Wow.  Dictionary day again and my finger fell on the word “pontificate”.  Its meaning included “pretend to infallibility, be pompously dogmatic.”  The Cambridge dictionary said, “to speak or write and give your opinion about something as if you knew everything about it and as if only your opinion was correct:”
That to me is just scary.  I find it stressful when someone acts like they are always right and will not take on board the opinion of another.  Not that I have any difficulty with a person making hard and sometimes unpopular decisions.  I tend to admire that.
But I do draw the line at the delusional.  Sort of how I see pontificate as it means above.  Both to pretend to infallibility and being pompously dogmatic are to me signs of a closed system.  Something that won’t hear of any opinion but their own and builds defences to counteract all – including reason.  Reminds me of the Simon and Garfunkel song “Bridge over troubled Waters”, “All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”
The word itself is derived from a system that denied the common man access to what was stated and claimed infallibility.  It therefore justified all sorts of money-making actions that were never said in the first place.
I personally have a thing about promoting false hope for personal gain.  It is not something confined only to the dark ages.  Even today empires are being built that make one rich and leave the giver perhaps feeling a little better about themselves but no different (except perhaps poorer).
It is why I am really careful about what I adhere to and align myself with.  To me it matters what empire I contribute to.  I ask myself, “which is worse, to fall or to cause someone to fall?”  In my mind both are accountable, but I sure do not want to be one who causes another to go off track.  Peddling false hope is to me a crime against humanity.
I adhere to a certain worldview – not blindly but with my eyes wide open.  Either the founder was a lunatic, a liar or who he said he was.  As much as I can I have reached a conclusion based on all the facts I know.  I also rest assured that if my conclusion could have been proved wrong it would have long ago, as greater minds than I have given it a go.
So to me to pontificate is fraught.  Often it is easy to see through a fraud but not always.  But to me there are always means to establish what is true and what is a lie.

Yesterday was a designated workday.  It really amazes me how powerful declaring what I am going to do is.  It really seems to take care of excuses.  I am so much more likely to do something if I have said that was going to happen at a particular time.
We had been saying for months we were going to put down new flooring in the bbq area.  We knew it would mean taking everything out and cleaning the surface and then putting down the flooring.
Anyway we had said the day before that yesterday was the day it was going to happen.  I had taken off a few of the heavier things already – like pots.  We had flooring that used to be in our sitting area.  It was all folded up awaiting placement.
I admit the size of what we had had shrunk big time in my mind.  Initially I thought it would do the whole area.  Then I remembered it was smaller than I thought as it had only appeared to fit where it was due to a clever plan of mine using off cuts and a carpet to make it look like it was enough.  So it had become “which end do we want it?”  We decided it would be best to put down in our “bbq/cooking” area rather than our “lounge” area.  So once everything was removed we laid and cut excess flooring.
One could say “the tables have turned” if so inclined but I will try to resist that.  I did turn the table around and we are both happy with the look.
Of course doing one thing often means doing another to make it happen.  I also did weeding, raking, putting things elsewhere.  Merril painted.  We actually scored a good Eski that was on an easement being given away.  It is a hard thing to describe but it is on legs to wheel around, rectangular and has a hole to unblock so water can escape.  It was perfectly ok and only needed a tidy up.  The clean and paint did that.  We had scored a table the same way.  It was exactly what we were looking for with a hole for an umbrella.  We brough it home, Merril gave it a paint, and it is good to go (we already had purchased an umbrella.)
Anyway that was yesterday.  Today is a designated rest day!

There is an Italian proverb I love that says, “Once the game is over the King and the pawn go back into the same box.”  It speaks to me of the equality of mankind.
I will always respect the position.  If someone is king, I will give the honour that is due.  That does not mean I automatically respect the person occupying the position, but the position of king is in my opinion to be honoured.
As far as I am concerned the man makes the position not the position the man.  History is full of wise and not so wise rulers.  It seems to me though both have something in common.
Practice.  A good ruler does not become one because they are exalted into a ruling position.  In the same way a bad ruler does not suddenly undergo a character change and become that way.  The biggest difference to me for someone exalted into a ruling position is opportunity.
History shows us the influence of good and bad rulers.  For rulers, decisions impact millions rather than an immediate circle of friends.  But again the common denominator is practice.  People become what they practice.  A ruler concerned mostly for themselves and not others has practiced being that way.  At first it may impact conscience, but the more conscience is overruled the easier it is to ignore.  Rulers both good and bad gather to their side those of like mind.
Yet as the proverb says kings and pawns go back into the same box when the game is over.  I want rulers to be people of integrity but I want all to be that.  From the street sweeper to the king, practiced character impacts all it touches.   For sure a king influences more but all influence.   And it may be the pawn that wins the game.  By the same token it can be the pawn that loses the game.
The point is, what I am is what I will be.  It is like say a bottle of lemonade.  Lemonade comes out of such a bottle.  Not ginger ale. What I am will come out.  The more I practice integrity and justice the more it flows out of me.  Be I street sweeper or king I will never be but who I am.