

We, who are still at our first session,

You, as the unaware model - and I

As the photographer of words,

Should both be a bit more patient

Till the inspiration studio

Processes the ideas -

Till the main editor decides

The overall concept -

Till the emotion stylist

Decides on the makeup and dress -

Till the light director

Decides on the mood and time -

Together with all the support crew

And the various assistants -

You know - and do not know -

These people being present, and yet

You know - and do not know -

That it is only me here -

I, the editor, and the stylist

The light director, and mood maker,

And self-assistant to my own art trade,

Have prepared the concept and the execution,

Have found the location and the dress

And the props, makeup and light -

To make you a princess if I wish so,

To put a crown of jewels on you -

Of an inestimable value -

Sitting on a throne of simplicity -

Or make you poor, and dressed in rags

At the shore of a sea that bears your name

And the colors of your hair and eyes -

But, we should be a little bit more patient -

We, who are still at our first session -

Till we can break the ice - and rigidity,

Of this kinda random and by-chance relationship,

And you can be more natural when you smile -

When you pose - yet, are unaware of posing -

For I prefer it this way, natural and free -

Yes, I say - we should be a little bit more patient -

Till the product is satisfying - to be presented

In a bouquet of photographs of words -

For, one single flower, is only a flower -

And two, though technically a bouquet,

Wouldn't make it so to me - or you -

But when there are at least three or four -

Or ten - I will tell you - the unaware model -

So that you can keep it, and perhaps remember -

On your wedding day - or when you'll cry in silence -

Or when you grow old, and perhaps are lonely -

And reflect back on these times, and perhaps smile -

When you are reminded of that photographer

Who took portraits of words for fun -

And gave them as a gift to you

In a bouquet of poems -

The Floral Motif

I, who wanted you so much

To come and visit my cafe,

Placed outside - as a special invitation

A bouquet of flowers for you -

-

Having the same initials

As the letters of your name,

In the language of feelings

They smiled at me -

But you had not noticed it

Perhaps -

Or you didn't know the language

Perhaps -

-

And I looked at them with sadness -

At that simple arrangement of flowers

Inside the plain white porcelain vase

On that early autumn afternoon -

Then the leaves had started to fall

Together with the rays of the sun

When I tried to write your name on the vase

With the remaining coffee in my cup -

-

But oh, it didn't last long

And your name was quickly erased

By the rain of my tears

Through the nostalgia of the days -

* * *

I, who wanted you so much

To come and visit my cafe,

Had changed the menu listings

In the language of numbers

-

And had changed the table numbers

In the language of dance steps -

To match the initials of the flowers

To match the letters of your name

So that, if you came

You would not miss it -

The dance of the reflected sunlight

On the flower vases on the tables

-

So that, if you came

You would not miss it -

The floral motif that, thus painted,

Matched my invitation

But you did not come

Perhaps -

Or I was not there, then

Perhaps -

-

Though I looked for you - everywhere -

And waited for you - patiently -

Through the nostalgia of the days

Enveloped by floral motifs -

* * *

I, who wanted you so much

To come and visit my cafe,

Looked for the flower motif -

I looked for my invitation

-

I looked for it among books and songs

I looked for it among people

I looked for it among garden flowers -

Libraries, and festivals, and nature

I asked the wind -

Where had it sent the letter

I asked the fragrance -

For people it had met

-

I asked the colors -

What human eyes they saw

I asked the flowers -

For children they had hugged

Flowers - as gentle, naive children

Simply looked at me with wonder -

The people? - they were busy -

The libraries were silent -

-

But I that sent it - then -

Got it all back - inside me -

Through melancholic days

Spent in arranging feelings -

* * *

I, who wanted you so much

To come and visit my cafe,

Had almost lost the hope

That you would come - and meet me

-

And the flowers all dried up

The white vase became dirty -

But I washed it back again

I put inside new flowers

And painted on the white vase

The flower motif of my own name -

And arranged the flowers randomly

To match the language of your heart -

-

Random stranger -

Passing by this floral cafe

Through melancholic days -

Through days full of nostalgia -

For I drank the coffee in silence

And drank the tea in tears -

I drank the water of the rain

I drank the smiles of words -

-

I, who wanted you so much - so much

To come and visit my cafe,

I who prepared for you - as a special invitation

This floral motif -

The museum of sweet holiday-work

The holidays are gone -

And of the sweets nothing remains

Except the wrappers that I collect -

But each day to me is like a holiday

Even when working -

Each day New Year comes again

And I celebrate it by myself

The way I like it -

I cut the wrappers in small pieces

And make mosaics -

Wrappers for my sweet thoughts

In giant formats -

Oh, but the wrappers are not enough -

And I have to make them again and again -

Each day is work, even if it is not

Each day is a holiday, even if it is work -

I make mosaics -

Portraits of people

Flowers and decorations

Food and glasses of wine

And desserts -

As gifts -

But I don't want to repeat myself

For if I do, all that sweetness

Turns to tears -

"This museum is open

Twenty four hours

Each day of the year..."

The museum of sweets -

The museum of the perpetual New Year -

The mosaics museum -

The gallery of my sweet thoughts -

I imagine posters

And I write them sometimes

But I can't compete with large businesses

That sell sweets in wrappers that I only use

For my mosaics -

Over my posters they glue theirs,

And so, almost nobody has the chance

To look at mine

I walk in the streets -

During the holidays and after

Through all the seasons

And collect mosaic pieces

From sweet wrappers and not only

But also from nature and buildings

Animals and plants

Even pieces of posters

That have been glued over mine -

And with them I wrap my thoughts

In mosaics -

Such as this one -

And give them as gifts

To them who come to receive them -

Like you -

The girl who lives by the river

The girl who lives by the river

And who loves the flowers so much

Paints with the colors of the atmosphere

Which drip on the river and travel -

As bottled messages through the seas

And through the evaporated water

That forms clouds, and rain, or snow -

That falls on houses and trees and grass

That falls on the water and the land -

That falls on this man who lives by the sea -

Who recognizes and reads the messages

In the colors of the atmosphere

Through rainbows, sunrises and sunsets

Or the dew of the early morning

On the sleepy flowers -

Those messages have traveled so far -

Bottled in a drop of water

Or frozen in a crystal of snow

To reach this painter of words -

Who loves those paintings of light

The messages in petals of flowers

That do not even need translation -

Except by the heart -

For this must be something universal

A universal feeling

A universal travel -

For, as he paints with words

They drip on the sea and they travel -

As flowers and petals and colors -

And they reach her again - as poems -

The girl who lives by the river

Who paints with the colors of the atmosphere

And who loves the flowers so much -

Dah DiDaDah Dit Dit Dah

It could indeed be the case that I have failed

To properly communicate with you

In the language of the humans of this land

Human bird -

For, I admit, I'm not very good at verbal communication

And the things that I wanted to say

Were written in a different language

Though international -

But it's not just content that is problematic

It is the style - perhaps - it's the approach

It's everything around it

And talking to a human bird is not that easy -

* * *

Chirp-chirp, tweet-tweet -

I should communicate

In a more bird-like manner -

Using a language that humans have invented -

Not extremely loud, potentially visual

Not extreme in movements -

Only two being sufficient:

A short tap - a slightly longer drag -

One they should teach in school -

Lowercase A, uppercase A - DiDah

Lowercase B, uppercase B - DaDiDiDit

Lowercase C, uppercase C - DaDiDaDit

* * *

Well, they might just teach it to the human birds

That have a future at inspiring

Writers - who will find them interesting

And who will try to communicate somehow -

Like I do - still not giving up

Or just trying to be playful

Or just assessing your knowledge

To find out if you're indeed a human bird -

* * *

DiDaDaDit DaDaDah Dit Dah -

My 'secret identity' looks like a song

Though they use it without melody - normally

Just like this poem -

But I 'sing' it silently - in a visual manner

I 'play' it discreetly - by small movements

Hoping you will at least understand

That a message is being sent to you -

Though it may not be in 'your language'

Or you may not know already how to decode it -

You could still spend the holidays solving this puzzle

If you love puzzles that is, and have nothing else to do -

* * *

Then, if you solve it, and you like it

Come and tell me, human bird -

Come and sing it, come and tweet it

Come and say it -

Say

Di-Di-Di-Dit

Dit

Di-Da-Di-Dit

Di-Da-Di-Dit

Da-Da-Dah

And I will understand -

Smelling like the sea

I draw -

Lines -

Blue lines -

An attempt

To a somewhat abstract

Representation

Of the sea -

I write -

A message -

= = =

If you take store-bought sea salt

And add it to water

And then add a few drops

Of the solution

To the paper

Will it smell

Like the sea?

= = =

The rose of the essence

If you focus on the description of the rose

Winter may come, and the real rose be no more

If you are worried that winter came - and the rose is no more

Spring may come, and you may miss the blooming rose

If you focus too much on the real rose, then

You may miss the rose of the essence -

In all the seasons -

The name of the sea

I call your name

..and so I start to travel

I look in your eyes

..and they speak of the sea

I caress your hair

..and I walk along exotic beaches

I see you smile

..and I can feel the sun shine

I see you walk - as though you dance

..and I feel the breeze of adventure

I hear you talk

..and I dive into the depths of the ocean

until finally I return

and then in your embrace

I find a safe harbor -

till I can start fresh all over again

by simply calling your name...

Short Poems

001

Young ancient portrait

The present does not yet know

The future heroes

002

Is your life nicer

Compared to the flowers' scent

Busy worker bee

003

In a timeless place

Dancing with inspiration

Real illusion, muse

004

Stop playing these games

Are (all) the answers questions

An illusion, muse?

005

Goodbye non-answer

The question lost in silence

Counts as a reply

006

Fear of the unknown

You should be afraid of God

He knows everything

007

If the path one is walking on is apparently

wide and spacious,

or, alternatively, one is lost in the narrow

and complicated maze of depression,

if the labyrinth of life is closed,

does it really matter much if one goes

left or right, forward or backwards,

North or South, East or West -

when the way out of there is up

why does the bird still walk

if he's been given wings to fly?
Isn't it absurd

"The river flowed, wide and bountiful, its waters pure. Yet people did not go and take of its waters, though free. They preferred to pay for unclean water that even made them sick."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"The river flowed, wide and bountiful, its waters pure. Some went to the river with an empty bottle, its cap on. They tried and they tried but could not get any water. Some of them even thought the river was an illusion."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain village was organizing their yearly 'River Festival' and most of the people had gone to the feast near the old mill.

When the mill had been built the river was larger and wider, but now, all that had remained of it was a small stream, and very dirty at that. This did not stop people from participating in the feast, though.

One of the men arose in the midst of the others and said:

"Hey, what are we doing here? The river was large and wide and pure, but now, all we've got is this little dirty stream. Certainly it has been blocked somewhere and deviated, either from branches, or from man's activity. Let's go and check, and let the river bless our village again!"

In fact, when the river was larger, the village mill drew power from the water, but now, they had to grind flour in a far away place, which was much more expensive. Also, the water was clean, but now they had to get water from another distant place, which was again very expensive, and not as good.

Despite this, the people at the festival, starting with the elders, told the man:

"What are you saying? Why are you disrupting our festival? Why are you being disrespectful to the river?"

The man tried to change their mind, but they would not listen. They even threatened him with expulsion from their village.

So, the man decided to go and investigate for himself.

On traveling through another village upstream he saw some people drawing water with buckets from the same, but somewhat larger, dirty stream that was was in the place of the big river bed, and putting it in a small channel.

"What are you doing?", he asked them.

"We are taking water from the stream and putting it in the river", they replied.

"The river?! Where is the river?!", the man asked surprised.

"Here, this is the river", the men replied, and showed him the small channel.

They had in fact become so confused, that their watering channel had become their 'river'.

He left them, and, traveling through other villages, also realized that even that small stream had become polluted from the activities of men.

He continued his journey, went further up, until he saw a lake. Immediately he understood that this was the river, that it had been blocked from branches, and had been deviated by men's activities and various building projects.

Happy, he returned to his village, but nobody believed him.

Despite this, the man was not discouraged, but said to them:

"Let's go up the mountain, where the water is cleaner"

"Are you serious?", the others replied, "Do you want to take us out of civilization and live as barbarians?"

They threatened him again, but he did not care. He decided to wait for a while, and, if the river was not restored, go and live upstream.

The whole village thought that he was an idiot.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"One mixed water with a powerful mind-altering, but poisonous drug and gave it to the others. They died within three days."

"No", another man said, "this is no good. Let's dilute it with water."

"They diluted the poison further, until they could not dilute it any longer, and they died within three years."

"Some others thought it was very diluted and that there was no fun in it. They added some more poison and died within three months"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"A tax collector went to the beggar in the street and said to him: Tell me how much money did you make today and who paid you. I need to tax your money."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"Here", said the beggar to the rich man, "have some of my money..."

"You think that absurd? - what would you say then if the rich man eventually took the money?"

\- - -

"A man had planned to open a business, wanting to start small. Eventually he found that he needed to pay much more that he would be potentially getting in five or ten years just to start his business and that he would be losing money every month to pay for insurance"

"He didn't start his business."

"Meanwhile, politicians and people were complaining about the increased unemployment."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man spoke to another man:

"I will show you how in a democratic country the minority rules, one person over three others"

"How come?", replied the other.

"Well", continued the first, "in a recent election 40% did not vote and one party won with 40% of the vote, gaining enough votes to pass any law in the parliament. Thus they only won with the 40% of the 60%, that is, 25% or one in four."

"Hmm...", the second replied, pausing a bit, "but those who did not vote should have expected this. It's their own fault since they did not bother to go to vote."

"What if nobody represented them?", replied the first.

"They should have formed their own party", replied the other.

"Could be..", the first replied, "but that still does not change the fact".

"I can't understand you", the second said, bothered by the first still insisting on this issue, "What do you suggest, then?"

"Well, why don't they take random people who do not support any of the parties in the parliament, and let them vote as they please, rotating them every year?"

"That can't happen", the second replied, "It would be undemocratic! How and who can decide what men and women to choose? They would be not be elected by the free vote of the people!"

"That you can not solve this problem does not change the fact", the first replied.

Then the second man, seeing that the first was rather stupidly insisting on his first statement, without seemingly understanding how the system works, decided to leave him in peace and not bother with him anymore.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"Two brothers had a dispute and, instead of going to their father who was a wise judge, they presented their case to their common enemy."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"One man spoke to another: You have this land that you do not use. I will work the land for you so that it does not remain unused."

"So the man worked the land, and then the owner of the land came after a year and looked for the produce to take a profit, but found the land at the same state as before."

"Didn't you work the land for me?", the owner asked the other man. "So, where is the produce?"

"I didn't tell you I will plant, or water it", the man replied. "I worked the land, though. Why didn't you maintain it?"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A group of people decided to create and play an original variant of soccer (football). They were free to change or modify any rule that they liked, but once they made the final decision, they would abide by the rules.

So, they modified the rules a bit, but kept most of the original ones in place (including that of not touching the ball with their hands, except by the goalkeepers).

Now, while playing, to the surprise of everyone else, one of the men got the ball in his hands and proceeded to play as if nothing had happened.

"What are you doing?!", the rest asked him.

"Well, weren't we free to do anything we liked, create and modify any rule we wanted?", the man replied.

The rest tried to change his mind, and to remind him that the rules were binding, but he insisted playing and modifying the rules on the go, as he saw fit.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

Some pupils prepared a birthday party for a nerdy classmate of theirs.

They enjoyed their party a lot, their friendship, their jokes, their dancing, but their classmate did not.

They brought gifts that he did not like - nerdy as he was - so they gave the gifts to one-another.

Some, being more considerate, though not knowing what he EXACTLY liked, bought some GENERIC nerdy gifts. He did not accept these, either, since they were not related to his PARTICULAR interests.

They went to their homes happy, thinking this was among the best parties they had organized.

Their nerdy classmate went home crying.

And alone.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A woman went to a maker of sweets and said to him:

"Make a cake for my dead husband and write the following:"

"To my favorite husband, the great thief and murderer"

The cake maker refused her demand, so she had him arrested, imprisoned and executed.

The same woman then went to the priest of the village and said to him:

"Bless my relations to my husbands and lovers. Bless my children, the little thieves and murderers."

The priest agreed, and the woman had him promoted to the position of bishop. The previous bishop resisted this absurdity, so she had him arrested, imprisoned and executed.

It is said that the priest, the judge and the executor were all among her many lovers, but no one knows for sure.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked

\- - -

A shepherd lost some sheep in the mountain. So, he left the rest of the sheep in an open place, took his dog, and went to look for the lost ones. He eventually found all of them and returned back very happy, only to find the rest of the sheep killed by wolves."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked

"But if that is not enough, what would you say if the shepherd noticed them, only to completely disregard, and not even shed one tear for them?"

\- - -

Two middle aged men in their fifties were recovering in a hospital.

Due to their chronic diseases (different disease one from the other) they had to once in a while visit the hospital, either because of a sudden crisis, or to relieve them somewhat of their symptoms.

It happened during one of those days that the doctor entered their room very exited and told one of them:

"I have very good news for you!! There is this new medication which has been found to be effective, it has been tested, and is now available in pharmacies everywhere! It's so amazing that your symptoms will go away almost immediately, you'll recover to a normal life in about a week, and in about a year, you'll also be disease free!"

"Wow!", exclaimed the second patient, hopeful that there would be some sort of good news for him, too. "Do you have any such good news for my case, too?"

"Yes!", replied as enthusiastically the doctor.

"There is this certain mix of plants which has been found to be quite effective. It has been tested, and the plants are currently cultivated everywhere. However, no pharmaceutical ingredients have been extracted yet, and it will take a long time to test them, check for any side effects, approve them by the state and the global community, until they arrive at the local pharmacy and hospital. Meanwhile, no pharmacy is carrying the plant mixture, and it is not allowed to do so due to regulations. The plants are somewhat rare and protected, though they are now available in large quantities for scientific studies. Also, there are many fake recipes around, or mixtures with not the right ingredients, that we always warn people against. But, there is certainty, that once the medicine is available, you'll benefit largely from it!"

