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From: "Catweasle" <Jud@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 21:58:53 +0100
John Brown exists. He is standing alone by a bus stop on a remote hillside
road.
The rain, driven by the wind is lashing sideways onto his face. "Oh hell,"
he says to himself looking up at the dark clouds, "It's raining again and I
always forget to bring a raincoat and I always get wet when it rains." He is
being buffeted by the wind. He is feeling lonely and depressed. He is due
to arrive for his thirty-seventh birthday party in the hotel at Thirsk at
nine-thirty. The bus is late.
All of the above words after the word 'exists,' describe the manner of John
Brown's existence at that moment in time by the bus stop on that night. They
describe the way in which his body and mind were being acted upon by the
prevailing circumstances. The words describe certain aspects of his
existence and how he experienced presence by the bus stop. There are many
other aspects of his existence which are not mentioned. His blood was
flowing around his veins and arterial system re-oxygenating his tissues and
feeding his vital organs, his lymphatic system was carrying away the debris
resulting from muscular activity for later excretion. Food was being
digested in his stomach.
The Being-words tell us about the nature of his existence whilst present at
the bus stop.
1. He is standing alone.
2. He is being buffeted.
3. He is feeling lonely.
4. He is due to arrive.
5. His blood is flowing.
6. His lymphatic system is carrying.
7. Food is being digested.
*Being* is not something that he experienced at that bus stop; he
experienced various phenomena of his existence that the verbal, (active or
passive) doing-word device *Being* in the above text partially and ALWAYS
inadequately describes for the continuance of his time by the bus stop.
His state of being PRESENT at the bus stop, refers to John Brown's current
spatial and temporal existence AT THAT TIME.
Later he was present at his birthday party.
Of course the bus stop pole with the sign on top was also being buffeted by
the wind and being washed by the rain. The moisture from the rain was
precipitating oxidisation of the metal clips that held the sign onto its
plastic pole. It goes without saying that the pole was unaware of itself or
the phenomena that acted upon it.
John Brown died last week and he was cremated yesterday - he no longer
exists.
The bus stop was moved a mile up the road. The old pole and sign were
melted down - so they don't exist anymore either.
The bus still exists and continues to be late, though with its new tires and
replacement engine it is not the same bus really - or is it?
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