Reflective Journeys

George Kassabgi

Description

Reflective Journeys is an ongoing exploration of philosophical concepts and reflections on life. Continue a journey of thought and introspection unlike any before.
A sequel and progression of the author’s previous collections: ‘Methuselah’ (2006), ‘Architeuthis’ (2009), and ‘Actias Luna’ (2013). Reflective Journeys is an ongoing exploration of philosophical concepts and reflections on life. Continue a journey of thought and introspection unlike any before.
George Kassabgi is a contemporary writer/philosopher inspired by the writings of Zweig, Gibran, and Rilke, the poetry of Rumi, Mary Oliver and Liselle Mueller. Born in Northern Italy, George now lives in South Florida with his wife Valerie.

Sujets

• Philosophy
• Meaning
• Existentialism
• Poetry

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781663249456
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Reflective Journeys

Tuugaalik





George Kassabgi










REFLECTIVE JOURNEYS
TUUGAALIK

Copyright © 2023 George Kassabgi.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.






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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6632-4944-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4945-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022923879




iUniverse rev. date: 01/28/2023



Contents
Book Description
Dedication
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Dreams
Begin
Gaze
Poem
Embrace (2009)
Destinations
Ant
Adjust
Magic
Smoke
Kill
Moneytime
Glare
Grape
Distant
Projection
Burl
Dreamscape
Essay: Piazza
Chapter 2 - Real
Philosophy
Source
Spaces
Mountain
Choices
Dog
Curious
Waiting (2013)
Waiting
Wish
Actias Luna
Caterpillar
Career
Why
Orchard
Forever
Dance
Code
Jupiter
End
Fatima
Unicorn
Essay: Inhuman
Chapter 3 - Unknowable
Certainty
Woods
Pieces
Analog
Dog
Harmony
Teaching
Zero
All
Path
Primitive
Profitable
Leverage
Persistence
Vagueness
Break
Curves
Refuse
Office
Always
Gods
Silence
Time
Talk
Scottish
Instant
Essay: Unknowable

AfterImage
Endnotes



Book Description
A sequel and progression of the author’s previous collections: ‘Methuselah’ (2006), ‘Architeuthis’ (2009), and ‘Actias Luna’ (2013). Reflective Journeys ‘Tuugaalik’ is an ongoing, deeper exploration of philosophical concepts and reflections on life and our universe. Continue a journey of thought and introspection unlike any before.
This collection of writings is organized in three sections: Dreams , Real , and Unknowable . Rekindle your inquisitiveness to emerge with new questions and new understanding. Explore the realm of the unknowable and reimagine the power of dreams!
What is harmonious cannot be pieced together
in the present like knitting
it must flow and resonate into our now
What resonates beautifully into our now
cannot be willed or forced, any more
than a cresting wave can be assembled from foam
- Harmony
Long before there were horses running around there were creatures in the sea. Long before men imagined the mythical unicorn and its magical powers, narwhals swam with their unicorn tusks beneath the ice. The local people call these real unicorns ‘Tuugaalik’ from tuugaaq (“tusk”) + -lik (“owner of”). The narwhal reminds us that in the world exist things that surpass our fantastical imagination, it forces us to consider that fact is often more magnificent than fiction.
GK
West Palm Beach, 2023
“In reality every reader is, while he is reading, the reader of his own self. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument which he offers to the reader to enable him to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have perceived in himself.” - Marcel Proust



Dedication
For Valerie, what is flowing into these pages is a manifestation of our unbelievable cosmic harmony. Thoughts emerging from the energy of the us.
Only now do I realize that my earlier poems too were a reflection of a journey that we embarked on together, in ways impossible for me to have comprehended.
And somehow, the first time I heard your voice, the first time you told me your name, it began to unfold into view.
One love, across all time.