"What sort of 'good news' is that, then?", the ill man shouted. "In that ten or twenty or thirty, or who knows how many more years, you are condemning me to pain and more pain! Not only that, but you know the cure, and you don't want to deliver it! Go away now and please leave me alone. Your 'good news' just increased my pain!"

The other patient was discharged from the hospital the next day.

In a week or so, the ill patient was also discharged.

He asked around, but though people had heard about this cure, nobody knew where to go to find it. He asked other doctors, hoping they would know more, but they just repeated the words of the hospital doctor. And of course, the market was full of fakes.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

In a certain village, there lived a rich man. His house was large, and he owned a lot of land and other property.

One day, his brother knocked at the door of his house:

"Please", he said, "my house has been destroyed, and my livestock has mostly perished. Allow me to stay at your house and work for you."

"No", his brother said, "You can neither stay, nor work for me. Go fix your house, and work at your own land."

Then, some years later, his cousin knocked at the door of his house, saying almost the same things.

This time, his rich cousin was somewhat nicer:

"Yes, you can work for me, but you can not stay. Go and rebuild your own house. Once you rebuild it, you can work for yourself, as well as for me, as you desire."

Finally, after some more years, a group of gypsies appeared as out of nowhere and camped at the rich man's house.

"What are you doing here?!", the rich man asked.

He eventually discovered that they had been fighting among themselves, that they lived close to the river and one of them, being drunk had opened the dike on the hill, and all their tents, huts and belongings had been taken away by the water.

"Well, I can not take all of you", the rich man said, "But you can stay and work here. As for the rest, go to other people's houses! I'll try to convince them to accept you."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A woman was tending the flowers in her garden when a man dressed in a suit, accompanied by the police appeared suddenly before her.

"You have to pay taxes for the rain water your flowers use", he began to say.

"The water belongs to the community, and your flowers use it - all this without permission."

"Either pay with money, or otherwise, give us 30% of your flowers. Of course, any delay will incur penalties - 5% interest per month."

The woman had stood there speechless, but the man continued:

"You understand, don't you, that this is your duty, both as a citizen, as well as a member of the society."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A group of friends from a team of professional sport players was vacationing in a popular tourist destination, outside their own country.

Bored as they were, they asked the locals (who also happened to like the sport they played):

"How about we have a match? Do not worry, it will all be according to rules."

The locals, not knowing that they were professionals, decided to give it a try.

Obviously, they lost to the professionals, but with a large score difference.

So, the locals complained, but the professionals said:

"Didn't you agree to play? Didn't we follow the rules? So, you have no right to complain."

-

A few days later, at another city, the professional players asked the same question to the locals. This time, however, they said among themselves: "Let us win, but not make it so obvious. Let us make them think that they are playing fine, but are simply unlucky."

As they said, so they did - they won, and the locals lost.

However, after learning from a traveler from the previous city that they were professionals, the locals over there also complained.

The professionals replied as before.

"But, you misled us!", the locals continued, "You not only did not tell us you were professionals, but played as if you were not. You deceived us - not once, but twice!"

"Why do you complain?", the professionals replied, "We did not play at full capacity, and we still won. So you have no right to complain!"

-

A few days later, at a different city from the two first ones, they did the same with a group of people they met at a local cafe.

This time, though, the professionals were trailing the locals group at the half time.

"How can this be?", the professionals asked.

They eventually learned that the 'locals' were not locals at all, but members of a professional team from another country.

"We can not lose!", the professionals said, "So, let us apply psychological pressure, send someone to disrupt something at their hotel - just do something, anyway!"

So they did, and eventually managed to win.

Proud of all these matches, they went back home rather happy.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A very rich man wanted to be generous, so he made several copper keys that would allow one to access his treasure.

He told this to the people, but most of them did not believe him. A few believed him, and became rich, but people did not believe them, either.

Then the rich man made a golden key, essentially a copy of the copper keys. On seeing this, the people fought among each other, not for the fact that it could open up the treasure, but because the key was made of gold.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A new paved road was built through a piece of land. On one side the ground was muddy and sandy with many swamps present, and on the other side it was mountainous with many rocks and bushes.

Now, some people avoided the new road, and instead drove their cars through the muddy, sandy and rocky lands.

"What are you doing?", a man who was driving through the paved road, asked the other drivers.

"Why aren't you driving in this road? It is not a toll road, and eventually you pay the same, and by the damage your car takes, you pay even more if you continue like that. Besides, there are dangerous points, no signals, no bridges, and you may fall or sink somewhere!"

"What are you saying?!", the other drivers replied.

"Do you want to restrict our freedom?!"

The other driver tried in vain to change their mind, but they would not listen.

At that time, some people driving off-road vehicles and horses also stopped to listen.

"See!", the other drivers said to the man driving on the paved road, "They also drive or ride in this terrain without any problems!"

"But you do not have such vehicles or horses!", the driver on the paved road replied.

"No, no, you do what you want, but we will do what we want!", the other drivers replied.

So, they continued to drive in that bad terrain. Some lost their vehicles, some lost their lives, but it did not matter that much to them. Sometimes they passed through the paved road, or took it for a while, but it was just for convenience and as a shortcut, not as the only way.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"Sometimes, and quite often at that,

Dignity is mistaken for Pride,

Truth for Arrogance,

Humility for Weakness,

Simpleness for Stupidity,

Wisdom for Foolishness."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain master hired a man to work in his vineyard.

It was winter and the vines had no leaves on them. So, the hired man, started cutting all the vines one by one.

On seeing this, much damage having already been done, the master asked him in an angry tone:

"What do you think you are doing?!"

"I'm cutting them all, since they are bad. Can't you see they are all dry?", the hired man replied.

Of course, the master fired him immediately.

Then, at the end of summer and start of autumn, the grapes where ripe for harvesting. So, the master hired a new man to help him in his vineyard.

On seeing that some of the vines had leaves, but no fruit (or the fruit was not good), the master asked the hired man:

"Didn't you see that these vines have no fruit? Why didn't you tell me, so that we remove them and plant new ones?"

The hired man replied:

"I saw what you did to the hired man in winter. Besides, some of these ones still have leaves!"

Of course, the master fired him immediately.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain master asked his servants to go out during the night and take something from storage.

He said to them:

"Get candles and matches that I have provided so that you can see, since it is dark"

The servants started discussing among one another how bright the master was and how full of light his house was. The also philosophized about the light, of what it was, of how much it was, of how it was to be measured. Through all of this, though, they did not light their candles.

Since they could not see, they stumbled in the dark on the road to the storage room. On arriving there, again, since the room was dark, they made a big mess, taking things from a shelf and moving it to another. They also broke many things.

Some others took as many matchboxes as possible and lit them all together, trying to make them explode. Still others melted the candles in a small-duration, but big fire, and made sculptures - some of them, attempts at a portrait of their master.

A few of them lit their candles normally, and wondered at what the others were doing. However, the others tried to blow their candles out. They also closed their eyes and said to them: "Do you think you are better? Now you also can not see!", and they tried to steal their materials for their 'fun' activities.

The master, hearing all that noise, saw all of that, without the servants being aware.

But a bit later, he appeared before them and asked them:

"What have you done here? What is this mess? What have you done with the candles and matches I gave you and why have you shuffled and broken the things that I had in storage?"

The servants tried to blame the ones that had their candles lit normally (some of them, having stolen their candles already), but the master knew that they were lying, having seen it all himself.

Of course, he fired all the bad servants at once, but wasn't the bad servants' behavior absurd?

"Indeed, isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

The administrative and police forces of a certain town were understaffed. Hence, the town experienced a lot of criminality, taxes were not paid, and honest businesses and individuals suffered.

To solve this, the mayor and police chief met together, appealed to parliament, which then decided as follows:

"Since no thief could be verified with certainty that he or she was a thief, everyone would go to JAIL for a day or a week, depending on his or her personal wealth. In addition, the state would get a portion of every businessman's production IN ADVANCE, because the businessman might have time to hide it, otherwise. The police and administrative staff were excluded, since they were honest, and the state knew their condition anyway."

So it was decided, and people agreed since this was the law.

At some point, though, one person, a young lawyer, spoke to the people:

"What are you doing? Why are you so indifferent to such an absurdity and thievery of your own wealth? This is not right, not right at all! It may be that there are thieves among the businessmen, and that we may not be able to catch them, but look, we know for sure that the state is stealing in the open and nobody dares to speak. Why do you let them cover their incompetence by this stupid law?"

The people listened to him, but did not do anything. One, though, reported him to the police, which arrested him for "disturbing the public order and enticing the public to violence and breaking the law".

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

The master's students asked him one day:

"Master, which one do you think is the best economic system, which one do you think is the best political system, what do you think of various philosophical schools or education systems?"

The master asked them of why they asked him these questions and the students replied that many people asked them these kind of questions, the people regarding the master as a wise man.

Then the master took a wooden cube that was painted on each side red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet and asked his students:

"If I throw this cube, when will it come up white?"

Then the master took the cube and threw it out the window.

As the students were still perplexed by this answer, the master started giving each of them a white sphere.

On seeing this, some of the students became illuminated.

The rest, though, the ones that did not become illuminated, went outside to search for the master's dice. Then they started arguing among themselves on what color had come up. They could also not trust the first person who said that it was this certain color, or if the cube was not exactly flat. They were further confused when they saw that there were many such cubes outside, which the master had probably thrown before.

Some others thought that by spinning the cube it would turn white, or that by scratching it, they would reveal the wood texture, which was sort of whitish. Of course, they all treated these cubes as a kind of relic, the hands of the master having touched them. Many sawed them in small pieces and wore them as jewelry. Some others built big cubes and worshiped them or revered them as some kind of 'cosmic idea'.

When asked by the other students of what they had done with the white spheres which the master gave them for free, they replied that they had thrown them away, or given them away to strangers, being of no great value.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man had planted trees in his garden, but they had no edible fruit. So as to not look bad in the eyes of other people, he bought a lot of various fruit and tied it on the branches of his trees.

All people who came to visit marveled at the majesty of these trees and how full of fruit they were. However, a little kid, grabbed one of the fruits and saw that it was tied on the tree instead of being part of the tree itself. Moreover, he noticed that the same tree had different kind of fruit!

However, his parents scolded their child and said to him:

"Bad child! Why did you steal this wonderful person's fruit without permission? Besides, what you noticed was just a coincidence, it can not be otherwise!"

The child did not know what to say as almost all the people greatly admired the trees of that man and the good fruit they ate.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

People from a certain humanitarian organization went to some poor and homeless men and told them:

"Why do you stay here, hungry and thirsty in the cold? Come with us and we'll give you food and drink! We'll also give you new clothes and free shelter!"

The homeless people were very happy and went to the shelter.

The organization gave them food and new clothes and shelter, but they did not give them anything to drink.

"Why aren't you giving us anything to drink?", the homeless people complained.

"It would be better to not give us food or new clothes. But water?! That's the first thing you should have given us. A man can't live more than three days without water, you know!",

"We even have to buy the tap water!", others said.

"Where do you think we can get the money if we are homeless and destitute?!"

The people from the humanitarian organization listened to them and told them that they understood. So, they gave them to drink, but did not give them food or new clothes.

"What is this?!", the homeless people complained again.

"You promised you would give us food AND water AND new clothes AND shelter! Where is the FOOD and the new CLOTHES ?"

So the people from the humanitarian organization gave them food, but told them to go find shelter elsewhere. Also, they did not give them any new clothes.

"Where are your PROMISES?!", the homeless people shouted.

"Where is the free food AND drink AND clothes AND shelter that you promised?!"

"Get it or leave if you don't like it!", the people from the humanitarian organization replied.

"Well", the homeless people reasoned, "it was better when we depended on the goodness of people, rather than the lies of these people who promise everything and do not deliver"

So they went back to the streets.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

In a certain city, there lived a policeman. He was a honored member of the society, and a person who gave a lot to humanitarian causes. So, the people loved him and respected him.

In that city, there also lived a businessman. He also donated money, but not as much and not in such an open manner as the policeman. Needless to say, people did not like him that much - well, at least, not as much as the policeman.

Now, one day, the policeman was caught and the authorities found out that he was corrupted and had also stolen funds from the police department as well as accepted bribes. So they brought him to the judge.

The people of the city also went to support him.

Then they told the judge:

"Let this person free! Forgive him for what he has done! He is such a good person and cares for the poor! We do not want to lose him from our community!"

"What are you saying?", the judge asked, surprised.

"Hear, hear", the people replied, "He is a good person and gives a lot to charity."

"You see that businessman there", and the people pointed to the businessman who had also gone there to see the trial, "He is a bad person who does not give a lot to charity! Take him instead!"

"Are you serious?!", the judge exclaimed.

"I'm not judging on what good things people have done, but on the bad things they have done."

"Go away, Corrupt Judge!!", the people shouted, and they made a mess in the court. They broke the chairs and the windows, tore the papers and the curtains, and expelled the lawyers.

"Go away, Corrupt Judge! Go away, Corrupt Judge!", they continued to shout as they came out of the court.

So they drove the judge (and the mayor, who also supported him) out of their city. The businessman, too, barely managed to escape from their hands.

The people then voted and elected the policeman as the mayor of the city.

Then they calmed down and were happy of their doing.

"Righteousness has triumphed!", they said to one another.

The policeman continued to be corrupt, but as long as he gave to the poor, nobody cared. Well, not until somebody would give MORE to the poor than he did.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A group of young men from rich families were to get their driving license so they went to a driving school.

Now, the owner of the driving school had an assistant who had only finished primary school, but was a very good mechanic and had worked as a driver of buses, trucks and such heavy equipment in various conditions. It goes without saying that the driving school owner trusted him fully.

Since the owner had some paperwork to do, he called his assistant, who basically did the same work he did, that is teach the newbies, and told him to start teaching this group of young men, too.

But these rich people did not like it. When they were left alone with the assistant, they told him:

"Who do you think you are? You've just finished primary school, but we have finished high school at the top of our class! We'll study at the best universities and become the future high class, the doctors, the lawyers, judges, politicians, architects, economists, businessmen, yeah, even teachers of the future! Don't you know that we'll drive the most costly cars that our families (and our future money) will buy for us?! Don't you know that we'll pilot yachts and airplanes?! We do not need you! "

The assistant did not know what to say, but tried to explain that he had a lot of experience anyway, and they should not act so arrogant. Besides, he was not the owner, just a worker at this school. He followed what the school normally taught and had never seen such people act like this.

The rich guys would not hear though. They took the car keys by force from the hands of the assistant, and merrily took on the road on two cars. They drove erroneously, so much that they almost hit other drivers, or got hit likewise. Then they reached the highway and drove at high speed till they lost control of the vehicles.

The drivers and the front seat passengers died on the spot, one died later in the hospital, and the rest suffered severe injuries.

-

Similarly, some other rich young men, but older than the first, having finished the university and having various degrees among them, BSc, MSc, PhD and various degrees of work experience went to a flight school to learn how to pilot an airplane.

Here, too, the owner of the flight school left the work to one of his assistants. This assistant, too, had only finished high school, but was very experienced - having a good flight record, and having previously worked in various positions, as helper first, and then as a pilot himself.

The rich young men told him:

"What, do you think you are gonna teach us with just a high school diploma?! What a joke! We have completed the best universities, at the top of our class. We work at the best companies, and drive the best and more expensive cars. And you think you know better?!"

Then they forcefully took the airplane keys from him, bound him, and tried to start two of the airplanes. Needless to say, having no real-life experience, they just managed to raise the airplane a few meters, before crashing and getting themselves killed on the spot just a few meters beyond the runway.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man asked a secretary who worked with him to be a nanny for his children since he had work to do.

However, the nanny did not do her work, but told the children:

"See how good and wonderful your father is? See the poor, hungry people? He goes and helps them, and I also help him! So, I'll need to go and help those children and families, since they are more in need compared to you!"

Thus the nanny neglected the children, did not cook for them, did not wash them, did not instruct them or play with them, and the children grew weaker every day, so much that they also looked as 'the poor, hungry people'.

After noticing this, a woman confronted the nanny and told her:

"What are you doing? These children were fine before you came. They are rich, and yet go hungry and dirty. You say you help poor people, but how come you can't see that you are making them poor, too?"

The nanny did not want to hear, though, and the woman reported this to the children's father.

He fired the nanny immediately, but wasn't the nanny's behavior absurd?

"Indeed, isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man asked a secretary who worked with him to be a nanny for his children since he had work to do.

However, the nanny did not do her work, but told the children:

"See how good and wonderful your father is? He has taken me to take care of you, so, let's have fun!"

But the nanny neglected the children, did not cook for them, did not wash them, did not instruct them or play with them, and the children grew weaker every day, so much that they also looked as children from third world countries.

Instead, the nanny spent time (and money) with her lovers, cooked for them and drank with them.

She gave money to some rich men and their sons (obviously), but turned away some beggars saying to them:

"Do you think we are rich? We do not have enough for ourselves! See these children how underfed they are! Go now! Go some other place!", and she slammed the door shut in their faces.

Now, one day, the children got so tired, that they tried to go and get food from other houses. It so happened that the owner of the house where some of the children went was an enemy of their father.

On learning about this, the nanny took the children and spanked them, saying:

"WHY DID YOU GO TO YOUR FATHER'S ENEMY? AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?"

After noticing this, a woman confronted the nanny and told her:

"What are you doing? These children were fine before you came. They are rich, and yet go hungry and dirty. How are you 'good enough' for them, having made them even go to their enemy (who undoubtedly would use them to his advantage)?"

The nanny did not want to hear, though, and the woman reported this to the children's father.

He fired the nanny immediately, but wasn't the nanny's behavior absurd?

"Indeed, isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

The people of a certain village complained about the tap water they drank, while, at the same time, took the water from a clean spring, bottled it and sold it to the passers by. In addition, they used the clean spring water to water their plants and also gave it to their farm animals.

