I once saw a clever juggler who claimed
that a hatchet he balanced in his act
was the one used by young George Washington
to chop down his father’s cherry tree.
“Of course, the handle’s been replaced eight times,”
he admitted, “and the blade at least a dozen, but
they occupy the same space.”
I laughed along with everyone else,
knowing the story was merely a myth.
But then it occurred to me that
I am the hatchet.
ψ
Addendum (added the next day): Perhaps, I’ve been too cryptic. Why do I say “I am the hatchet”? For multiple reasons, really, but the clue is in the title. If my “handle” and “blade” have been replaced many times, am I still the same person, or am I many persons? And do I/they really occupy “the same space”? Am I real, or merely a “myth,” or both? And if so, Whose myth, and why? Your thoughts?
I have to say that is a great story, but very funny and reflective
Thanks, Thomas.
Funny
Hmmm
A cutting sense of humor
;>)
Howdy. Yeah, life juggles us around, that’s for sure.
So it does, Neil.
Very profound, Mitch.
Thanks, Sandy.
That is very deep.
Thanks, Kathy. My mind went off exploring when that thought struck me.
I knew you had it n you. You never fail to amaze with your wisdom.
Aw, bless you, Kathy.
We are replaced many times, cellularly. We occupty the same space with other usses, quantumly (don’t know really how to make “us” plural). So from the narrative, I guess it fits that we, that you, can be the hammer. Metaphorically and quantumly (and cellularly). I tend to think that the purpose of myth is to get at the truth, so maybe everyone is on to something here. And who is the juggler? Thanks for the thought-provoking work, Mitch!
And thanks for adding your thoughts as well, Christopher!
I almost wrote a piece on this a while back. The way we perceive ourself today is starkly different than how we perceived ourselves 10 years ago and it’s a reflection of a multitude of changes we go through over time and experiences we have. Would 10 year old you recognize yourself if you could time travel? Are you the same person as that child? Fun concepts to consider!
It is indeed!
Cellularly we do keep changing which suggests from a physical perspective we are not the same person. Is our soul the only thing that remains intact?
Hmmm. I wonder if the juggler was Penn Jillette before he made it as a magician. In his recent book ‘Felony Juggler’ he writes about his early life as a street juggler and this sounds like the exact thing he would say. Do I recommend the book? Not sure. It’s a quick read and some sort of charisma kept me moving through the story, but it isn’t well written and a friend said “I had ‘trouble getting beyond the seventies of the story telling.'”
I don’t recall his name, but it wasn’t Penn Jillette. He was in a Broadway musical review called Suger Babies, back in the 1980s.
I think internally our soul remains the same and we project ourselves differently to others.