The Tao of Questy
The Tao of Questy is about love and laughter and being human. It's about sharing ideas and being a little bit crazy in order to stay sane.
To quote a famous fellow philosopher, Voltaire, "I laugh to keep myself from going mad."
The core websites of Guru 42 are to be a place to reflect on the world around us, and without taking the stand of any one philosophy, to step back and try to understand a little behind the logic, or in many cases the lack of logic of the events of the day. As part of the Guru 42 universe, the Tao of Questy is the slightly off center corner of the Universe.
Although this site is called the Tao of Questy, it's not necessarily about Taoism, or any specific philosophy for that matter If you'd like to laugh a little, learn a little, and are open minded enough to stretch your mind a little, then join me for the journey I call the Tao of Questy.
Who is Questy?
The concept of Questy has been used by me, Tom Peracchio, as an alter ego, to represent myself. I started using it in the early 1990's, pre-internet. As I began developing web sites, and an online identity, the colors green and purple, along with the Questy character, have created my own brand identity.
Technology has been my profession for many years. Music and philosophy have been my passions for my entire life. It only seems natural that the two come together at my cyberspace home.
I started reading the works of the great philosophers when I was old enough to read. I took my first philosophy class back in high school. As time goes on, I hope to organize my notes on philosophy to share with those who care to learn, and for those who dare to dream.
Questy's mission is to stretch your brain to see things in a different perspective. Even if you totally disagree with Questy, if you think about a problem or idea in a way you never have before, he has succeeded.
As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "Man's mind, stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension." For the true vision of Questy is not one which is seen through your eyes, but is one that is perceived through your mind. The greatest messages are ones in which the mind focuses what your eyes cannot.
The Tao of Questy is a collection of the personal thoughts and visions of the philosophic Questy. Some may be simple dreams, while other are burning melodies of words and music pouring through my soul.
Echoes
Echoes are a sympathetic response. They are an imitation of some one else's thoughts or feelings. When I repeat someone else's words, they are not echoes, but reincarnations.
Reincarnations are channeling souls through bodies, and when I use the quote of a philosopher, I do not simply state it, I relive it. I do not sympathize with many, but I do try to empathize with those I call friend. I try to feel their thoughts, not just merely acknowledge them.
When I first read the Oliver Wendell Holmes quote, " Man's mind once stretched, never goes back to it's original dimension," I embraced it with my soul. It is one phrase that best describes my mission in life.
Another concept the "will to believe" from the philosophy of William James, has also inspired my writing. My goal is not meant to echo that philosophy, but to relive it's meaning through my heart and soul.
I often describe myself as a cross between Bob Seger and Confucius. I see Confucius as a Billy Joel, "piano man", kind of rock and roll philosopher.
I also identify with the rock and roll "power ballads" of Bob Seger and Jim Steinman. I trust most rock listeners are familiar with Bob Seger, and for those of you who don't recognize the name Jim Steinman, if you've listened to any rock ballads, you've heard Steinman. He's most famous for the Meatloaf albums Bat Out of Hell 1 & 2. He's also written a few hits for Bonnie Tyler, and Celine Dion.
The music of our soul, highlighted by a power piano ballad. That's who I am.
The Ocean Breezes
The ocean breezes were calling me,
and that's what matters most,
my soul called out to be baptized,
as I headed for the coast.
I took the back roads whenever I could,
There's a lot more red lights than there needs to be,
But I don't seem to care.
I walked up and down the beach for miles,
Let the ocean touch my soul,
My concept of time is all but gone,
and I don't seem to care.
I walked and walked for what felt like days,
Watched the breezes blow, small waves roll...
It matters not to where I'm going,
Just heading anywhere.
Sunset at the cape
...and then I came to realize,
that nothing ever changes much,
at least not over night.
Your heart and soul
will steer your course,
they will tell you what to do.
Your heart and soul
will guide you right,
they'll tell when and where...
Time and Space Touch
Through the magic of cyberspace we can meet people
and have them touch our hearts and souls.
... But we miss the human touch.
To touch someone's heart,
is to make them laugh, to make them smile.
To touch someone's soul,
is to make them see things in ways they never have before.
The human touch is seen through our eyes,
The smile that we see, or don't see,
... in response to our words
The human touch is heard by our ears,
The tone of the words, the sounds of the laughter
... even the sounds of silence.
Where laughter turns to love,
and thoughts turn to feelings,
... Is the the crossroads.
The essence of being human,
The substance of being real.
... It comes down to the human touch.
... copyright 1995 Tom P. aka Questy
The Meaning of Life
Shit happens.
No more, no less,
Shit just is.
So roll with it.
The Tao of Questy ...
When you are relaxed are you experiencing the calm before the storm, or the eye of the storm?
To appreciate life is to appreciate the journey, to be at peace with life is to accept each destination as a rest stop before a journey.
True wisdom is not in knowing the answers, but in knowing which questions are important, and in knowing which questions are best left unanswered.
The last line of a dialogue from the book "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein ends with this sentence: "The only religious opinion I feel sure of is this: self-awareness in not just a bunch of amino acids bumping together."
I can not always put what I am trying to say into words., but I still feel sure of my journey even though I do not have a clear destination in mind.
To those who want the world to be equal, think there should be no losers, no winners. That's not life. It has nothing to do with fairness, it just is, it is what it is, it is life.
Meatballs and alphabets, ashtrays and cigarettes
Meatballs and alphabets, ashtrays and cigarettes,
what do they all have in common?
Signposts of the future, or reflections of the past.
Meatballs and alphabets, ashtrays and cigarettes,
what do they all have in common?
Not symbols of a rest stop, but visions of a quest.
Meatballs and alphabets, ashtrays and cigarettes,
what do they all have in common?
Old time rock and roll philosophy, the sharing of our souls,
Strangers at a bus stop, or friends at a rest stop.
Strangers who cannot see, or friends who truly feel.
Searching for meaning down roads less traveled.
The road that appears a dead end is merely uncharted until paved.
The road less traveled is far less lonely than they believe.
For beyond what they can see, it what you perceive.
Unafraid of the darkness, a thought, a dream, a vision,
shared by two strangers turns the darkness into light.
Where darkness embraces those who dare to travel,
specters of a distance through the caverns of our minds
Meatballs and alphabets, ashtrays and cigarettes,
what do they all have in common?
The fire that cleanses, brings ashes that refreshes.
Meatballs and alphabets, Ashtrays and cigarettes,
what do they all have in common?
They forever anchor in our mind, a way of traveling through time.
A song written on the back of a cocktail napking in a bar near Harrisburgh, PA, 1994
Reflections on the meaning of life while looking at a bowl of wedding soup and an ashtray sitting at a bar
Copyright 1994 T.R. Peracchio all rights reserved