Now, a certain traveler bought one of the bottles, and stayed a while with the seller to hear about the problems of the village. When he learned that they were using the clean water, not for themselves, but for others, he asked them:

"What are you doing? Why do you complain if you already have plenty of clean water available?"

He certainly wasn't expecting the answer of the villager, who replied:

"What?! How will we water the plants, what will our animals drink, and how will the business of selling water prosper?!"

The traveler shook his head, handled the bottle of water back to the seller, and continued his journey.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man had traveled to a foreign country, and returned back to his village to tell his fellow villagers about his experiences.

So, he told them about snow (for his village was in the tropics), about cities, great buildings, parks and fountains - for those were times when the TV did not exist, and the villagers did not have a lot of books available to them.

But the people of the village would not believe him, and so the man spoke to himself:

"I feel like I talk of colors to blind people, and of music to people who can't hear."

But he did not give up, and continued talking to them. He even made models of some buildings and showed them to the villagers.

"What are these?", the villagers replied, "These are toys for children! We have no need for your sterile utopias!"

Oh, it was kinda weird that the villagers even knew words such as 'sterile' and 'utopia', but that was how they replied, for they were sorta philosophers.

But again the man did not give up and continued talking to them, month after month.

Eventually some (sort of) believed him - and once some believed, all the villagers followed them until the whole village 'believed'.

Then, they immediately started imitating the buildings he had described, despite not being experts in designing large structures.

"What are you doing?!", the man told them, "You are not experts! The structures you are building might even look like the real thing, but they will not stand! They will eventually fall, trap you all under, and you will die!"

But the villagers continued with their work, and said to him:

"You talked and talked and tried to convince us as to the veracity of your experiences, and now, that we believe, you are trying to stop us?! Go away, for you are hindering our progress!"

Then the man, facing hatred on every side, decided to go and live in the cities and countries he had traveled to.

Later he learned that, indeed, the structure that the villagers had been building had fallen on them, and many of them had died.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain florist, who also liked doing research on plants on the side, had planted grain varieties in large pots.

He took care of them as he did with the flowers and investigated what crops were better - that is, produced more, and were more resistant to diseases.

Every year he organized for the villagers around there a feast - to celebrate the newest results.

However, the majority of the villagers did not like it, and said among themselves:

"Look! The guy from the city who knows nothing of working in the fields, comes here and wants to teach us! What does he know of grain, after all, except some theoretical stuff that nobody needs! Also, he's a florist, let him take care of flowers for the ladies, not about serious work that is to be done by men!"

Thus, most of them did not go to the party that the florist had prepared.

To those that went, though, the researcher told everything that he knew - and for almost free. He gave them seeds from better grain varieties, taught them about how to better work the land and care for it, and other such practical things.

Again, even among the farmers that went there, half did not believe. The other half took it seriously, though, and in a few years began seeing the fruit of their effort and learning.

On seeing this, the other villagers got jealous and angry. For the villagers who had heard him were now richer and happier.

For this reason, they would ridicule them, saying:

"Still following that city man? You think you've become smarter? He just wants to promote his ideas, and does not care about your well-being!"

But, despite what they said, still the villagers who heard him had better results.

Therefore the rest became even angrier, started burning their fields, their grain seeds and even their houses.

They also did not permit the researcher to come again - they actually threatened that they would kill him if he did so.

As a result, because the situation had become dangerous, the villagers who had heard the florist moved away together with him - though they were sad to leave their village and sell their farms to buy others in some other distant place.

Back in the villages, the rest of the farmers, having got hold of the better grain seeds, started using them instead of their older varieties.

"See!", they said among themselves, "We are also smart!"

Even so, after a while, because they had not learned of how to better work the land and take care of it in general, even the better grain seeds were not enough to provide a better result than what they already had before.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man wanted to plant a garden of flowers, so he bought seeds and started the work.

He planted the seeds, but where one plant had need of normal soil, he put sand, where the other had need of sand, he put normal soil, where one had need of water, he didn't water it enough, when one had no need of a lot of water, he watered it a lot, where one had need of sunlight, he put it in the shade, when one should have been put in the shade, he put it in the light.

He also pruned some plants, so much that he left no leaves on them, and sometimes he cut most of the branches away.

Of course, none of the plants grew up.

Then the man said:

"It is just bad seeds!"

Now, one day, a wise man heard him, and when he learned of what he was doing, he said to him:

"When you do not care well for your plants, it is not wise to blame 'bad seeds' to excuse your incompetence!"

But the man did not hear him. Instead, he replied:

"You work in your garden of words! I'll work in my garden of plants!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A very rich man, who often liked to organize large parties where he invited friends and family, went to a famous master, and began bragging about the parties he organized, the food, the music, the entertainment, and the guests.

Needless to say, the master was not impressed, but the rich man insisted and invited him to one of his parties. To which the master agreed.

So, the master went to the party, but did not mix in very well among the party goers. Eventually, he sat on a corner by himself, when the rich man - that is, the party organizer - saw him.

"What are you doing here, alone?", he asked the master.

"Well", the master began to reply, "I'm lamenting that you have so many people coming to your party of the body, but to the party of the soul, very few, or almost none at all come..."

The rich man looked at him with pity, wondering what he meant by that, but the master did not stop.

"Let me tell you a story", the master said.

The rich man agreed, and so the master began telling his story:

"There once was a poor man, a beggar, sitting on the corner of a street and begging."

"One day a priest passed by, saw the beggar and blessed him in the name of God, giving him no food or money."

"On another day, a philosopher passed by, saw the beggar and started talking to him about the universe, the world, and the situation of the society, and, like the priest, gave him no food, or drink, or money."

"Finally, on yet another day, an artist passed by. He played music and sang a song to the beggar, painted a picture of him, told him that beauty is found everywhere, even in wretched conditions, and then left - again, like the previous two, giving him nothing physical."

The master then stopped, and looked with attention at the rich man.

Now, the rich man, being a bit religious and interested in this sort of wisdom literature, was quickly reminded of a certain parable, and told the master:

"Oh, master, sorry to say, but you told me nothing new. You are just recycling a bit a well-known parable..."

"Very well, then", the master said, "let me tell you another story"

The rich man agreed, and so the master began telling the second story:

"There was a very rich man, who organized a large banquet, or, let's say, a party. He invited friends from work, other friends he knew, and family members, his parents, sisters and brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts - as many as possible, the more the merrier!"

"So, he spent a lot of energy and money, bought all the food that was needed, hired men for music and entertainment, only to find himself alone, since nobody, no, not even his close family came - except for one of his brothers, and a quick visit from one of his sisters (who just noted how beautiful the preparations were, before quickly leaving again)."

"In fact, it was not that people simply did not come \- he later heard somebody say that he preferred junk food, which the rich man did not provide, rather than normal food!"

"The man did not lose hope, though. He organized a party again, only to face the same results. But again, he did not give up! He tried a third time, a fourth time... a seventh time! More and more he tried, he spent so much energy and money, only to see no results."

The master again stopped, and looked at the rich man in silence. Again, like in the first story, the party organizer was reminded of a certain parable, and thus, told the master:

"Master, sorry, but again you are recycling well-known stories. Besides, things like that do not happen - just have a look around - the people here are happy and enjoying my party."

"But, what if YOU were that man?", the master asked.

The rich man looked at the master - wondering why he was insisting on such a thing - and, should we say, the rich man's respect for the master was quickly beginning to erode, but he still replied to him, and tried to be polite:

"But, master, as I said, these things don't happen. Just have a look around!"

"Very well, then", the master said, "But let me tell you another story."

"Oh, fine, let's hear that, too", the rich man was beginning to lose his patience, "But quickly, as I have other people to meet and other things to do."

"Fine, quick then it will be", the master said, and began to tell his third story:

"A rather poor worker, not as poor as to have nothing to eat, but rather poor nonetheless, organized a party - just like the rich man in the second story."

"He had not much for himself, no big house, not much food, but wanted to make other people happy, and spent half his wage on this one party. Again, he invited friends and family - and yet, nobody came, or just one person came, and one commented that it was interesting."

"But he did not give up, and tried again, a second, a third, a fourth... a seventh time, without results..."

And then, the master stopped again.

"Well", the rich man who had been listening with no much attention this time, "You just recycled your own story again - only substituting a poor man for a rich man."

"Now", the rich man continued, "Please excuse me, for I have to go. I just think that your stories do not reflect the reality, and, in fact, are very absurd."

"Absurd?", the master asked, as if surprised, and continued:

"Well, then, let me tell you one final story."

The rich man had prepared to leave, but he sort of wanted to not be disrespectful - so he listened to the master's fourth and final story.

And so, the master started again:

"You know how, in some countries, the villagers gather in cafes in the evenings and talk to one another about different things?"

"Well, in this certain region, there were peculiar villages where the villagers gathered in other places."

"So, in one village, they gathered at the village florist. They brought bouquets of flowers with them and gave them as gifts to one another. They also liked to draw and paint flowers and decorated their walls with floral motifs. And what they talked about was about how to arrange flowers and decorate their houses, in addition to other village matters."

"In another village, the villagers gathered at the local library. They liked to share books with one another, and talk about what they had read, and things like that. Many of them started writing poems and stories themselves."

"Finally, in yet another village, the villagers gathered at the local music shop. They all learned to play different instruments and formed musical bands. They even started to compose music themselves."

"Thus, instead of just sitting in a cafe and drinking, these villagers liked to socialize in other ways. Some with art, some with craft, some with literature, in any way that was creative and involved the mind and the heart."

The master then stopped - again, as he had already done before, a bit abruptly. However, the rich man had paid even less attention this time, at least, to try to understand the story. So, it was no surprise that he just replied:

"Master, with all due respect, nothing like that happens. Even if it does, it is very rare. Now, again, excuse me, but really, this time I have to go. In any case, your final story does not change my opinion that this is all very abstract and, shall I say it again, very absurd."

"Indeed", the master replied, as he also prepared to leave and say goodbye to the rich man and the party.

"Isn't it absurd?"

But no reply came back, and of who went to the party of the master, or to the party of the soul, we can only wonder...

\- - -

A man wanted to study photography in depth, and thus bought a film camera and started taking photos.

However, all of his photographs either turned up underexposed (that is, very dark) or overexposed (that is, very bright).

To 'fix' them, the man started to paint them - the dark ones with white paint and brighter colors, and the bright ones with black paint and darker colors.

When an experienced photographer saw him doing this, he advised him on learning about proper exposure. However, the man replied:

"Why should I do that? What I do is realistic enough, and more real than the photograph!"

The experienced photographer tried in vain to tell him that what he was doing was more like painting than photography, but he would not listen.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain person could not read, so he bought a book to learn how. Even so, he could not learn, so he tore the book into pieces.

Another person wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle. Therefore, he bought a bicycle and started to practice, but without success. Frustrated, he punctured the tires, and broke the bicycle into pieces.

Another person bought a musical instrument, intent on learning how to play it. However, he had no much patience, learned a few easy notes, couldn't learn moderate or difficult pieces, and therefore, in anger, he took the instrument and broke it into pieces.

Another person wanted to learn how to cook better. So, he bought new utensils, but no books to learn from. He tried and he tried, but all his self tries were in vain - food was burned, or turned up not that good. Frustrated, he broke the plates and cups, and threw the new utensils in the trash bin.

Another person wanted to learn how to work on a computer. So, he bought one, and he also bought books, but could not remember anything when in front of the computer - thus, he was not productive and could not do what he desired, but seemed to always be 'fighting' with the technology. Frustrated, he pulled the power cord out of the socket, broke the mouse and keyboard into pieces, disassembled all the interior components and threw them in the trash bin.

Another person wanted to learn how to draw. Therefore, he bought paper, pencils, pens, ink and brushes. His works did not turn out very good, or satisfying - well, not in comparison to the 'great masters'. So, he took all the works he had done and burned them. Similarly, he broke all the pencils and brushes and threw them all in the trash bin.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A person had bought a fish together with an aquarium, and also a small hamster that he put into a plastic container, closed on all sides, except for some holes for air on the top.

Then, one day he began taking water from the aquarium and putting it in the container of the hamster.

"So you get more air!", he said to the fish.

"So you get more water to drink!", he said to the hamster.

The fish did not notice the change that much initially, and the hamster just drank the little water he added.

However, the quantity increased day after day.

The hamster could not rest anymore, or even eat in that humid environment. Then, when the quantity of water increased even more, he had to swim all day.

Similarly, the fish was beginning to notice the reduced quantity of water, and with it, the reduced oxygen.

In just a week, the fish was left with an amount of water enough to just cover its body and the hamster with just a tiny space to breath.

That very night, both those animals died and the man only found that out when he woke up the next morning.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

"No..", the Master continued.

"NO!..", the Master almost shouted.

"Isn't it CRUEL?"

And the Master almost cried...

\- - -

A man went to a bakery to buy bread.

"What do you want?", the baker asked him.

"I want to buy that particular loaf of bread over there", the man answered.

"Oh, bread...", the baker said, and then continued:

"How hard it is for the grain to grow - it needs a lot of work and care. The farmer plants and cares for it, and then time comes to reap it. Then it must be ground into flour, packaged, sold. Then the baker has to prepare bread with the flour, salt and water, and sometimes leaven, too..."

"Excuse me", the man who went to buy bread interrupted, but I've come here to buy bread, not hear about the process behind it.

"Oh, the process...", the baker said, and then continued:

"Do you know how hard it is to open a bakery? How much I have to pay for energy, water, rent, taxes and the like? How I have to wake up early, bake bread, then sit here and try to sell it? And oh, how many people come here! For example, there is this lady..."

"Excuse ME AGAIN!", the man who went to buy bread interrupted, but contained himself, "Can you please give me the bread I asked? I'm not interested in hearing stories about bread, or bread buyers."

"Ah, the bread buyers...", the baker said, and then continued:

"It's difficult to make a profit in this business. I should probably start selling cookies and pastries on the side, but I should go to school to learn. Do you know how much that costs? Do you know that I have to pay for my house, rent, to buy clothes, and other things? Do you know that I have to pay for my children..."

"AND I NEED BREAD FOR MY CHILDREN!!", the man who went to buy bread shouted.

However, the baker did not seem to be affected:

"Oh, you have children?! How old are they? What do you buy for them? What kind of bread do they like? Do they go to school? Were they born here? Where are you from? Where is your wife from?..."

But the man who went to buy bread got tired, and left the baker talk to himself.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A worker who worked for a farmer, unsatisfied with the field he planted, took one of the grain sacks to plant the seeds in other places.

"To spread the blessing far and wide!", he said.

So he threw almost a quarter of the seeds in the sea.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world!", he said.

"Be the blessing I want to see in the world!", he added.

Then he threw another quarter in the fire.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world!", he said.

"Be the blessing I want to see in the world!", he added.

Finally, he opened a deep hole - almost ten meters deep! - where he put the rest of the seeds as they were in the sack and then covered the hole back again.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world!", he said.

"Be the blessing I want to see in the world!", he added.

And his face shone by the 'good deed' he had done.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man wanted to plant young trees (saplings) in his garden.

Now, the trees had quite large roots, and the man did not want to dig big holes to plant them.

So, he cut the roots away, and opened small holes where he 'planted' the trees.

That despite those trees not being able to be propagated through 'cuttings'. Even so, he put the trees on plastic or cement holders so that they could be 'planted' more easily and be more 'stable'.

"See, how beautiful and alive my garden has become!", he said to himself.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A group of youngsters, finding a mute girl, gathered round her and started teasing her:

"Speak! Why don't you speak?"

The girl, who knew sign language very well, tried to make them understand, saying in signs:

"This is my language!"

But they continued:

"Be normal! We don't understand you!"

She tried to explain by writing, but they did not allow her:

"Speak! Like all people! Be normal!", and they hit her hard - and left her unconscious.

-

Then, another group of men, finding a man walking on crutches, took them from him and said to him:

"Walk normally like all people do!"

And they broke his crutches to pieces and threw them in the fire!

But since the man still could not walk well, they hit him hard in the legs.

"Be NORMAL, we said! What's the problem with you?", and they hit him so much, he could not walk anymore.

-

Another group - of women this time - found a man with glasses walking on the road.

"Be normal! Be normal, young man!", they said.

And they took his glasses and broke them to pieces.

But the man had advanced myopia, and could not see very well without his glasses!

"What's with you? Be normal!", they said.

And they led him here and there, 'playing' with him.

But since he could not walk well, they hit him in the head, saying:

"Is there a problem with your brain?"

And they hit him on the legs, saying:

"Is there a problem with your legs? You walked just fine before! Be normal, therefore!"

And they hit him so hard, that they left him unconscious.

-

Now, a few people, seeing all these things, reported that to the authorities.

But the policemen said to them:

"You know the rules! Shut up and be normal!"

But those people insisted, and went to the judge.

But the judge told them:

"You know the laws! Shut up and be normal!"

"If not, we'll put you to jail - as supporters of not normal people!"

-

The Master, then, paused, and asked:

"Isn't it absurd?"

"No..", the Master, then, continued.

"NO!..", the Master raised his voice.

"NO!", the Master shouted, so much that the place shook, so much that the workers and the medics came in a hurry to see if something had happened to him.

"ISN'T IT CRUEL?", the Master said, his voice trembling as he fell to the ground.

And the Master cried...

And it was perhaps the first time that the students had seen him so agitated.

-

But the Master had not completed his story.

He rose up slowly, and then continued:

"Then God saw all that from Heaven and sent an angel to help the poor men and women. But as the angel was approaching the city, the whole population, men, women and children, rose up against him shouting: 'Be normal! Be normal! You are a man, so wear trousers, not dresses like women!' But they could not do anything to the angel, and he disappeared from their sight!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain man had planted flowers, and complained to his neighbor:

"My plants are dying of water in the sun! It hasn't rained for a month!"

But the neighbor told him:

"But you have enough water from the stream, so use it!"

The man, then, replied:

"I don't have money to buy an expensive system to make it appear as if it is raining, to artificially water the plants!"

The neighbor was even more astonished:

"But you can use your watering can to water them!"

