Friday, August 17, 2007

The Logic of the Flower

The logic of the flower is the logic of the fruition and perpetuation of life. It is the logic of CONSUMMATION - of being the complete unfoldment and mature product of life. And it is the logic of CONTINUITY - of being the path leading into the future. In combining the logic of consummation and continuity, the flowerbecomes the fulfilment of life - and the method by which life is to go forth.

The logic of the flower is not linear; indeed it is marvelously non-linear. The logic of the flower is akin to a quantum swirl, in which the two purposes of the flower - to CONSUMMATE the species and to CONTINUE it - intermingle and interpenetrate and interweave. It is an exquisite combination of two sets of logic, creating a dynamic tug-and-play leading toward excellence and self-refinement. It is a dynamic duality between two sets of logic, each of which partakes of and adds to the other and is itself by the other enriched.

The logic of consummation is this: The flower is the fulfilment of the species. The flower as consummation completes the species; is the fulfilment of its potentiality; is further its accomplishment. The flower is therefore by her nature delicate; soft; tender; and determined in pursuit of beauty and excellence - the beauty and excellence that stand as the accomplishment of existence and its fruition made manifest.

The excellence-pursuing, beauty-pursuing nature of the flower of course makes her sensitive to criticism of all kinds. If one is the consummation of the species then one must be not only her absolute best but likewise the best of what came before her; and the state of being the flower therefore demands tremendous effort of mind and heart; an interweaving, an integrative synthesis, an integration of all influences and the triumphing over them of life.

The flower is therefore in need of being noticed, understood and appreciated. That, being seen falsely as vanity or insecurity, is in fact functional to the flower's nature: As Consummation and Fruition of the Species and of what has come before. The gigantic work that is done by the flower to exist at a level of functioning that makes possible for there to be a thing such as a rose, justly requires appreciation; and while this legitimate need may easily be usurped to lead to bad places, it can be likewise fulfilled in a principled and determined manner by those who see the beauty of flowers and are dedicated to making this world a world in which flowers can bloom.

Another vulnerability in the structure is that it does not ipso facto discriminate legitimate from illegitimate influences and is not only frequently subject to influences that are malicious, deceptive or wrongful, but likewise allows negativity from beings that do not possess any similar standard of self-demand or are intolerant of beauty and excellence. Thus, the flower is frequently torn apart when confronted with judgmental interposition of logic other than one by which she herself runs, which is held to be true logic but which is itself nowhere near to describing life and the universe, and certainly nowhere near to describing the logic by which the flower exists. What is thought illogical, is in fact something that runs by a logic different from the perversion of logic that's used to assay it; and in human society the flower gets attacked for deviating from such logic when in fact her own logic is far more intricate, far more valuable and far more life-suffused than the concept of logic that wants to see all things in straight lines and miss out entirely on the curvatures and complexities that exist in the universe and through which the universe is made the miraculous place that it is. The universe is not made of brick; and unless one's logic can create a flower then it is not competent to be judging the logic by which she herself runs.

The logic of CONTINUITY is the logic of affinity with life and her link to the posterity. The flower is fiercely determined in the well-being of the yet-to-be; indeed she is effectively self-sacrificing toward that end. She is concerned for the good of the children; likewise for good of the species and of life itself. That, is functional to the second purpose of the flower - to perpetuate life - and to the logic of CONTINUITY that is its essence. The self-perfecting character of the CONSUMMATION logic - and the self-sacrificing one of the CONTINUITY logic - are frequently seen as being contradictory to each other. The worst misrepresentation is the hypocrisy accusation; a claim that somehow wanting to be loved and appreciated for the unique self, and wanting the good of the world are somehow incompatible. In effect, life exists in itself and through its creatures; and the good of the life includes the good of the creatures as well as the good of the whole. The life exists further through self and through others; and to insist on good for self while also allowing and working for good of others is not only the healthy stance but in fact one that is intellectually honest.

The logic contained in the flower is the logic that has applications for the world ravaged by misuses of linear logic. Thus, to allow the various forms of individual good, while also contributing to the whole, is the consummate stance; the stance that allows for the fruition of both the entirety and the facets. And that makes the best of individualism and the best of altruism all at once - avoiding the individualism's wrong of cruelty and altruism's wrong of oppression, while allowing instead for individualism's virtue of freedom and altruism's virtue of compassion and good of all.