Paradise Blogged

by David Douglas Ford

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THE J.M. DANTE REPORT FROM PARADISE - DAY TWENTY-SIX

"I'm not the devil, by the way."

That's how Mr. Driscoll introduced himself a while ago when we met on Paradise Boulevard for the second time.  I've had stranger beginnings to a conversation, I suppose, but not sure I've experienced any like this one which made me laugh and step back at the same time!

I instinctively knew there was no way to honestly try to hide my surprise, so I simply went with the lighthearted approach, which has always worked best for me in uncomfortable circumstances. "And I'm not Saint Peter, just so you know."  I thought that was a pretty clever comeback, but he seemed slightly offended that I would attempt to match him in kind. Or perhaps he thought I was overcompensating for actually thinking of him so disparagingly.  Not sure, but we spent a very uneasy few moments regaining the positive momentum of our previous encounter.

Once our footing was reestablished, Mr. D got right to it.  He had obviously given a great deal of time and not just a little thought to what he had to say because he proceeded as though he was delivering a lecture to one of his philosophy classes.  I am probably the only man in existence who would consider that last thought to be a supreme compliment!  LOL.

I cannot duplicate his rather eloquent arguments, but the gist of his presentation (for lack of a better word) was that all existence occurs within the confines of consciousness. This is hardly new philosophical territory, of course, that whole nothing exists until it is perceived to exist approach. Nonetheless, his final conclusion was quite unexpected, although it certainly rings true upon closer consideration. Paradise by definition is, according to Mr. Driscoll, a personal concept. "There is simply no way that any one location or experience could ever be considered as a universal paradise," he concluded, "because even one exception disproves the rule."  Whatever I am or have become, I do stand rather firmly in the place of his one exception. The only possible conclusion is that for me there is no Paradise or that it somehow must be found elsewhere. 

Naturally, this argument will appeal to me and Demetrius and anyone else around these heavenly parts who find our current surroundings to be confining. It isn't so much a question of whether we deservean eternal reward as it is that we certainly do not deserve to be punished in a place where others are finding a blissful existence only because they are not open to a full range of thinking.

I have begun to suspect that there are quite a lot more than just the two of us who find the conversation, tone and even the individuals here in Paradise to be mostly uninteresting.  Intellectually stifling really. For us, the very concept of paradise needs to include individuals of a higher quality and a broader vision. 

It turns that out heaven is other people.  Jean Paul Sartre, call your office!

Later.

 

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