The man, though, had other ideas:

"No, no, for that is old stuff. I don't want to appear that rustic and primitive in the eyes of people!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

-

But the Master had not completed his story, and continued:

The man who had planted the flowers, "to protect them from the sun", as he said, took them, and put them inside a dark room during the day. In the evening, he put them outside, for "there was no sun then".

Of course, he again complained to his neighbor, who did not know what else to say except that the plants, lacking energy, would die even faster.

And so it happened - the plants began to die even faster.

Ironically, the man had gone for some work in some other place, when it rained for three days and nights straight - rain that the plants he had forgotten in the dark room could not benefit from.

"Isn't it even more absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain man had planted olive trees and lemon trees which fruit he sold for profit.

In addition, he was a trader of spices, white, red and black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, etc.

His business went fine until another trader came in the town. This new trader sold sweet fruit, instead - strawberries, cherries, plums and the like.

One day, the new trader told the people who went to buy from the first one unprepared olives, lemons and spices:

"He is a trader of bitter and sour substances! In addition he sells hot, spicy processed herbs! He does that because he is bitter and sour himself and has a bad temper!"

Of course, the man had no such traits, but the people started believing the new trader.

But one man, after hearing this nonsense for some time, intervened:

"What does a man have to do with the fruit he sells? It's not like he sells poison! Besides, the olives must be processed so that they are not bitter! And lemons can be used on dishes for extra taste, or can be made lemonade by adding sugar or honey! Finally, our dishes would lose their taste if we did not add spices!"

It was too late, though. The madness had spread so much, that both the trader and the man who spoke for him had to leave their town and go elsewhere.

After some years, they learned that no olives, lemons and any other such bitter or sour produce was allowed in that town. Of course, spices were prohibited, too.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain man had bought land and wanted to grow grain.

So, he bought bags full of seeds, but on seeing they were hard, he said to himself:

"These are not good! They can't grow if I let the hard shell block their growth!"

So, he took the seeds and split them into small pieces.

"Now, they should be able to grow, since there is no hard shell blocking them!", he said to himself with satisfaction, and then started sowing.

On seeing that, another farmer told him that what he was doing was pure idiocy, but the man would not hear.

Of course, nothing grew out of his land, but he said:

"That must have been due to the hardness of the seeds!"

"I'll try next year with corn!"

On seeing that corn was also hard on the outside, he did the same thing as with the grain, and again, nothing grew.

Frustrated, he then sold the land.

"Worthless land!", he said, and kicked the soil before leaving.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain landlord had farms in two or three locations across the country. He lived in one of these farms for most of the time and let the management of the other farms to other people. But he went to visit the other farms once or twice in the year.

Now, the workers loved him very much, for he was famous, very handsome, and he treated them well.

So, it came to be, that the Master went to visit one of his farms where he had freshly hired the workers.

Now, to say the truth, it was the new manager who had actually hired them. And he based the hiring primarily on their praise and enthusiasm about the landlord.

Therefore, it goes without saying that all the workers were eagerly looking forward to meet the landlord in person.

So, the moment came, and when it came some people were working in the fields, some were caring about animals, some were working in the storage room, trying to oxy-fuel weld something, and many people had gathered at another place to learn about new and more modern farm procedures, methods and techniques.

As soon as they learned that the landlord had arrived, the workers, due to their anticipation, immediately left everything they were doing and ran (or drove) to meet him.

The workers in the field drove their tractors through the crops, so that they could go faster and meet the landlord. In the process they destroyed much of the produce. In addition, two of the tractors fell, and the driver and some people who were riding on a trailer pulled by the tractors were injured. Some of them died.

The workers tending the animals left them where they were, in the field or in the stable and also ran to meet the landlord. Until here, it would look as they had no problems like those working the fields. However, the oxy-welding team working in the storage room had left their torch open, which started a small fire. As nobody was there, the fire became larger and larger and devoured the storage room. As the firefighters had left their post to go see the landlord, nobody fought it, so the fire extended to the stables. As nobody was tending the animals, the animals also perished in the fire. Much of the fields also caught fire, and only a third of the original land was left untouched. The animals in the fields, perished there, too - and some, scared by the fire, drowned in the river.

Finally, at the building where people had gathered to be taught, where the manager was also present, on hearing that the landlord had come, they immediately ran to the door trying to get out first. Due to the large number of the people present, a stampede occurred, where many people died, including the master manager and a third of their other senior managers.

But all of that did not matter, and the remaining workers and managers were happy to see the landlord.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

Then the Master added:

"The farm was almost all destroyed, many people had died, but the master was unaffected by the tragedy. Instead, he praised the people who were so eager to run and meet him."

"Isn't it even more absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A king prepared a wedding feast for his son and sent invitations to all his ministers and officials.

If they would not come, he said, that would be highly disrespectful of the king, and he would fire them immediately (unless they were sick or had some kingdom duty to do).

Thus messengers were sent, and many people, hearing the invitation, went to the wedding - and they went, not so much because of the threat, but because, well, it was the king's son wedding, and they would certainly have a very good time there.

However, some of them did not come.

Why, you'll ask.

Well, the messengers that were sent to them passed through a storm and were wet and dirty from riding for two or three days to deliver the message on time. A few of them had fallen from their horses and had their clothes torn.

Therefore, on seeing them, the invited people said (with a snobbish, puffed up tone):

"Look at you! You're worse than peasants! Therefore we do not believe you! We shall go to our own party! As for you, go to the party of the pigs!"

And they laughed sarcastically.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

Then the Master added:

On hearing this, the king fired the messengers, and, despite the previous threat and stern warning, praised the officials.

He even transferred the wedding feast of his son to the location of where they were to organize their party.

"Isn't it even more absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

While taking a walk along the beach, a man found a golden coin. However, on having a closer look, he found that it was rather old (he could not determine exactly how old, though, but it looked older than two hundred years).

"This coin is rather old", he said to himself, "so it is not tradeable. What need do I have of this coin?"

And he threw the coin away as worthless.

Somewhat farther, he found a bag of 'modern' coins. Some were already out of circulation, some had rusted (due to non-precious metals being present in them), and, although there were about a hundred coins, their value would not have been more than a hundredth of the golden coin (and we are underestimating the golden coin here, for as a coin it would probably cost even more than the gold in it).

However the man was happy:

"Look what a treasure I found!", he said, or rather sang, as he went back home.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A town man wanted to buy the best vegetables, so he went to the villagers' market (which was a market in town, where the villagers sold their fresh produce directly, instead of through intermediaries).

His mother had other ideas, though.

"Aren't you a town man?", her mother told him. "You could go to the supermarket, or to other shops (or, as she called them, 'town markets'), instead! They sell the same vegetables, don't they?!"

"But you like the villagers' market!"

"Do you want to be a villager?!", she shouted.

The man tried in vain to tell her that he went there because they had the best, fresh vegetables, compared to the (often refrigerated / not fresh) supermarkets and other shops (or 'town markets'), but she would not listen.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A father asked his son to play together during the weekend, whether outdoors or indoors.

But the son had work to do.

"No", he replied to his father.

"I have to commute during the weekend two hours to and from my friend's home. I'll go there to help him with school and work for about eight hours for money. When I come back home I'll be very tired. Sorry, but that's how the world works, and I just can't lose my job."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A girl asked her mother to play with her.

But her mother saw other children, who had expensive toys, who had expensive clothes, who had rich parents, who had rich friends, some of whom were very famous.

The mother sighed.

And she refused to play with her daughter, for she was not famous, had no rich friends, was not rich, had no expensive clothes (though she was dressed normally) or toys.

And all that, despite her daughter being bullied and having no friends.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

"No", the Master continued.

"Isn't it cruel?"

\- - -

A king sent a messenger to his subjects. On hearing the good news he announced, the people took the messenger and made him king.

An inventor sent a letter to a scientific magazine to announce his invention. They praised and paid the magazine editor as if he had made the invention.

A poet sent a poem to a literature magazine. They praised and paid the editor of the magazine so much that he even won a prestigious literature prize.

A painter sent a painting to a gallery. They praised and paid the gallery owner and not the painter.

Seemingly different things, yet similar.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man in a village had a hundred sheep.

The other people, jealous of his 'wealth', stole them one by one, claiming them as theirs.

The man, remaining with nothing to support him, tried to find alternatives until he could buy new sheep - and move from that place since he knew that the villagers had stolen his sheep because of envy. So he turned to fishing and hunting.

But, on seeing him fishing and hunting, the other villagers said:

"Isn't the river and the forest common?"

"Also", some added, "we put the fish in the lake, and some of them escaped and went in the river. So they belong to us!"

And they confiscated whatever he had caught.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

"Moreover, isn't it unjust?", the Master added.

But the Master had not completed his story. So he added:

"Then, a certain honest person from the village, on seeing all that injustice, and having not participated in the thievery as the other villagers, went to help the poor villager."

"But the other villagers objected and said to him: 'Are you going to help a thief?! We will not allow you!'. And so they did not let him help the poor villager, who had to leave the village. The one who wanted to help him followed suit soon after."

"Moreover, isn't it cruel?", the Master said.

\- - -

A man had heard that a 'seed must die' before bearing fruit.

For this reason, he took a big hammer and smashed some of the seeds he had planned to sow.

To 'make them die', he said.

"Die! DIE!", he shouted, and he smashed them even harder.

Then he planted them, believing that they were 'dead enough'. But they did not produce any new seeds.

He looked at them, and said to himself:

"These still have their natural color!"

"They are not dead enough!"

So, he took the rest of the seeds and threw them in a big fire.

Satisfied, he took the ashes and 'planted' them again. Of course, again nothing grew of the seeds that he burned.

However, some weeds started to grow, and the man was satisfied, believing that they were of the original plant - growing because the seeds now were 'really, verily, truly dead enough'.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man had heard that a caterpillar would eventually transform into a beautiful butterfly.

So, he took one to feed and 'help in becoming a butterfly'.

He saw the caterpillar eat and eat and grow and grow.

Frustrated, the man said to the caterpillar:

"Why are you eating so much? You have to become a butterfly! How are you gonna fly like that?! Butterflies are thin!"

So the man removed the food source from the caterpillar.

Despite that, the caterpillar started forming a cocoon.

"Why are you hiding now?!", the man observing the caterpillar said.

"You should turn into a butterfly, not remain hidden in that form!"

And the man destroyed the cocoon the caterpillar tried to form.

Eventually the caterpillar could not become a butterfly, and died.

But the man said:

"That's what happens when you eat so much and don't try to become a butterfly, instead!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man had cut branches from trees to graft them to other trees.

Although he told the people working for him that these branches were intended for grafting, one of the workers saw them and said to himself:

"The boss is stupid! These branches have no roots! How will they grow? I will help him!"

So, without asking his boss, he threw them in the fire.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

Two curious cases appeared before the court:

A woman's daughter was very sick, but she got a call from the children's hospital where she worked. So, she left her daughter sick and alone. 'To help the other children', she said as she left. But her daughter died.

Similarly, another woman's daughter was sick, and she, too, got a call from the children's hospital where she worked. She refused to go to work, and was fired. Neither her daughter, nor any children in the hospital died.

But the judge did not punish the first woman, but sent the second one to jail 'for refusing to fulfill her duty'. That, despite the fact that her husband had died, and her daughter would become an orphan.

On hearing the mother complain about her daughter being sent to an institution, the judge said to her:

"OK, then, we will not send your daughter to an institution. She will stay with the other woman for she lost her own daughter!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

On seeing the man who had heard that a 'seed must die' before bearing fruit and proceeded to do so, another man said to himself:

"That was very stupid! For a seed must live! It should live among living things!"

For this reason, he took some seeds and threw them among other plants, for they were 'living'.

The birds of the sky ate most of those seeds. Very little, if any, managed to grow.

He similarly threw a good portion of the seeds in the forest, where almost nothing grew.

Then, on seeing other birds, the man said to himself:

"Those are living creatures, too!"

So he threw the seeds in the midst of them.

Of course, the birds ate the seeds and nothing grew.

Finally, the man said:

"The city! I forgot the city where a lot of people live!"

So he threw the rest of the seeds on the roads and pavements and squares and houses. If something managed to grow, that was very rare, and not profitable anyway.

As a result, the man only managed to recover only a very small portion of what he had originally, which, obviously, was a net loss.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

Some curious cases appeared before the court:

A rich man had (admittedly!) killed several men, but because he had also helped a lot of poor people, he was let free.

A poor man had taken fruit from a tree that he found on the road. The tree, as it turned out, belonged to another person. He was sent to jail for a year, because, being poor, he did not help a lot of people like the rich man.

Now, in a similar manner, another man had (admittedly!) hired another man to kill several men he did not like, but because he had also helped a lot of poor people, he and the man he had hired were let free.

Finally, a poor man had his little son climb a tree they saw on the road and get fruit. The tree, as it turned out, belonged to another person and so the man was sent to jail for a year, because, being poor, he did not help a lot of people like the rich man. Further, they took his son and sent him to an institution \- for at least ten years! - because he was not considered a good father for him.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A master hired servants to work for him.

But all the servants proved to be very clumsy and destroyed almost all the master's property.

So, some servants worked in a farm.

Examples of their bad management were that they put all eggs in sacks which they threw here and there, and they were broken. Milk was put in broken vessels, vegetables were let to dry or were let to rot, cows and animals starved, the water became polluted, and many such things.

But the servants who worked in the farm said:

"For sure the master will punish us, because the painters have not painted the house and stables very well! Also, the florists have not watered the plants and they have withered! But the master loves the flowers, so he will punish us for sure!"

Some other people lost almost all the metals of the house, including jewelry. They had gone to a volcano to 'purify the metals', but almost everything they had been carrying fell in the lava and was lost and could not be recovered.

But those servants said:

"For sure master will punish us, for these remaining items have become black and we don't know how to polish them!"

Finally, some other servants were transporting goods either by land or by sea. They, too, lost almost everything, but feared the wrath of their master because the cook was not cooking very well in the ship, or because the means of land transport were damaged a bit.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain slave owner maltreated his slaves.

He beat them during the night, but sent doctors in the morning to patch their wounds so that the slaves could work again for him during the day.

But people said: "Behold, what a gentleman he is! He pays from his own pocket for the health and well-being of his slaves!"

That, despite the fact that the 'well-being' costs were a fraction of the profit he made off his slaves.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man abused his wife both verbally and physically.

But he bought her expensive jewelry and gifts, an expensive car, and often went with her to expensive places.

And people said: "Behold, what a good husband he is! See how well he treats his wife!"

That, despite the fact that he also abused his children both verbally and physically.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A woman abused her husband psychologically and legalistically by threatening to divorce him. Both her father and brother were lawyers, and she knew that, anyway, she would get custody of the children as well as half (or more) of her husband's wealth.

But because she was pretty and famous, people said: "Behold, what a nice wife she is! He must be lucky to have her by his side!"

That, despite the fact that she cheated on him quite often.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain village where most of the people were illiterate, built a school, and hence, had need of a teacher.

Therefore, they hired one, and he came from the city to teach the children of the village.

The young teacher came, and started teaching the children in the new school. But one day, some people knocked on the door of his class and asked him:

"Excuse us, teacher, but, do you know what we could do for these pests which are damaging our crops?"

The teacher did not know what to say, for he was raised in the city and had no idea of farming.

Then, one night, they awoke him at four a clock in the morning.

"Teacher! Teacher! Come, come!"

The teacher wondered what had happened, but they brought him to their stables and asked him:

"See how we milk the cows! What could we do to produce more milk, and what are the best cows for this purpose?"

But, as before, the teacher could not reply to them, for he had no idea of farming. He just told them that they could use technology or learn to read, so that they could gain the necessary knowledge. It was for this reason, after all, that he had gone there to teach their children.

A third time they went to the teacher, interrupted his class, and told him:

"Today you'll come with us! We have something to show you!"

Despite the teacher protesting, they took him and sent him with the shepherds up in the hills and mountains for a whole week so that he could 'learn about village matters'.

The teacher, exhausted, tried to explain to them that he had not gone there to teach about village matters, but things like reading, writing, arithmetic, and other such things. But the villagers said to him:

"You are not a good teacher. What need do we have of you?"

So they expelled him from their school and village.

-

A certain rich man had need of a gardener, so he put ads to hire one.

So, a candidate came to him, and the rich man started interviewing him with questions like:

"Do you know what the theory of general relativity is about, and can you explain the theory of quantum mechanics with all the formulas included? Do you know advanced physics?"

"Do you know advanced mathematics, statistics, probability, calculus, geometry?"

"Do you know all programming languages, can you describe the theory of computer science starting from basic electronics, to hardware, to networks and communication systems, can you write an operating system, or a large social network by yourself?"

"What do you know of biology, cells and molecular structures, enzymes, proteins, building blocks, DNA, medicine, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, plants, animals, algae, fungi, etc?"

"What do you know of the social sciences, sociology, psychology, philosophy, history, archaeology, anthropology?"

"Do you know all the capitals of the world, how many people each has, when it was funded, by whom, its history, famous people who were born or lived there, their economy, squares, parks, present and past mayors, main attractions and how much the tickets cost, and when they are open, and, well, how much money the people make there?"

These kind of questions the rich man made to the candidate gardener, who only replied that he knew almost nothing or only a little of all those advanced topics.

The rich man, then, considered him inadequate, and did not hire him. The same thing he did with other candidates, and his garden, unkempt, was left to die.

-

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A village hired a man as a shepherd.

He cared for a lot of sheep initially, but wolves came and ate some of the sheep in the periphery of the flock. But the shepherd said: "I care for the flock. What do I care about the sheep that have separated from the flock?"

And the people in the village praised him for protecting the flock, despite the losses.

Similar things happened with a bear, and then human thieves, and then some sheep drowned. But the shepherd again said: "I care for the flock. What do I care about the sheep that have separated from the flock?"

And the people in the village again praised him for protecting the flock, despite the losses.

However, these things kept occurring, and many people lost all their sheep that they had entrusted to the shepherd. But still they praised him for protecting 'the flock', which now was reduced to only three sheep.

Eventually, one of those three sheep was lost, too, and the shepherd was left with two. Then only one sheep remained.