Introduction
From and through the 3 prior ‘Reflective Journeys’ collections:
Methuselah : An exploration of our journey through time. A bristlecone pine in the California White Mountains: ‘Methuselah’, is one of the world’s oldest living th ings. It lives in a desert climate at over 10,000 ft elevation. Over 46 centuries old, it was a seedling before the Egyptian pyramids were erected. Its living presence through the millennia is a unique reminder that the intersection between life and time is something not easily contemplated.
Architeuthis : questions about things known to exist but unseen – and the giant squid, a creature the size of a school bus that up until recent years had never been seen alive. Architeuthis reminds us that nature, and its life forms, remain full of important questions, full of mystery. Life directly in front of us, in the depths of our consciousness, calls out for exploration. This is the precious gift of this oceanic creature, in the context of mankind and its quests: a reminder of the wonders that surround us and the fundamental questions that prevail.
Actias Luna : the incredible metamorphosis and transformation: the caterpillar and moth. An inevitable destiny understood in a dimension apart from cognition. The North American luna moth, its journey from leaf to moonlight is a silent miracle, repeating itself over millennia. A life as brief as her unfolding transformation is astonishing. Our own unveiling journey holds similar magic, once we tune into it.
And this fourth collection, ‘Tuugaalik’ , the unicorn whale. A continuation of the three prior themes. The metamorphosis takes shape and the caterpillar awakens to recount a journey. Questions about ‘knowability’ run deep… with fantastic real stories that are far more incredible than any mythical ones.
What unfolds as we live out a dream is more transformational, more awe inspiring than we could have ever imagined.



1
Dreams
As though what we dreamt all along
was merely a theme



Begin
A neighbor walking by on a sidewalk decades ago
seeing me with a baby carriage, proclaimed
‘now your life will begin’ , her smile confident
determined to be so
B ut that is not, as it turns out, when my life began
It began decad es later, as I wept leaving a nursing home
having spent a morning visiting an old friend
handicapped and for years confined to her room
her sharp and curious mind only stiffening the suffering
A week later I was alone on a Caribbean island
walking a storm cleansed beach, empty, for miles
the sounds of aloneness eveloping me, for days
wave sounds caressing me through the night
How is it possible, I later considered
that this would be the beginning of my being
I had to start over, this became clear
having surrendered myself to such unhappiness
What we cannot know, what is unknowable
an unseen hinge opening a doorway
is often the only way forward
but only if we remain open minded
Pain loosens the mind while comfort so often
keeps things closed, rigid, gripped tight
the flying moth emerges from the caterpillar
in a moonlit night
The metamorphosis is real, if we are able to believe it
a complete transformation is before us, if we are open to its unfolding
Actias Luna knows it, and so should we.



Gaze
On the glass coffee table of the ocean-front penthouse was a picture book
I had just returned from a long walk on the beach, ‘Grace Bay’
nobody was around as a tropical storm had passed days prior
my thoughts were knotted, busy, I desperately needed time to not think
After pages of local advertising in the book, pictures of shells and jewels
as the soothing sound of the ocean faded into the background and I exhaled
a picture in the book encased my attention and my mind became silent
for several minutes time stood absolutely still
Who was this young woman sitting on the beach?
gazing serenely at the Caribbean Sea, her thoughts seemed at ease, relaxed
she looked far into the horizon but it felt like somehow I knew what was there
the picture slowly spoke to me, in the voice of the soul
It was conveying to me something inevitable
something I would not be able to cognize until later
I was to embrace it with heart and mind, that gaze
would eventually merge with my own and then, it would all make sense




Poem
What is a poem?
A poem is a compact and supercharged collection of words
with specific rhythms to harmonize within a reader’s mind
creating, what the poet hopes, will be imagery that enlivens perceptions
that rekindles emotions ot herwise submerged
It is choreographed writing, shaped in such a way
as to create, subconsciously, a lens for the reader
to sense things through her own voice, within her own mind, a mirror
to peer within and feel something both subtle and profound
There exist elements of consciousness
that a poem has the potential to reach, delicately
a sort of poetic tickle, a caress of the mind
a reflection of oneself in the waters of the soul
“Poetry is a life-cherishing forc