[Prefatory statement: This writing is intended to beneficially share our personal experience, in an analogous context to a fellow tourist offering directional advice to another. No pedantic assertion of authority is intended, but rather, an empirically salubrious observation, doubtlessly shared by fulfilled inhabitants of the Planet.]
[Observation] A “porcupine” is a large rodent with sharp spines, or “quills,” that protect the animal against predators. The painful effect of close commerce with the animal is inarguably pragmatic. Its contextual use in this writing is the adequate conveyance of the discomfort, predictably, but foolishly, anticipated by those who might benefit from our thematically recommended alteration of lifestyle. To be fair to our protagonist hero, we have read that, empirically,, porcupines are tame, intelligent (nocturnal) pets who avidly enjoy chin scratches
The derivative context of our (slightly short of) 1,500 blogposts over the past five years may fairly be encapsulated in the slightly short of universal, widespread inclination of humankind to engage in immediate, shallow, and ephemeral indulgences in a porcupine-like exclusion of life-enhancing benefits of personal advancement and the resultant acquisition of a mature perspective. By reading fine literature, participating in the arts, scholarly conversation, travel, visiting museum antiquities, and pursuing elective interests, one finds the appropriate ingredients constituting a meaningful and fulfilling human life.
Mankind has, over the centuries of its recorded existence, paid heavy wages for such reluctance in favor of the thoughtless preference for singular gratification, personal and financial. The insalubrious inclination for singular, ephemeral pleasures, including recognition of ostensible success have proven to universally yield bumper harvests of conflict, war, prejudice, and moral disappointment.
It is frustrating to realize that Natural Evolution’s generous gift of the unique facility of “thought” to mankind has unwisely been squandered and avoided, as one would eschew the society of the perceived, potentially painful, critter called the porcupine, our innocent, analogical protagonist.
To the opposite, the universal, salubrious engagement in activities that expand Man’s horizons, perspective, and enduring aesthetic pleasure, softens the adverse blows which predictably occur in life and render their context, contemplatively acceptable.
The sincerest of apologies to all possibly maligned porcupines, for their analogical use as painful companions; may their woodland nights be gentle and the nuts and fruits plentiful.
-p,
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