But the shepherd said: "Now, this is only one sheep. It is not a flock anymore." Thus, he abandoned that sheep in the mountain, and went to seek work in another village.

But the people in the village said about him: "What could he do? But he protected our flock until the end."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain city, which belonged to a king, had many economical problems due to the mismanagement of its rulers. The king had heard about it, and was about to come and take control. In addition, a new sickness had appeared, for which they had no cure.

Now, one day, a person coming from the desert, bringing with him a lot of gold, told the people of the city:

"I was lost in the desert which is near our city, and there I found a treasure, which could solve these economical problems of ours. I also found the ruins of an old city, which could be of the legendary king. Come, let's go there and take more! Behold, here are some things from the treasure! Tourism will also bring us more money if we uncover the ancient city!"

But the people of the city said:

"It is very hot in the desert! Besides, the desert is just empty sand. How could a city exist there? Or a treasure?"

So, they did not listen to the man. Assuming he was a thief, they also put him in jail. They confiscated his gold, but that was too little to solve the economical problems of the city.

Next, a man came from the sea, bringing with him a lot of gold, and told the people of the city:

"I'm a fisherman. I found this ancient ship with a lot of gold! Come, let's go there and take more! Behold, here are some things from the treasure! If we build a museum with the rest of the items, probably belonging to the city of the legendary king, that will bring us more money!"

But the people of the city said:

"The sea belongs to the sea creatures! One can not breathe there! We do not believe you!"

And so, they did not listen to the fisherman, too. Assuming he was a thief, they also put him in jail. They confiscated his gold, but that was again too little to solve the economical problems of the city.

A third time, a man went to the people of the city, and said to them:

"I am a shepherd. I also study the plants, and found this plant which is effective against this new disease. Come, let's go to the mountain and gather more! We might even cultivate this plant and sell it to others!"

But the people of the city said:

"The mountain is high, it is cold, and there are only rocks and stones there! We do not believe you!"

They also put him in jail, not because they thought he was a thief this time, but because they assumed he was lying, and would cause people to abandon the city, which would cause further economical decline.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

"And what would the king do with them, once he learned about all of these new happenings?", the Master added.

But the Master had not completed his story, so he continued:

"The son of the man who came from the desert, believing in his father, and having the map of the treasure, decided to prove to the authorities that his father was innocent, and that there was indeed a treasure there."

"To do this, he 'stole' a large (and expensive) transportation vehicle the city used and went in the desert. There, after spending many days searching for it, he found the treasure, loaded it on the vehicle and returned to the city. The vehicle, not made for the desert, became badly damaged, and almost unusable. In fact, he did not even reach the city, but stopped a few meters away from it."

"However, on seeing this, instead of praising the young man for the treasure he found, they assumed he had stolen the city treasure - in addition to stealing the expensive transportation vehicle which he had damaged. Therefore, they also put him in jail, together with his father."

"Moreover, instead of using the treasure for the economical problems of the town, its rulers, judges, commanders of the army and police, etc, took it for themselves as a prize for upholding justice."

"Isn't it even more absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A young woman was looking at an expensive diamond ring together with her boyfriend.

"Prove your love for me by buying me that ring!", she said to him.

Her boyfriend (for he was rich) did not buy her that ring, but a larger and more expensive one, for which she was happy.

She dumped him after some time, though, for she eventually learned that he cheated her with other women.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A newly wed couple decided to 'prove their love to one-another' by buying gifts. They did this on four occasions: his birthday, her birthday, their engagement date and their date of marriage.

The rule they set among themselves was that they would have to prove that they loved each other 'more' than the previous time, where more would be reflected in 10% more monetary value than the previous one.

So, they initially started with a gift of $100, which was not too cheap, neither too expensive.

However, after eight iterations (two years), the gift that they had to give to one-another doubled in value to $200. That was not problematic and they continued 'proving how much worth their love to one another was'.

After another eight iterations (that is another two years, that is, four years in their wedding), the price doubled again to $400.

And then it would go like:

At the end of six years: $800

At the end of eight years: $1600

At the end of ten years: $3200

At the end of twelve years: $6400

At the end of fourteen years: $13000

At the end of sixteen years: $26000

At the end of eighteen years: $42000

At the end of twenty years: $84000

I say 'would go' rather then 'went' since they were not very rich, and they divorced after the tenth year (the details are not very specific), because they could not 'prove how much more they loved one another' compared to last time.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man told his wife:

"I know I can trust you very much. Therefore, you should take a spreadsheet and add all your expenses through the day to the cent. Where you go and when and how much you spend. You will even write the name of the beggar to whom you will give money."

"In addition", he added, "again, because I trust you very much, you will write down the names of the people you meet, how much time you spend with them, where you go to, and what you discuss with them."

"Yes", his wife said, "and then went and demanded EXACTLY the same things from one of her lovers."

"It turned out that her lover had demanded EXACTLY the same things from his wife, who was a lover of the first man, and who had demanded the same things from him."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man on the death row was to be executed by a single bullet in the head.

He had killed one man, but, on hearing that another prisoner was to be executed with seven bullets (for the other prisoner had killed seven men) he was glad.

"I will be executed only with a single bullet, but he will be executed with seven!", he said, proud that he was 'less guilty'.

Well, the execution day came, and both men were executed. Both died from the first shot (for the first was always in the head and it was fatal), although the second man received seven bullets in total anyway. They were also both put in the same type of grave.

But the wife (widow) of the first prisoner always told other people:

"He was not that bad after all, since he was executed with a single bullet only!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man on the death row was to be executed by a single bullet in the head.

He had killed one man, but, on hearing that another prisoner was to be executed with seven bullets (for the other prisoner had killed seven men) he was glad.

"I will be executed only with a single bullet, but he will be executed with seven!", he said, proud that he was 'less guilty'.

However, the king was about to wed his son, the prince, so he declared forgiveness to all the criminals on the death row. In addition, if the prisoners had already spent some of their sentence in prison, they were to be let out free. Both prisoners had done time in prison, and could go out free.

The second prisoner, the one that had killed seven people, glad of the news, accepted the king's decree and was let out free.

However, the first prisoner became angry:

"How could the king release him, who had killed seven people, one who is worse than me?", he said.

Angry as he was, he did not accept the decree, but in fact, became even more angry.

After a year, the prince's wife had a son, and the king again decreed forgiveness to the prisoners.

On hearing the news, the prisoner became even more angry, insulted the king, the guards, the judges, and other prisoners. At some point, he fought with one of the guards, took the guard's weapon, and killed him

Seeing that he had already rejected forgiveness, he was executed immediately the next day with a bullet in his head - and then, one more bullet, since he had now killed two men, although it was always the first bullet that was fatal.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man, hearing how other people were bragging about their hunting skills, decided to go hunting himself.

For this reason, he bought a weapon and some rather big animal traps, and then went to the forest taking his dog and his little son with him.

Having no skill in hunting, he set the traps randomly in the thick grass, hoping that an animal would go through the area.

He then sat and waited patiently, hoping for some 'big game', like a deer or a wild boar.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited some more, till he got bored waiting.

So, to 'have some action', he acted as if he was 'hunting' his dog by chasing him in the forest. Forgetful of where he had set his wild animal traps, he led his dog in that area, where the poor dog was killed by one of the traps.

But the hunter was not moved.

"Well", the man said to himself, "I can buy another dog."

So, he continued his hunting and had his son go in front of him, for he was little and would not scare the animals.

Now, when his son was inside a thick bush, mistaking him for an animal, he turned his weapon towards him, and killed him.

But the hunter was not moved this time, either.

"Hunting has priority right now", he said to himself. "I can have other children in the future."

So, he went on hunting, when he saw a deer in the distance. Approaching carefully, he turned his weapon towards the deer and shot. Being not skilled in shooting, he missed the deer, which left unharmed.

"Oh, well", the man said, "I will come back some other time."

On going back to the traps area, though, he found that a rabbit had been caught in one of them.

The man was very happy.

"Very fruitful for a first day of hunting!", he said.

He returned back to the village, to brag about his hunting results, leaving his dead dog and son in the forest so that they would not 'spoil the day'.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

(NOTE: original idea for this one is by my sister, Stela Canga)

A man went home and wanted to eat bread.

"No!", his wife said, "Wash your hands first!"

Then the man wanted to eat meat.

"No!", his wife said, "Don't eat it for it is still raw!"

Then the man wanted to drink a glass of water.

"No!", his wife said, "Wash the glass first for it is dirty!"

Finally, the man wanted to go in the sitting room.

"No!", his wife said, "Remove your shoes first for they are dirty!"

The man was very upset, and left his house angry at his wife.

When he met his friends, he told them:

"My wife doesn't love me anymore! Perhaps I should divorce her!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A group of people, who were raised in a city by the sea when they were little, but then lived most of their lives in a city by the mountains, decided to create a small garden that would 'remind them of the sea'.

So they did, and then they invited their friends to come and visit.

Their friends came, but were surprised that there was no water anywhere that would 'remind someone of the sea'. Instead, there were only bare rocks, a few small streams that looked like channels or rivers, and some grass. That would remind someone of the mountain, yes, but the sea?

So they asked the designers:

"Where is the water? And, wouldn't it be good to add some sandy beach, too? Or also add a few ships, or a lighthouse?"

But the designers replied:

"Oh, but we don't remember the sea very well, and we don't want to show disrespect to it by representing it in a wrong way!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man told his friend:

"Taste this wine I brought for you! I have bought so much of it, and the wine is fantastic!"

His friend tasted the wine he had brought and agreed that the wine was indeed good. But the man said to him:

"Come to my storage place to see how much I've bought! I will give you more!"

So, his friend went to his place to see how much he had bought.

He then noticed that most of his wine barrels were broken, that most of the wine had leaked out of them, that most of the bottles were not tightly sealed, and that most of the wine had in fact become vinegar.

So he told his friend that, while the wine was good indeed, his handling of it, or the storage quality control was very, very bad.

But his friend ignored him completely, saying that he wanted to buy even more wine from the producer.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

(NOTE: original idea for this one is by my sister, Stela Canga)

A girl wanted to play hide and seek with one of her friends.

So, one girl closed her eyes and the other went away to hide.

However, the girl who closed her eyes did not go to look for the girl who hid. So after waiting for some considerable time, the girl who hid went back.

"I caught you!", the girl who had closed her eyes said, by catching the girl who had hid and who had gone back, bored that nothing was happening.

-

A girl wanted to play hide and seek with one of her friends.

So, one girl closed her eyes, but the other did not go away to hide.

The girl who had closed her eyes did not know what to do, for the other was not playing the game.

-

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man went to a church.

When people of the church talked to him, he told them that he had many psychological and character problems. He had no friends, for example, and was depressed with his job, the lack of general understanding, and the intellectually and aesthetically unchallenging people. It had been many years without going to a cinema or a party, and nobody had invited him anyway. He had no romantic relationships either, and was unmarried. Because of all this, he would drink by himself to forget his troubles, and had become an almost alcoholic. Eventually he had also lost his high-paying job and was working part-time in a less demanding but low-paying job.

The people of the church were very sad to hear that and said to him:

"Don't worry. We will be your friends and you can come to our houses to visit. We will give you food and drink until you again get a place in your previous high-paying job since some of the members of our church are hiring right now. We will respond to your demand for intellect (since we do this all the time, and isn't the Word the very Intellect of God?) and art (since we do this all the time and isn't through the Word that God created everything)?). And you will probably find a mate among us."

So they said, and so they did.

-

Now, some time later, another man went to the same church.

He was a poor man, so poor that he was almost a beggar and his clothes were old and torn in places. He was working in a very low-paid job and had been married with many children (for whom he could not afford even the basics). He had a house, but that was a very small place, and lacked many commodities. He had a lot of friends, though, but his community was also as poor and even poorer than him. So he came to the church, hoping for some help, or at least a new better-paying job. (For this church was in a rich neighborhood.)

But the people of the church were aloof and said to him:

"You have friends and a house, and a wife, and children, and, as for the job, you never had a high-paying job, so you can not be depressed. Same for the other commodities. Don't you know that the soul is far more important to God compared to the physical body which today is and tomorrow will die?"

The poor man did not know what to say, and left the church.

"May God have mercy on his soul!", the members of the church said when they learned that he had left.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A Christian farmer became a member of the 'Christian Producers' trading society.

Now, they organized a trade show each year, so he decided to also go and advertise his own products.

But, on seeing him and his products, the other members reprimanded him, saying:

"Where is the Christian spirit in your business and your products?"

To this the farmer replied that he was a Christian and that he worked honestly and always tried to bring the best products to market.

But the other members insisted and said:

"But you stamped no cross on your product, or an angel, or a symbol related to our faith! You did not write Holy Scripture verses (such as a psalm, or a proverb, or a saying of Jesus Christ - or, well, at least something from the letters or acts of the apostles)!"

"Also, you named your firm based on your *own* name \- you did not even use generic terms! What have you come here for, to promote *yourself* or God?"

"Though, even if you did use 'generic terms', that would not be enough, if they were worldly!"

"Hear, instead, how other members have named their firms and their products:

'Cross Sweat Farm'

'Shining Angel Fields'

'God-Blessed Grains'

'New Testament Wine'"

"And they use Holy Scripture verses everywhere, of course! In their labels, in their product descriptions, in their ads, etc!"

The farmer tried in vain to explain that, though God had created everything, there was not need to be THAT religious - instead, what was important was that the product was good and fair \- oh, and that he WAS a Christian, after all, and that is WHY he had joined them - since they were Christians, too, and could help one-another in trading their products.

But the other society members told him:

"You are not a good Christian, as we already told you! Why can't you understand that?!"

And they revoked his membership in the 'Christian Producers' trading society.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain man owned sheep and goats which he sent in the mountains to feed, as he was a shepherd, and that was family tradition. He also lived in the mountains much of the time - his house being there, and isolated from the rest of the people who mostly lived down in the valleys.

He worked diligently, and frequently sold milk, cheese and butter through other people who delivered it to the town folk during the winter months. However, during the warmer months he often went to the town himself to sell his products.

The business was not very successful, though - and that was not really his fault - he had a lot to sell, but there were few buyers, as the town was rather small.

For this reason, he decided to move near a larger town (well, not really a 'city', but larger than the previous one). So he did, and he again lived up in the mountain most of the time.

Now, it was during his first time there, that the (new) town people invited him to some of their festivals - which were held during the warmer months, spring to autumn. He gladly went there, and enjoyed the festivals somewhat.

But he then invited some people to come to his house.

"You'll have fun!", he said to them.

But not one of the town people came, as it was bothersome to go up the mountain, and they had work to do anyway.

"Well", the shepherd said, after thinking about these potential reasons of why nobody went to his house, "didn't I also have work to do? Isn't it also bothersome for me to go down to the town and then back up to my house in the mountain?"

But that was not the end of it.

As previously mentioned, he often delivered his goods through other people, especially during the cold months. But this time, there were no products sold at all, and the 'traders' refused to carry his products to the town. It goes without saying that it was a serious issue - for, if that situation continued, he would soon go out of business.

This lasted through the winter months, but, when spring came, he went to the town market himself to sell his products.

He set up a market stand, but people were not buying any of his products - and that surprised him very much. The (potential) customers weren't saying anything, either.

Finally, after some time, some town people approached him, and said to him:

"You proud, egoistical man! Coming here to sell your products? Why didn't you come to our winter-season parties? Always busy, hm? Don't you care about other people? How can you live in isolation up in the mountains by yourself? You'll be eaten by wolves - together with all your sheep and goats - and other animals you have there!"

"You should plant crops and sell them, instead! Otherwise you'll never become a civilized person!"

And they said many such similar things to him.

The mountain man didn't know what to say - so shocked was he at hearing those words from 'friendly, town folks who organized festivals', that he only managed to mumble:

"But... you... to my house... why didn't you come... and, my.. products.. why didn't you buy them? Was there something wrong with them?"

And he offered them some free samples.

But the town folk said:

"Only free 'samples'? Give us the whole product for free, instead! Aren't we your friends, after all?"

But he refused to do it, and told them that, if they had come to his house, perhaps they could have eaten lunch with him, but that giving all his goods for free did not make business sense.

"You ungrateful wild mountain man!", the town folk said to him. "You don't deserve a place in our market! Go, go back to your sheep and goats, and talk to them! For that's what you are, an animal yourself!"

And they kicked his stand, threw his goods to the ground - and even stole some of them (which, the man learned later, they sold for a lot more in another market - after 'rebranding' them as their own).

The man, seeing that it was not possible to do anything, left the new town and went back to his former town, until he could calm a bit, recover his lost money, and then try his chance elsewhere in the future.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

"No..", the Master, then, continued.

"NO!..", the Master raised his voice.

"NO!", the Master shouted, so much that the place shook, so much that the workers and the medics came again (as in one of his previous stories) in a hurry to see if something had happened to him.

"ISN'T IT CRUEL?", the Master said, and it was clearly visible in his face how angry he was.

\- - -

A certain humanitarian organization wanted to help the homeless people of the town, and for this reason, offered free food to them.

Many of the homeless people were happy about this and went there every day to receive free food.

Now, another humanitarian organization, seeing what the first was doing, started to offer free clothes (for, you know, everyone of the homeless people wore dirty or old clothes).

So, on learning about this new opportunity, one of the homeless people went there and received new clothes, to which he changed immediately.

Next, he went to the first organization so that he could receive free food.

But on seeing him wearing nice clothes, they said to him:

"Go away you fraud! We can see you are wearing nice clothes, so how can you say you are homeless? You are obviously a liar!"

And so, he either had to keep the good clean clothes, but then receive no free food, or wear again the old clothes, so that he could receive free food again.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

Some soldiers were recovering in a hospital.

They had been in a battle and had received various wounds, some in the head, some in their legs, some in their arms and some in other parts of the body.

But on seeing them resting (some reading, some listening to a song, some playing, and so on), one of the nurses said to them:

"You lazy good-for-nothing idle men! There's so much work to do and you are not helping us at all!"

On hearing this, the soldiers complained, for, they said, they fought, and received their wounds in fighting, and the nurse could not do her work in a free country otherwise.

But she complained to the chief nurse, and the chief nurse complained to the hospital director, and the director complained to the general.

Then, orders came from the general, telling the soldiers to 'work and not rest' and that whoever was resting was to be considered non-patriotic, and even a traitor.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

The animals had decided to 'bridge the gap' between them by communicating better and more often.

This was needed because some animals lived in the depth of the seas and oceans, some in land and some very high above in mountains or in other remote, inaccessible areas, such as deserts, jungles or very cold places.

Now, a rabbit had a message to send, so he went near the sea and talked to some fish and some seagulls, asking them to deliver the message to the sea creatures. Then he did the same with some eagles (who could deliver it high in the mountains), a camel (who could deliver it to animals in the desert), a few zebras (who could deliver it to animals in the savanna) as well as some monkeys (who could deliver it to animals in the jungle) and whales (who could deliver it to the colder areas).

But, despite all his efforts, the message (which he considered important and had been running here and there as fast as he could to deliver) was not eventually delivered. Or, that's how he understood it, for he got no feedback, and nobody he asked seemed to know about it.

Frustrated, he sat in front of his house in the forest and spoke loudly:

"What kind of communication is this supposed to be if the messages are not delivered?"

At that time, an old turtle overheard him and asked what the matter was.

The rabbit told everything to the turtle, who listened to him patiently.

"Oh, but you did not try enough!", the old turtle replied to him after hearing his story.

"You should have invented something and go deep in the sea so that they could hear you!"

"You should have been equipped to go in the mountains, in the savanna, in the desert, the jungle and in the cold places!"

"But you did not! And that is why this is all your fault!"

The rabbit did not know what to say, except repeat that he had tried his best and had run as fast as he could to deliver the message to his best ability.

But the turtle said to him:

"You should listen to your elders! I am older than you and know more, since I have more experience!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A homeless person slept in the corner of a road.

Many humanitarian organizations sent people to him, sent him clothes and food, and even offered him shelter and a job.

Now, another homeless person, who once used to be a carpenter, had started to make small artisanal objects out of wood, had become an ambulant seller, and was trying to sell them here and there.

However, he had no luck, and the money he got was so little that he could not afford a new house, and quite often even food.

He was convinced in the quality of his work, though, and had seen similar objects being sold for a lot more money in the stores - so, if he knew people who could help him contact these traders, he would not be homeless anymore!

Now, one day, he met some people from the humanitarian organizations that he saw were visiting other homeless people.

When they asked him about his situation, he sincerely told them that he was an artisan and was trying to earn some money that way. Of course, he showed them his work, and asked them if they wanted to buy something.

He was not expecting their reaction, though.

"You have a job, so don't qualify for our help! We do not need these objects anyway, so good luck to you! If you don't earn enough money, go and look for a job by yourself - we can't help you in that case, as you don't fit our definition of 'homeless' as we already said!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain teacher, a student of a famous master, had been teaching for many years in a remote rural area where not a lot of people lived. They liked his teaching, though, and, after some time, encouraged him to go to the city so that the people of the city could also hear him teach. And there he could, perhaps, have a better (material) life, since there would be more people to support him.

So the teacher did, and left them to go to the city.

On starting to teach to the people of the city, other teachers approached him and immediately told him:

"Go away, you proud man! You have come here to promote yourself, not the teaching of the great master!"

The old teacher inquired as to the reason for being so harsh towards him, for they, too, were teachers, and a teacher had to be paid for his work.

But they said:

"See us? We are humble! I promote that person, he promotes another, he then promotes another, and so on, until one promotes me! So, we don't promote ourselves!"

The old teacher thought about it, and then replied to them:

"Even so, aren't you proud and promoting yourself, even though you are doing it as a group?"

But the teachers wouldn't hear him and drove him out of their city for 'perverting the word of the great master'.

The same thing happened in a few other cities he visited.

Disappointed, the old teacher returned to the remote rural area to teach the few people there.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A master wanted to hire people to work for him.

But, before hiring them, he wanted to test them. So, he sent them to fetch water.

That was, after all, an easy task.

Or so he thought.

-

So, one of the people went to the water source, and found the water tap closed.

He put the vessel under it, but no water came out. So, he 'talked' to it - or, should we say 'prayed', or 'begged':

"Please, dear water, come out!"

But no water came out.

So, he shouted, he cursed, and then hit the water tap, but without result - of course.

Therefore he went back empty handed.

-

Another man went to the source and opened the water tap.

He held the water in his hands, but by the time he went back, the water had fallen, and what little was left was of no use.

Even so, he was happy that he could bring back a little water.

-

Then, another man went to the source and opened the water tap.

But he broke all the vessels on the way back, so not only was there very little water left, but the vessels had been damaged, too.

Even so, like the previous one, he was happy that he could bring back a little water.

-

Then, two men went to the source together and opened the water tap.

But, on the way back, they fought, and broke each other's vessels.

Even so, like the previous ones, they were happy that they could bring back a little water.

But they accused each other for there being so little water left.

-

Yet another man went to the source.

He drank the water and washed himself with it.

Then he went back empty handed, but said:

"Look! I have become clean, and am not thirsty!"

But that was not satisfying, for he had brought back no water.

Still, he insisted, and said:

"What need is there of water, if I have become water myself?"

-

Yet another man went to the source, opened the water tap, drank from the water, washed himself with it, even filled a vessel with water.

But he left the vessel there, and went back to the master, and told him:

"Water! This marvelous substance! Fresh, clean, transparent! Found everywhere! Wonderful, I tell you, wonderful! If you only could go to the source and bring it back here, that would be nice and a blessing for you and your house!"

-

Of course, the master hired none of these people, for all had failed in the simple task of fetching water for him.

"But, isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A young man had studied to become a cook.

So, after finishing school, he started looking for a job. It was his dream to be a chef at a famous restaurant, and, if possible, eventually own his own restaurant.

Now, while looking for a good place of work, one particular ad caught his attention, which said (among other things):

"Tremendous opportunity for a cook to advance in the healthy food preparation area! Diverse dishes prepared and served every day!"

So, he went there for an interview, very excited at this opportunity.

Imagine his surprise when he eventually learned that the place was a 'fast food' restaurant!

"But the ad said 'advance', it said 'healthy food', it said 'diverse dishes'...", he said to the person - that is, the manager of the restaurant - who was going to interview him.

But the manager of the restaurant replied:

"Advance - yes, sure. Once you learn the basics, you may become a senior, and then a team leader, and then a manager, and so on."

"Healthy dishes - but, of course! Are they dirty? No! Do they taste bad? No! Are they made of natural ingredients? Yes! Do people like them and come to eat? Yes!"

"Diverse dishes - yes, of course! We serve pizza of various types, hamburgers of various types, fried potatoes, etc. So, it *is* diverse dishes!"

But the aspirant cook replied that it was not what he had studied for, and not the path he would like to follow, which was in more 'classical' cooking, or at least, more 'home-like' cooking, or actually *healthy* food, which fast food was clearly *not*.

The manager was not moved though, and replied to him:

"We have done this for many years successfully. Many other so-called 'good' restaurants have closed, but see, we prosper! That is because our food is so good that people come to us! And we provide good opportunities for career advancement to young people such as you!"

But the young man only shook his head and left.

He could not accept being a 'burger flipper', even if it could lead to him becoming a 'manager' in the future.

But the manager said to himself:

"What an arrogant young man! Throwing away such a great opportunity for vain dreams!"

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A person came to a city running and in a hurry, but very tired and very dirty.

With the strength that had remained in him he called on the people of the city to prepare, for an enemy had raised an army and would come against them very soon.

But the people that saw and heard him said to him:

"Are you a poor person?" - for they saw his clothes which were torn and dirty.

"How long has it been without you washing yourself?"

"Has your hair always been like that, uncombed and dirty?"

"Have you been living a lot in the wilderness?"

"Have you gone to school? What kind of degree do you hold?"

"Do you make the clothes yourselves? Where do you find the fabric?"

"Dressed like this, are you a thief perhaps? If so, please go away, for we don't accept thieves in this city."

The man tried to explain to them that all these questions were not that important - compared to the fact that an army was coming against them.

But the people continued to ask him similar questions and would not care for the message that he tried to deliver.

Disappointed, the man then left their city and went elsewhere.

Eventually, the city did not heed his warning. The foreign king came with his army, destroyed the city, and many people died or were sold as slaves.

A few of them escaped, though.

In finding again the man that had warned them, who was a shepherd and was taking care of sheep, now dressed better and not that dirty, they asked:

"So you are not that poor after all?"

"Ah, so, you are a shepherd. How much milk and butter and cheese and wool do you produce?"

"Ah, you have a flute. Can you play a melody?"

But the man asked them of why they did not heed his warning - for, if they had prepared, their city would not have perished.

However, they again did not reply, and continued to ask him questions irrelevant to the fate of their (ex) city, which also was their own sad fate.

Disappointed for a second time, the shepherd again left them.

But the people said to one another:

"What an arrogant shepherd! We care for him by asking him questions, and he avoids us. Let us just go elsewhere, then."

And so they departed and went somewhere else.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A married man that used to work in a good, high-paying job, was suddenly fired.

He couldn't find another good-paying job, so he started working part time.

His wife, though, to support their lifestyle, took a more demanding job, and even tried to work two jobs at the same time.

One day she came back home very angry and told her husband:

"It is the man, and not the woman who should be the provider! But you don't bring enough money! See, I have to work two jobs to support us!"

But her husband looked at her calmly and said to her:

"Then why do you work at two jobs and don't leave men have their share if they are to be the providers?"

The woman divorced him soon after.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man was drafted into the army.

Being war-time, they hastily taught him how to use the weapons - a rifle and the hand grenades for example, a teaching which was not complex, obviously - and then sent him to the front lines.

Now, in the middle of a battle, the man took the rifle, but nothing was happening, so he said to his commander:

"This is not working!"

Seeing him doing nothing with the rifle except turning it around aimlessly, the commander shouted at him:

"POINT THE RIFLE AT THE ENEMY AND PULL THE TRIGGER ALREADY!"

The man pulled the trigger, but again, nothing happened.

"ARE YOU USING ANY BULLETS?!", the commander shouted again at him.

"YOU NEED BULLETS TO THROW THEM AT THE ENEMY!!"

On hearing this, the man seemed to understand.

So, he took all the bullets that he had, and threw them by hand in the enemy direction.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!", the commander shouted again.

"PUT THEM IN THE RIFLE AND SHOOT!"

"IN ANY CASE", the commander continued, as he saw the enemy approaching, "YOU STILL HAVE THE HAND GRENADES. SO THROW THEM AT THE ENEMY!"

And so the man did, but did not remove the safety pin, so the grenades were useless.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!!", the commander shouted again, even more nervous this time.

But the man said to the commander:

"You are not a good teacher. I will go to your superiors who will teach me the correct way of using the weapons."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man went to a restaurant.

Asking for a plate where beans were one of the main ingredients, he found out to his surprise that there were also a lot of stones mixed with the rest of the ingredients - and very similar to the beans at that.

"What kind of service is this?!", he asked, irritated.

But the restaurant owner approached him and said:

"We are sorry, but that's how life is. Why complain and don't separate the good from the bad yourself. There is a lot of good stuff in there, so we hope you enjoy your dish!"

The man prepared to leave immediately, but the owner said:

"You have to pay. You ordered, and what can we do with the dish now?"

And so the man also had to pay for something that he did not even eat.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man that used to live in a village had gone to a town and had opened a café there.

Now, although he had told the people in the village about it, and they often went to town, none of them had visited his café, though it had been open for some years.

Despite this, once or twice a year, for some of their fairs or festivals, many of the people of the village would go to town, and many of them would also go to him and congratulate him with a loud voice. Well, that might have even been OK, but sometimes they did this very early in the morning, often waking him up from sleep - and sometimes even his neighbors! - for his café was just below his house which was on the second and third floors of the building. Then, even when it was during waking hours, their loud (and dialectal) greetings would startle his customers.

On confronting the village people once, telling them to be quieter and more polite, and telling them to come in his café sometime, the village people replied:

"Hav' ya forgot yer luv fur the kantry folk? How ken ye speek thus ta us?"

"For ui ivin' kom ta greet ye, an' ye treet us lik' strengeers!"

And so most of them did not go to greet him anymore, and considered him a stranger who had now become a 'town folk'.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

Two men came from the city to a poor village, and, seeing the situation, promised to improve the 'utilities', that is electricity, water and communication.

So, they showed to the villagers many electrical and electronic phenomena, like the usual physical experiments: rubbing a plastic rod to attract paper, a lamp powered by a battery, a small motor, and even a Van de Graaff generator that literally raises your hair in the air!

But besides a few small batteries and a small solar-powered panel, they did not bring the mains electricity line to the poor village.

Then, as for water, they again showed them various experiments, that is how oxygen and hydrogen made water, how the water evaporated and then condensed, how the water kept the 'same horizontal level', etc.

But, besides opening a few small wells, and buying a few water purifiers, they did nothing else.

Finally, concerning communication, they bought only a small radio (if that could be called 'communication'), operated by batteries or the solar panel that they had installed. Oh, but they taught the villagers how to 'signal' using Morse code or semaphore flags so that they did not seem 'uncivilized' by shouting from one hill to the other.

But they did not bring telephone lines, much less advanced forms of electronic communications.

Now, another man from the city came to visit the poor village. On hearing about what was promised and eventually delivered, he told the villagers that they were being deceived. But the villagers had other ideas:

"These two kind people brought us technology! What did you bring us except words?"

And they drove away the man who simply stated the obvious.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man who had bought chickens, intending to raise them, was discussing their ability to fly with one of his friends:

"You see, chickens have wings", he said, "so yes, they can fly!"

His friend told him that what he was saying was stupid, but the man insisted and wanted to show him their 'ability to fly' by throwing the chickens down a ravine.

So, he threw a few chickens, but they all fell and died - and it was obvious that they did not 'fly'.

But the man who had bought the chickens was not moved.

"That was just random chance", he said.

Then he threw even more chickens down the ravine, but the result was not any different.

Even so, he did not change his mind.

"They were not big enough, or they did not have strong wings", the man said.

So, he glued 'wings' to them, but that did not help, either.

Eventually he lost all the chickens he had bought, and because he had invested a lot of money in them, he even went bankrupt.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A married woman had received an old house as inheritance from a rather distant relative.

However, she did not like the house, neither its interior, nor its exterior (that is, the garden). For this reason, she called an architect and a gardener so that they could modify it according to 'her taste'.

On seeing the house, the architect became very excited, for he realized that it was designed by a famous architect. Similarly, the gardener noticed that the plants were exotic, and some of them very very rare.

For this reason, both of them suggested to the woman that she renovate the house, and maybe even turn it into a museum, considering its value.

But the woman did not hear them, and her husband was of the same mind as her.

Therefore, they fired the architect and the gardener and hired other people, who told them the same things.

Then, they fired them, too, and continued doing this until they found an architect and a gardener that agreed to follow their ideas.

They, therefore, destroyed the house completely and built it again from the start, larger than the previous one - eventually destroying all of its historical value.

Further, instead of the garden, they build a garage \- which was now needed in its place, because they had built a larger house.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man had opened a bakery where he sold various kinds of bread, as well as sweets such as cookies and cakes.

To make his shop attractive, he decorated it, and also put outside flower pots and other decorative plants.

Now, one day, a friend of his passed by, for he had learned that he had opened a shop. So, he met the baker outside his shop and then told him:

"So, what kind of drugs are you selling in your shop?"

On hearing this, the baker was very surprised, and even angry, for he was being accused of doing something illegal:

"How did that even occur to you?!", he asked his friend.

"Well", his friend started to 'explain', "I saw flowers and other plants outside, so I thought that you loved and sold plants, and if you loved and sold plants you might also sell drugs..."

"Are you crazy, or what?!", the baker replied, now, really angry, "Didn't you see the sign that this is a bakery?! Didn't you at least have a peek inside to see that I sell bread and cookies and cakes, and do not sell plants at all, much less do something illegal as selling drugs?!"

But the visitor was calm:

"Come on, why are you making a fuss over this? I simply asked you a question..."

"YES!!", the baker shouted, "BUT WHAT A STUPID QUESTION THAT WAS..."

And he went furious back inside his shop.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A young teacher volunteered to go to a remote village to teach the children (and people) there. She believed, in fact, that education was a helpful tool to lift that area out of poverty.

So, she went there, and started teaching the children, starting with the real basics, that is reading and writing and basic mathematics.

But the children had questions.

"I care for three cows", one of the children, a boy, said, "and they produce like ten litres per day, which my father sells for a certain amount of money. How much money do we have?"

The teacher kindly made the calculations for him, but also told them that they were about to learn how to do all of this themselves.

But the boy continued.

"So, I have these toys that I want. One costs this amount of money, and the other one this amount of money, and the other one this amount of money. How much money do I need?"

"I'll leave that as an exercise to you!", the teacher replied, smiling, "But we will start with the basics, like adding and subtracting and the multiplication table. Then you will learn more advanced math..."

"No, I want the results now!", the boy interrupted the teacher.

So, the teacher, because that was only the first school day, kindly provided the answer.

But then, a girl, asked the teacher:

"Teacher, tell me how to write my name!"

So, the teacher told her how to do it, and that they were about to learn how to do all of this themselves, starting with the letters.

But the girl was not satisfied:

"Teacher, now tell me how to write my mother's name!"

And, after the teacher did it for her, she asked for her father's name, then for that of her sister, brother, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, grandmothers, and so on...

So, that whole first day was spent in giving ready answers to such questions.

Now, that could have been perhaps OK, as a first day. However, all the following days were the same.

For, every other day, no matter how much the young teacher tried to teach the children, starting with the basics, like letters and numbers, they would not hear, but only demanded ready answers.

Then, not only the children, but also the grown ups, approached her, and started nagging her with their requests.

When she told them that they, too, could come to class, to learn at least reading and writing and basic mathematics (as well as correct their children so that they paid attention in class), they also ignored her, just like their children had done.

Disappointed, the teacher left the village after a few months, giving them all non-passing grades.

"Why didn't the teacher give us good grades?", the children wondered.

"For, we cared for our animals, and helped with chores in the house! So, weren't we good?", they said.

And the grown ups said:

"That teacher tried to teach us deep and hard stuff. Who can understand that?"

And they continued with their work as before.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

"He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse by him" (Proverbs 27:14)

But what would you think of the following story?

There once lived a man, together with his wife and his three sons, and very often, a neighbor of his would come and bless them at early hours in the morning, sometimes at three, sometimes at four, sometimes at five, and so on. And every time that happened, he would wake up his wife and his sons (if they had not woken up already) and tell them:

"Give thanks to the kind neighbor who blesses us every so often!"

And every time the half-asleep sons only mumbled, he would shout and shake them, and tell them to speak loudly so that their neighbor could hear them being thankful.

This happened for many years.

Now, one of the boys was about to get married, and prepared a wedding, which, as it was custom in that place, started late in the afternoon and continued till morning.

However, the 'neighbor that blessed them' usually slept during the afternoon, and, although his house was not very near, was annoyed by the noise. So, he woke up, rose and went to the wedding. And there he cursed the groom and his bride and shouted to everyone for making so much noise and not letting him sleep in peace.

On hearing this, the son's father, also cursed his son.

"Why didn't you think of the neighbor who blesses us every so often?!", he said to him.

"You are not worthy of being my son!", he added.

And he disowned him as his son.

But his other sons, and his wife protested, so he disowned his sons and divorced his wife on the spot. He also cursed them, as well as the bride, and all the other people who had come to the wedding, telling them all to go elsewhere, so that the 'neighbor who blessed them' would not be disturbed.

So, everybody left him, and the 'neighbor who blessed him' went back to his home, satisfied.

But the man was happy that he managed to keep the ability of receiving his neighbor's blessing again and again.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

(NOTE: original idea for this one is by my sister, Stela Canga)

A forest guard (a firefighter) asked a man who was responsible for water to fix the broken pipe which had been damaged for a lot of time.

To which the man who was responsible for water would reply:

"I'll do it tomorrow, don't worry!"

But nothing was done, and then summer came, and then in that summer there were three very dangerous days - very hot, very windy and very dry.

So, the forest guard, seeing the urgency, was even more alarmed, and asked the man responsible for water again and again, only to receive the same reply (as well as a warning to stop bothering him so much and so often).

Eventually, though, there was a fire on one of those days, which destroyed quite a large area of the forest, and also a few houses, including the house of the man who was responsible for delivering the water.

Then, the man responsible for the water became very angry and came to the guard and told him:

"It's your fault that the fire destroyed my house!"

Even though, had he done the fix and delivered the water, the fire would not have spread, and his house would not have been destroyed.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

Some people had built wooden houses in a valley, near a river.

Now, it started raining a bit.

The people said:

"Rain, you can not harm us for our houses are strong! It can rain even harder, and we would still be safe!"

Indeed, they were not harmed, but it started raining more.

Again the people said:

"Rain, you can not harm us for our houses are strong! It can rain even harder, and we would still be safe!"

Indeed, they were not harmed, but it started raining even more.

And again the people said the same.

And then it rained hard, but really hard, and the roads of their village were turned into 'mini-rivers', but their houses still stood.

However, the water in the mountain gathered into streams, and streams went into the river, and the river burst its banks and destroyed all their houses.

Most of the people died, but the survivors said among themselves:

"Building our village near running water was not a good idea. Let's build our village up in the mountain where water won't affect us, and snow won't hurt us!"

And so they did.

Now, it started snowing a bit.

The people said:

"Snow, you can not harm us for our houses are strong! It can snow even more, and we would still be safe!"

Indeed, they were not harmed, but it started snowing more.

Again the people said:

"Snow, you can not harm us for our houses are strong! It can snow even more, and we would still be safe!"

Indeed, they were not harmed, but it started snowing even more.

And again the people said the same.

And then it snowed a lot, and the roads of their village were blocked by the snow, but their houses still stood.

And they stood even after the snow storm had passed \- yes, even after many snow storms had passed.

And the people said among themselves:

"See! We were right! Snow can not hurt us!"

Then spring came, and snow started to melt.

And it so happened that the gathered snow layers became unstable, and an avalanche occurred.

All of the people died - except one, who lived to tell the story of their misfortune.

It is also said that this lone survivor then decided to go away from mountainous areas, and relocated very near the sea.

And he used to say:

"What will the wind and the waves do to me?"

But one day a storm came, and because his house was very near the sea, and he had refused to leave, his house was destroyed and the man also died.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A few people were fishing with line and hook, and, mind you, that was not a hobby, but they were doing it for a living.

Now, a man in a boat approached them, and said to them:

"Come, help me with my nets, and we'll divide the catch earnings in half. You will learn, and in time even have enough money to buy your own boat and nets. What do you think?"

But the people who were fishing became angry and said to the man in the boat:

"We are trying to earn a living here! Go away for you are scaring the fish!"

And so they drove away the man in the boat.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A man who had been hiking on a mountain path encountered another man who was coming towards him in a hurry. The man was wounded, but the thing that the hiker found more striking was the clothes the man was wearing. In fact, his clothing was very strange:

He was wearing an Ancient Greco-Roman tunic, over which he was wearing a sort of kimono, over which he was wearing a Scottish kilt, with white frills like a fustanella, and under them seventies-like flared trousers which also looked a bit like shalwars. On the top, besides the tunic and kimono, he was wearing an ethnic folk-like decorated vest, a modern shirt, and a suit.

The most extravagant piece of clothing, though, was that he was wearing a lot of hats, from a turban, to a Middle-Eastern keffiyeh, to an Asian conical hat, a sombrero, top hat, bowler hat, beret, cowboy hat, sailor cap, and who knows what else hidden underneath other hat layers. On his hands he had also many kinds of foot wear (shoes).

Seeing the man, the hiker asked:

"What has happened to you? Do you work for a circus, or have you stolen one and in the process have become wounded like this?"

"Don't remind me of it...", the wounded man replied.

"You see", he continued, "in our place, people have been fighting about which clothes to wear. So, some preferred this style, some that one, and then they started fighting to impose their preference..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that..", the hiker interrupted the strangely dressed man.

"But what did you wear?", he then asked.

"Ah.. that.. so, I saw the danger, and started wearing multiple layers, clothes from many cultures..", the wounded man replied.

"But, that did not help!.. Instead of being accepted, I was rejected by all, for they did not like this or that item.. So, I had to escape and come here in this country.."

"But all these items are not easy to carry, and did not help at all! I think I should drop all of them and go naked to be accepted after all..."

"Naked?!", the hiker asked, bemused, "But that is not allowed in this country!"

"And, by the way, neither will you be treated as 'normal' here by wearing or carrying your multi-layer clothes like that...", he continued.

"Oh, is that so?..", the wounded man asked, unsatisfied.

"Then this country is not suitable for me, either.."

And so the multi-layer clothed man decided to change direction, that is, not go through the road anymore, but through a forest. Thus, he left the hiker, who looked at him with bewilderment until he disappeared through the trees.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A little girl had been playing around the house, when she accidentally broke a very valuable - both in terms of money as well as 'sentimental' - family item.

She then started crying, and her mother who heard her came and said to her:

"Don't mind about the item. What happened happened and we can not bring it back by crying."

The little girl, relieved, stopped crying and continued to play.

-

The very next day the little girl was playing again around the house, when she again accidentally broke another item. Only that this time, this item was not very expensive or valuable.

Also, this time the little girl did not cry as she had done the day before.

But her mother who heard that something had been broken, came to her and shouted:

"WHAT DID YOU DO, YOU CLUMSY LITTLE THING?!"

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF THINGS?!"

The little girl spoke no word.

"AH, YOU DON'T?!", her mother continued.

"I WILL MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND, THEN!!"

Then her mother took the little girl's favorite toy and broke it to pieces, and threw it in the trash! She also locked her daughter in her room and, though she now stared crying, she did not care at all, but let her alone and did not feed her for a whole day.

-

Eventually, the above came to the attention of the authorities, who then took her daughter and sent her to an institution.

But they took all her toys and did not let her play with any of them, because, first of all, they had been bought by her abusive mother, and second, they did not want her to be reminded of the abuse. They reached the conclusion that she would better not play at all with any toys - and, as if that was not enough, they allowed other children to play, and had her see them play.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

-

The Master paused for a while, and then added:

"Moreover, ISN'T IT CRUEL?"

And the Master was silent for a while.

\- - -

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"TWO apples a day, and the doctor goes home."

"THREE apples a day, and the doctor goes for vacation, having no work to do."

"FOUR apples a day, and the doctor thinks of investing in apple production."

"SEVEN apples a day, and the doctor invests in vitamin supplements (now needed due to the high apple consumption)."

"TEN apples a day, and the doctor becomes a millionaire (even a billionaire)."

...

"'N' apples a day..."

"The 'Apple-land' economy now is heavily based on apples, but people start developing complications due to the high apple consumption."

"Yet, there is not a doctor who can help them..."

"And the apple economy also starts to collapse..."

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A certain feudal lord had many trees, but he did not collect their fruit neither for himself, nor in order to sell it. This kept the prices of the fruit (artificially) high, and the fruit, not being collected, simply fell on the ground and were left to rot.

Now, a poor man seeing that the fruit was not being collected or used, decided to go gather it himself rather than stay hungry. Thus he did, and ate of it himself, and gave from it to his family. With the rest, he prepared jam, and again ate it himself and also gave it to his family. In addition, as he made a lot of jam, he gave much of it as a gift to his extended family, and also sold a little of it - but he asked only for the price of the work to make the jam and not the price for the fruit.

On being notified about this happening, the feudal lord became very angry. As was to be expected, he took the thief to court, and, just to be sure that he (the feudal lord, that is) would win the case, bribed the guards, the judge and other court officials with good fruit from his trees (not rotten, that is).

Obviously, he won the case, and the thief was punished and put in jail.

However, there was one peculiar punishment imposed on him.

Every week, for a whole day, the thief had to eat rotten fruit from the trees of the feudal lord, while, at the same time, being forced to see the guards eat good (non-rotten) fruit from the same trees.

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

\- - -

A leopard wanted to sleep, but was bothered by the singing of the birds.

Wanting to appear 'cultured' and 'not threatening' - wanting to 'communicate with the birds in their own language' - the leopard struggled to learn a few words of bird language, also known as 'birdish'.

With great difficulty, therefore, the leopard learned birdish, and then, proud of himself, went to the birds to tell them not to sing so loudly so that he could sleep in peace.

Rather afraid, the birds replied to the leopard that they would try to not be that loud.

However the leopard had not learned any other birdish words, and could not understand what the birds were saying to him. In fact, so many birds were speaking and singing that the leopard assumed that they were laughing with him or mocking him. So the leopard attacked the birds, killing a few - though, obviously, most of the birds escaped and flew away.

-

Now, some hyenas saw this and said to one another:

"What has happened to the leopard that he's scaring the birds?"

But the leopard heard them, and, because he also was not able to understand 'hyenish', thought that they, too, were laughing with him or mocking him. So the leopard attacked the hyenas, killing a few - though most of them managed to escape and run away.

Still angry, the leopard then went back home to sleep.

-

The rest of the hyenas - those that managed to escape - reported this happening to the other hyenas.

Wanting to revenge the killing of their members, next day, they ambushed the leopard after he had woken up and was going for hunting - and thus killed him.

And all of this because the leopard was bothered by the singing of the birds.

-

"Isn't it absurd?", the Master asked.

"Moreover, ISN'T IT CRUEL?", the Master added.

\- - -

One of the students rose up and asked the Master:

"Master, what is the purpose of what you said? Isn't it useless to us, isn't it absurd?"

Then, the Master replied:

"When you use a plate to eat, do you also eat the porcelain? When you use a glass to drink, do you also drink the air?"

On hearing this the student became illuminated.

Thoughts

001

There are depths that are reached from surfaces.

There are surfaces that are reached from depths.

002

What does one write when he has no more a "muse"? I don't know about you, but I start writing more philosophical things, like: "What does one write when he has no more a "muse"? I don't know about you, but I start writing more philosophical things, like: "What does one write when he has no more a "muse"? I don't know about you, but I...

003

Told about 'ideal' receiving non-giving, saw 'normal' giving receiving, facing non-receiving giving.. wondering about the sense of it all...

004

I did an experiment and learned a lesson, I learned a lesson and did an experiment...

005

When all you have is a battery, a battery is what you have - you don't usually call that a "circuit".

006

And then, nobody asked what was the lesson and what the experiment...

007

1000 moving towards direction 'A' fast. 1 moving towards direction 'B' slowly.

The physics question: "Did you understand the problem?".

The math question: "What if 3 out of 1000 changed direction?".

The literature question: "What is the current and future speed?"

008

If by definition the square root of -1 is the "imaginary" number "i", is the square root of i "beyond imagination"?

009

I guess it's stupid to blame the world for one's own faults, but it's stupid as well to praise it for its own ones.

010

In a totalitarian state the government brainwashes people. In a democracy is the government brainwashed by people?

011

Searching for a suitable bridge to carry your stuff safely and efficiently to the other side is NOT the same as burning the previous ones.

012

For good or bad - There is a power that can be seen: that of action. And then, there is a power that can't be seen: that of inaction.

013

I've heard that the search for unconventional similarities compared to that for conventional dissimilarities is rather fruitless, but ain't that just "conventional wisdom"?

014

The receiver may be reminded of the giver by a gift received. The giver may be reminded of the receiver by a gift not (yet) given.

015

Have you ever been to a war?

If so, what did you learn from it?

016

"Civilization" is the voluntary agreement of people to subdue their "corrupt, savage nature" - and their involuntary agreement to exactly the reverse (opposite).

017

What and how much (that is positive) is left after you remove the percentages of self (one-sided) interest and mutual (two-sided) self interest?

018

People care about their (free) choice, but I wonder if they care for who, what, how and why influenced them to make that choice.

019

If you know Sun Tzu, then you should probably learn about Laozi, and if you know Laozi then you might want to learn about Wan Zhu, and Tu Zhi, and...

020

If people freely choose to be slaves, are they free or are they slaves (at least regarding the - particular - choice they made)?

021

Is choosing the "lesser" evil still choosing evil?

022

Before you ask "How are you?" it might be wise to ask yourself "How are we?"

023

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". But they forgot to tell you that you'll need water and sugar (or honey) for that... So, you'd have to exchange some of the lemons for water/sugar/honey first. And then, even if you make lemonade, you can't live only on lemonade (or lemons) all your life...

024

I think that "How can I help you?" is much more powerful than "How are you?", for where one is a request for information, the other is a request for action.

025

I think there are probably several organizations to protect women, but I wonder, are there any organizations to protect men out there?

026

I like tradition because I see it as a way of preserving diversity.  
I don't like tradition because, by definition, it does not diversify.

027

When two people marry, are two individuals marrying, or two families?

028

Although it is good to forgive those who have hurt you, in the majority of cases you're still hurt and in need of healing.

029

Judgment without love is like punishment without judgment.

030

In the end, instead of being "servants to one another" are people more likely to be "slaves of one another"?

031

When you knock once and you don't get a reply, you knock a second time. If you still don't get a reply and still insist, aren't you disturbing?

032

Is an isolated society, taken as a group, considered to be "alone"?  
Is a solitary person considered to be "in the company of silence" (or the walls, nature, his thoughts, etc)?

033

Uncertainty principle: Precise measurement of interaction tiredness when one or both parties are either very tired or not interested at all.

034

It's sad, the rejection of beauty wrapped in (perceived) ugly packaging, the receiving of ugliness wrapped in (perceived) nice packaging.

035

I think you can learn a lot about people's originality just by asking them how they want(ed) their wedding day to be...

036

The silence can be broken simply by talking about it. Does remaining silent break the talking?

037

In work towards rest, in rest towards work

038

In rest towards motion, in motion towards rest

039

Are people more afraid of the (relatively) unknown positives, or unknown neutrals, than they are afraid of the (relatively) known negatives?

040

They say that if you wake up with an idea, that's what you should do in your life. What should I do, waking up with no particular ideas, but going to sleep with many ones?

041

When 'like' becomes a number, is there a tendency to only like the number?

042

What is more interesting, the interest on non-interest or the non-interest on interest?

043

In the real world you remember the birthday.

In the virtual world the birthday remembers you!

044

What happens when answers to non-questions become questions to non-answers?

045

If you have lost what for you is not a win, then have you lost, or won, or none of them, or both of them?

046

If I saw no difference (or thought so), that doesn't necessarily mean that the difference did not see me (or thought so)...

047

People do not exist only one day in the year.

048

Is "beggar" the only definition of "poor"?

049

Numbers don't tell the whole truth; Neither does the multitude of people do so...

050

1/2 * 1/2 * 4 = 1 and 1/100 * 1/100 * 1 = 1/10000

051

Depends on who you ask...

Depends on who is asking...

052

Is anyone lost if nobody is looking for him?

053

I collect non-answers..

054

Have you ever danced along with the sand in the wind? Have you seen the footprints it leaves over the dunes of the desert?

055

Although I talk to robots, I can't understand all of them, all the time.

056

Above the "rule of law" there is the rule of righteousness, and there is no true righteousness without the rule of mercy and of love.

057

Does repeated 'outside the box' thinking eventually turn into yet another 'box'?

058

Think outside of the box - xob eht edisni kcehc

059

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. NICE! Now, what if nobody buys your lemonade or lemons?

060

There are precious gifts wrapped in simple boxes. But, there are also most precious hearts wrapped in simple gifts.

061

Let the tears purify your eyes from dust, but don't let them blur your vision.

062

I think it would be somehow strange for patients ill with a potentially deadly disease to judge one-another by their symptoms. What it would be even stranger is for some (most) of them to boast about their symptoms and not about the doctor who can heal them. And yet, that is exactly what often happens in this world.

063

If you want to know more about me, READ what I WRITE.  
If you want to know more about what I believe, READ what I READ.

064

How can a person work to make life "easier" if he makes his own life difficult?

065

If you are a doctor, and you're drunk, does it invalidate your advice against drunkenness? If you are a doctor, and you are a drunkard, would another drunkard trust you to help him?

066

There are two kinds of slavery, that visible, being forced by somebody to work for him, and that invisible, being forced, for lack of alternatives, to work for somebody (out of your own - supposedly - free will).

067

What is more probable to generate comments on social media: a picture of your face or a picture of your soul?

068

There is a lot of noise - and the signal difficult to find - but some have tuned to the wrong station, some have their receiver pre-tuned by others, and some have broken their tuners altogether.

069

People are notoriously good (in the bad sense) of taking what is life and, in the name of pleasing God, turning it into lifeless rules - and taking what are good principles and, in the name of freedom, turn them into bad practices.

070

Do they that believe that "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath" also believe that "Work was made for man and not man for work"? - For some took the Sabbath and made it their religion, and in the same way some others took work and made it their religion.

071

Oftentimes the 'living' rob beauty in the name of 'living' for they either can't afford or can't appreciate it in the name of life.

072

Tying an eagle's wings to make it conform with chickens is not only stupid, it is utterly cruel.

073

If you were just a bit curious, you'd soon realize that I've already spoken. If you used your curiosity and did not speak, is it right to accuse me of being silent?

074

If the style of explanation is difficult, then explaining the style of explanation is probably also going to be difficult.

075

Attempting to hire the best and strongest man to cut a tree with an axe tends to disqualify those people who have the bright idea of suggesting a (possibly-not-yet-invented) chainsaw.

076

If your glasses are defective, it is not a wise idea to randomly stack other glasses in front of them in the hope of seeing better. If your eyes need glasses, wouldn't it be better not to need glasses at all?

077

The fact that (in the vast majority of cases) there are no perfect people does not mean that there are no people whose major goal is the perfect.

078

In a mad world, you would likely appear mad to actually NOT be mad.

079

Do they that work to 'eradicate poverty' also know how poor they are spiritually and how THAT poverty can be eradicated?

080

How can one accept the solution if the solution for him is a problem?

081

Despite what people say, I believe that the vast majority of them still do the optional as if it was necessary and the necessary as if it was optional.

082

The solution to the whole troubles of the world can be given in a single sentence, or, if you want to be laconic, in three, or two, or even a single word.

083

Repeating the same cycle of creating problems to solve the previous problems never produces a satisfactory solution.

084

I think that a good test of your open-mindedness is to accept that not only is "1+1=10" a true fact, but that it is also equivalent to "1+1=2".

085

It is not stupid to say it is stupid for people to create complex control schemes to avoid exterminating each other while they are still dead when they can choose the far simpler option of caring for each other in peace by being alive.

086

It is a rather sad story. A person is patiently waiting at the door of his HEART and you still go on knocking on the door of your OWN mental image of his being.

087

I think I also speak in parables. It is PRECISELY because of this that I don't like to call them 'parables'.

088

A thousand kilometers start with a first step...and a thousand millimeters end after a first step...

089

This is the problem: The solution was always there, but people were so busy that they would reply: "Leave me alone! Can't you see that I'm busy trying to find a solution?"

090

If your geometry only allows two dimensions, how will you understand a cube, a pyramid, a sphere, a cylinder, a cone?

091

What kind of justice that is if the judge who is sending people to prison him(her)self deserves prison, if the judge who is sentencing someone to death him(her)self deserves death?

092

Although quite often ugliness hides behind beauty, I don't think that by unmasking ugliness one should completely get rid of beauty itself.

093

Sometimes beauty appears really simple. Sometimes what appears simple is really deep.

094

Sometimes the words that speak the louder are the words that were not said.

Sometimes the more meaningful letters are the ones that have not been written.

Sometimes you can understand better what was given by what is missing.

Behind a smile, pain might be hidden - behind pain, a smile

Behind what you can see of a person, what the person knows

Behind what the person knows, only God can reveal

You can't know all the truth without knowing the lies mixed with it.

To heal, you must know the cause, not just the symptom.

The size of an iceberg is not only that out of the water.

Truth sometimes seems bitter, only because of us

Truth is really sweet, but we can't presently handle it all

Lies seem more comfortable, and that becomes our ruin

The more disgusting our hypocrisy is

when we don't recognize it as hypocrisy.

The more sad our situation becomes

when we fail to see the truth among the mass of lies

If we see only what we want to see

we might be missing what we ought to see

If we are always talking, doing, giving

we might be missing hearing, resting, receiving

Beyond the noise, in silence, this I heard somebody say.

095

One, two, three, four

Five degrees of separation -

Billions and billions of connections

Weak and strong -

Innumerable shades of opinion

Nuances of human action -

So seemingly easy to connect

So difficult to understand -

ONE TRUTH

096

Why is "ignorance" the state of not knowing and not the state of being ignored?

097

If you call someone a loser when they say "Because that's just how the world is", well, that's a truth in it that you may have just confirmed.

098

When faced with the choice of "Participate or Lose", there are many indeed the cases where you can actually WIN by losing the participation.

099

Some (most) people are so busy trying to live that they actually forget how to live.

100

I think that so much emphasis is given to the discussion or appearance of what is important that what is actually important is almost completely abandoned to the foolishness of what is not important.

101

People complain all the time about one group or the other.

Why do they not complain first of all about themselves?

102

However wise the decision system, if those that decide are foolish, the result can't help but be foolish, too.

103

I speak about what is missing, so that if and when people really want to understand, they won't miss what appears to be missing from what I speak.

104

If no one seemed to like the flowers I gathered, why would they like my criticism on the artificial flowers?

If no one seemed to like the flowers I planted in my garden, why would they like my criticism on the barren lands?

If no one seemed to like the beauty I collected, why would they like my criticism on the ugliness of the world?

105

In a world where it is respectful to be disrespectful would anyone respect you for being disrespectful to their disrespect?

106

You can not fill a full cup with what is valuable unless you first empty it of what is not valuable.

You can not fill an empty cup with what is valuable unless you have something valuable to fill it with.

107

Indeed there is a reason,

but I won't tell you the reason,

for then it would cease to be a reason,

and you,

influenced by that reason,

would cease to act as then

when you never knew the reason

108

If land animals were psychologists, they would call the sea creatures and the birds 'abnormal'. They would also say that the plants are not worthy to be called "living creatures", since they do not 'move'. It is also probable that they would criticize one-another based on their abilities.

Often men do exactly the same.

109

If you want to see the hypocrisy in art,

go visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Then I will call you a hypocrite

for spending a potentially large amount of money

to view the works of a dead painter,

that you could have spent to buy the works

of a living one.

110

If "beggar", then, is not the only definition of "poor", who will go and help the poor man if he is neither begging nor asking?

111

There are a lot of people who worship wealth as a sort of god.

Strangely enough, there are also people who worship poverty as a sort of god.

Then, there are a lot of people who worship whatever is there between those two 'extremes' as a sort of god.

112

Nobody in particular asked,

and nobody asked specifically;

Nonetheless, I wanted to answer with:

Do you really, but really, REALLY

want to UNDERSTAND?

Really?

113

I saw that everybody was speaking,

and writing, and posting audio, pictures and video,

and saying: "Look!" or "Hear!" or "Read!";

In the midst of a thousand opinions,

I just wanted to say:

Will everybody, please

SHUT UP!

for at least a month,

and take that time

(as a fast if you like)

to see, to hear, to read?

114

"It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness."

But it is worse to be completely blind in the broad daylight.

And I doubt that if you are that blind, those that want to sell you a candle, do it so that you can see.

115

In this world, there exists a form of dualism: of good and bad, of black and white.

Now, it is rather easy to see the 'bad' (for it is obvious), and, on the other hand, praise the 'good', but when you criticize the 'good' for being as bad, and sometimes even worse than the 'bad', people look at you as some sort of alien.

And, who's to say that in that sort of society you have not become an 'alien' to them?

116

A good word doesn't cost anything.

It is because of this that often it is not that good after all.

117

Is man's determination to please God by doing things to the best of his abilities, a way of doing things independently of God, and hence, acting contrary to God's will?

118

The world is too much connected to be disconnected so that it can be properly re-connected.

For if it is not disconnected, it hardly will understand it's need for re-connection or the meaning of 'connection', 'disconnection' and 'proper re-connection'.

Sadly, though, even when it has been disconnected, quite often it has reconnected in the same, and sometimes, even worse way than before.

119

If the society of lemon producers would only gather together to sell lemons to one another, then their life would be very sour indeed.

120

Come and visit my Café

Open 24x7 throughout the year.

Minimum order of $5 or equivalent

(which you can share with your friends)

and a knowledge of English

121

People ask questions and give answers to find common ground or reach a compromise, but I want to ask, when the Answer asks them questions, do they pay attention?

122

Should a soldier who has the talent to spot mines, but is not able to defuse them, stay silent and not report it to his superior?

Should a soldier who has the talent to spot mines, but is not able to defuse them, stay silent and not report a mine field to his superior?

Should a man seeing a fire in the forest, but being unable to extinguish it himself, stay silent and not report it to the firefighting service?

Should a woman, noticing a foreign army coming against the city, but being not a member of the city council herself, stay silent and not report it to the city council anyway?

Should a person, seeing a person fainting in the road, being not a medic himself, stay silent and not call an ambulance?

123

Throwing a chicken down a precipice to 'make it fly like an eagle' is also not only stupid, but utterly cruel.

124

Where is the Desert?

Where is the Water?

125

You can not PROMISE to give someone who is thirsty COLD WATER immediately, if what you have is only WARM water, or, even worse, you don't have any water at all!

Of course, you can say to him where he can find water, or both together go to the water source, but that is different from promising what you very clearly do NOT have, right HERE, right NOW!

126

To better understand the difference between price and value, consider that the greatest value in the universe was once sold for about a third of an average worker's wages, which in modern terms would be about $/€/£10000 (and I'm a bit exaggerating)

127

I know it is not good to throw pearls before swine.

So, I showed an image of a pearl to them, in the hope that, among these swine populations, I could, perhaps, find a human.

128

I think I've become so transparent that I've become invisible - so invisible in fact, that I can't even verify if I've become transparent.

129

"Strike while the iron is hot"

Then, how come people strike iron (in a sword fight for example, or to work the land, or to cook) while it is cold?

130

Albanians have a saying, which essentially means:

"Do not judge a person by what he wears, but by the work he does"

Now, what if the work of the man in question consists in making clothes and incidentally he wears the clothes he makes?

131

Don't mind!

Now, what if you 'heart'?

132

Soup does not become suddenly tasty just by stirring it.

133

People call a rainy day 'bad weather'.

Now, would they still call it 'good', I wonder, if it doesn't rain for a year? What, then, if it doesn't rain for five years?

Then, what if it rains CONTINUALLY for a year? Or, if it continues raining for five years?

134

I got so tired of hearing on every side "Do something!" that, ironically, I went to an empty stage and spoke to the silence of the empty seats: "Can you please all sit down - and do nothing - but listen?"

Now, if that was nothing, or, if something, how much something it was, I do not know.

But it must have meant something...I think.

135

Every school is about learning, and so they look for teachers and ask for their life story (that is, their CV).

Now, what about someone who has mastered the art of unlearning; where should he sent the life of his story (as contrasted with the story of his life)?

What is the unschool of unlearning, then, that would hire that person?

136

If a majority of cells do their 'work correctly', but many others do not, does not the body still suffer anyway, is not the body as a whole sick anyway?

137

On the surface, it may look like I paused for a bit in writing poems, but that isn't completely true. And how will that poem look like, you may ask. Well, it looks like a saying, that may start like: "On the surface, it may look like I paused for a bit in writing poems, but that isn't completely true. And how will that poem look like, you may ask. Well, it looks like a saying, that may start like: "On the surface, it may look like I paused for a bit in writing poems, but that isn't completely true...

138

In a way, choosing a good photograph, is still a form of photography.

In a way, choosing good art, is still a form of art.

139

Almost everyone who can see or hear, can recognize a poor man begging for bread.

Who has eyes to see and ears to hear a heart begging for love, though?

140

I know, I may be somewhat paraphrasing a bit:

A poem may (often) not fill your stomach with bread.

But often you do not have enough bread because poetry is missing.

141

I think that often it is not the same

being philosophical vs being a philosopher

being political vs being a politician

being psychological vs being a psychologist

being economical vs being an economist -

yes, sometimes, even

being poetical vs being a 'poet'

142

This saying, though untwisted in itself, still contains a twist, which consists of the following question:

"If you think that others twist the truth, while they think they don't, how can you be sure you are not twisting the truth yourself, though you think you don't?"

143

The ones who ONLY value a chicken egg for its immediate food value and not for its POTENTIAL future value, where they could potentially get a lot more eggs (and chickens, too), either don't know, in which case they would be utterly ignorant, or know and don't care, in which case they would either be utterly stupid or utterly mad.

The ones who value an egg for its potential value of becoming a chicken who would FLY and COMPETE in flying speed with an eagle or some other fast-flying bird, are probably in the same category. And letting a chicken fall freely through a precipice under the influence of gravity would not in any way save their situation at all.

144

When quotes on equality are only taken from famous people, there is a sort of inequality created, for no quote is taken from those who are not famous.

145

I am pretty sure that a lot of people are very much interested in poetry. After all, millions and millions listen to it (at least) every Sunday.

Even so, though, present poetry still does not seem to sell.

And that is like a huge mystery to me.

146

So, I was surprised.

Still, most people were not.

So, I was surprised even more.

Still, most people were not.

So, I was surprised even more.

Still, most people were not.

So, I was surprised even more.

Still...

147

If you add opinionated noise to already existing opinionated noise, there will still be opinionated noise.

Paradoxically, if you add more noise (like, you SHOUT), it may lead to silence.

That is, if they don't throw you out for 'disturbing their peace', and leave you alone with your opinion.

148

Behold, one of the great questions of life:

"When the silence 'falls', what sort of noise does it make?"

149

I think that there is a fundamental difference between how people in general think of poetry and poems, and the way I think about them.

For, I believe that people in general think of poetry as a branch of literature, and of poems as a product of poets.

Whereas, I, on the other hand, think of Poetry as a person, and of poems as a part of me.

150

I know that 'a lamp should not be placed under a bowl'.

However, what is the lamp trader going to do if people are either satisfied with the 'light of the moon' (when there is enough light that is), or prefer to 'wait for the sunrise', instead?

About the author

Vangjel Canga (Vanca) was born in Tirana, Albania in 1979 where he also completed high school in 1998.

Since 1998 he has studied and worked in Athens, Greece (except for a one-year break for studying in England, UK).

He has written his first poems around 1996, but has worked more seriously in this direction during the 2004-2005 period and since 2008. The poems in this book are selected from 2004 and 2008 and after.

Besides poetry, he is also interested in the visual arts like painting and photography, and also music.

He has written six poetry books, "The Visual Non Visuals" (mainly life/philosophical poems and some romantic poems), "Passenger Illusions" (mainly romantic poems), "Modern Poetry", "The Bouquet of Poems", "Colors of Feelings" and "Messages" (similar to "The Visual Non Visuals").

In addition, he has published a collection of short stories ("The Word and the Interpretation"), including the "Thoughts" chapter as presented in this book (with the addition of a few extras not present here).

You can contact the author and read more about this and other projects in the addresses presented in page nr. 2 (directly after the title page).

Thank you!

About this book

Selected poems from the author's books: "The Visual Non Visuals", "Passenger Illusions", "Modern Poetry", "The Bouquet of Poems", "Colors of Feelings" and "Messages" (available as print and ebook versions) as well as some other poems. Also a short story from "The Word and the Interpretation".

This book is meant to 'grow' with new poems (and not only) in the future.

Update History

July 20, 2020

Poems from "Messages":

"Smelling like the sea"

"The rose of the essence"

"The name of the sea"

July 07, 2019

Six new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

January 12, 2019

Various corrections

October 28, 2018

"Thoughts", 148-150

Sixteen new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

February 10, 2018

Four new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

January 04, 2018

Poems from "Colors of Feelings":

"The museum of sweet holiday-work"

"The girl who lives by the river"

"Dah DiDaDah Dit Dit Dah"

"Thoughts", 146-147

Seven new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

August 31, 2017

"Thoughts", 141-145

Nine new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

May 07, 2017

Eight new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

March 11, 2017

"Thoughts", 136-140

Eight new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

January 14, 2017

"Thoughts", 132-135

Five new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

December 24, 2016

Poems from "The Bouquet of Poems":

"The Return"

"The Bouquet of Poems"

"The Floral Motif"

October 09, 2016

Four new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

September 03, 2016

Three new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

August 18, 2016

"Thoughts", 129-131

Two new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

July 17, 2016

"Thoughts", 115-128

July 12, 2016

Eight new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

March 14, 2016

Six new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories and a longer story substituting a shorter one.

January 10, 2016

One new "Isn't it absurd" mini story

"Thoughts", 108-114

October 18, 2015

Two new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

September 27, 2015

Three new "Isn't it absurd" mini stories

Removed duplicate from 'Thoughts'.

September 12, 2015

"Thoughts", 090-108

Added "Stories" chapter, "Isn't it absurd"

March 14, 2015

"Thoughts", 062-089

"Short Poems", 007

April 21, 2014

"Thoughts", 057-061

February 18, 2014

Added "Short Poems" chapter, 001-006

"Thoughts", 035-056

September 03, 2013

"Flower demining"

"Commander and winner"

"The Market of Earthenware"

"Thoughts", 019-034

May 27, 2013

"Unemployed Week"

"Modern Poetry"

Added "Thoughts" chapter, 001-018

April 01, 2013:

"The slavery of men"

February 18, 2013:

First Edition

"Names in time"

"Engraved in the silence"

"Coins of time"

"Shoe romanticism"

"The visual non-visuals"

"Colorful musical eyes"

"As the sunflower"

"I gave my hand"
