The Book Of Qualities

[splendra]

I found this book at a garage sale several years ago. It personifies human qualities in a very interesting way. I would like to share pages from this book with you. I hope you find it enlightening.

By: J. Ruth Gendler

THE WIND

The wind is a gossip. Not in a malicious way. She
just likes to move around and stir things up. She
runs through the fire barefoot and has no fear of
heights. She carries big blue bowls of rain with her.
She plays the flute and loves all kinds of sounds. Her
laughter fills the sky. The wind is a wonderful story-
teller. I still remember how she introduced me to
the Qualities when I was child.

[splendra]

PLEASURE

Pleasure is wild and sweet. She likes purple flowers.
She loves the sun and the wind and the night sky.
She carries a silver bowl full of liquid moonlight.
She has a cat named midnight with stars on his
paws.

Many people mistrust Pleasure. and even more
misunderstand her. For a long time I could hardly
stand to be in the same room with her. I went to
sleep early to avoid her. I thought she was a gossip
and a flirt and she drank too much. In school we
learned that she was dangerous, and I was sure that
she would distract me from my work. I didn't realize
she could nurture me.

As I have changed. Pleasure has changed. I have
learned to value her freindship.

[Ann]

These are lovely, Splendra, and a good way to begin my day. Thanks

[splendra]

WORRY

Worry has written the definitive work on nervous
habits. She etches lines on people's foreheads when
they are not paying attention. She makes lists of
everything that could go wrong while she is waiting
for the train. She is sure she left the stove on, and
the house is going to explode in her absence. When
she makes love her mind is on the failure rates and
health hazards of various methods of birth control.
The drug companies want worry to test their new
tranquilizers but they don't understand what she
knows too well: there is no drug that can ease her
pain. She is terrified of the unknown.

[splendra]

FEAR

Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is quite
small. He has a vivid imagination. He composes
horror music in the middle of the night. He is not
very social, and he keeps to himself at political
meetings. His past is a mystery. He warned us not to
talk to each other about him,adding that there is
nowhere any of us could go where he wouldn't hear
us. We were quite. When we began to talk to each
other, he changed. His manners started to seem
pompous, and his snarling voice sounded rehearsed.

Two dragons guard Fear's mansion. One is ceramic
and Chinese. The other is real. If you make it past the
dragons and speak to him close up, it is amazing to
see how fragile he is. He will try to tell you stories.
Be aware. He is a master of disguises and illusions.
Fear almost convinced me that he was a puppet-
maker and I was a marionette.

Speak out boldly, look him in the eye, startle him.
Don't give up. Win his respect, and he will never
bother you with small matters.

[splendra]

PATIENCE-

Patience wears my grandmother's filigree
earrings. She bakes marvelous dark bread.
She has beautiful hands. She carries
great sacks of peace and purses filled
with small treasures. You don't notice
Patience right away in a crowd, but sud-
denly you see her all at once, and then
she is so beautiful you wonder why you
never saw her before.

[splendra]

CONFUSION-

When Confusion's parents
separated neither of them
wanted him. Each claimed he
most resembled the other. He is a
tall boy, and lately he has gotten
a bit plump. He is always trying
to make people like him. His
attempts usually back fire.

Confusion is very accident prone.
He lives from crisis to crisis.
Even the clearest directions
are impossible for him to follow.
My friends shudder when they see
him heading toward their
studios. He is well-meaning,
but not nearly as innocent
as he seems.

Confusion is Patience's
nephew. She is the only one
who can sing to him.

[peaceteach]

Please keep em coming, Splendra. What a great book! I'm going to see if it is still in print on Amazon.... Many thanks for such wonderful little tidbits

[splendra]

*This book has helped me to not be afraid of what I feel.

LONELINESS-

Loneliness loves to run,but he is afraid
to swim. He wears his isolation around
him like a grey sweatshirt thrown back
across the shoulders. It started when
he was a little boy listening to adults
upstairs screaming at each other as he
hid under the covers. At age seven he
vowed never need anyone. It was as if
he sealed himself inside his skin, separate
from everyone.

Once Loneliness almost changed his
mind. There was a woman whom he cher-
ished. She surprised him. He loved her so
much that he thought he would never be
himself again. He trusted that such a
relationship could not survive, and it
didn't. Now more convinced than ever
that companionship is a lie and joy is
fragile, he has become contemptuous of
others' happiness.

[splendra]

COURAGE-

Courage has roots. She sleeps
on a futon on the floor and
lives close to the ground.
Courage looks you straight in the
eye. She is not impressed with
powertrippers, and she knows first aid.
Courage is not afraid to weep, and
she is not afraid to pray, even
when she is not sure who she is
praying to. When courage walks,
it is clear that she has made
the journey from loneliness to
solitude. The people who told me
she is stern were not lying,
they just forgot to
mention that she is
kind.

[peaceteach]

S-
I found her website and ordered the book! Also saw she had some beautiful artwork on there as well. I can't wait to read the whole bunch. Thanks again

[splendra]

CLARITY-

My visits to Clarity are soothing now. He never tells
me what to think or feel or do but shows me how to
find what I need to know. It was not always like
this. I used to visit other people who visited him.
Finally, I summoned the courage to call on him
myself. I still remember the first time I went to see
him. Was I surprised. He lives on a hill in a little
house surrounded by wild roses. I went in the living
room and sat down in a comfortable chair by the
fireplace. There were topographical maps on the
walls, and the room was full of stuff, musical
instruments and telescopes and globes, geodes and
crystals and old Italian tarot decks, two small cats.
When I left, he presented me with a sketchbook and
told me to draw the same thing every day until the
drawing started to speak to me.

[splendra]

yes ((peaceteach)) I love the drawings in the book. I regret I cannot post them as well.

[splendra]

ANGER-


Anger sharpens kitchen knives at the local super-
market on the last Wednesday of the month. His
face is scarred from adolescent battles. He has
never been very popular. His reputation as a fighter
dates back to seventy grade. Children never under-
stand how Anger arrives at the house just in time for
dinner. We never hear him ring the bell. All of a
sudden he is there. As soon as my son hears his
footsteps he is running for shelter underneath the
twin bed in the guest room.

Anger is trying to gain Truth's friendship and
respect. Anger is a meticulous reporter. He is accu-
rate about details and insist on fact. He
never lies,
but he rarely understands anyone else's
point of view. It is true that sharp knives work better
than dull knives; they are also safer. A cut from a dull
knife takes a long time to heal. However, if you have
not used a sharp knife for a while, it is easy to hurt
yourself. If you ask anger to sharpen your bread knife
be careful how you handle it. He is not the only knife
sharpener in town anymore.

[splendra]

GUILT-


Guilt is the prosecutor who knows how to make
every victim feel like a criminal. She follows the
scent of doubt and self-hatred to it's sources. She
will not tell you what you have done wrong. Her
silence is brutal. Her disapproval surrounds you in
an envelope of cold nameless terror.

Guilt thinks I am hopelessly l azy because I won't
work the way she does. Her court cases are sched-
uled years in advance. She says horrible things
about me to the neighbors. In self-defense some-
times I tell people what she says about me before
she has the chance. I don't care as much as I did, but
I can't pretend I don't care at all.

You may recognize Guilt's footsteps before you see
her coming. She limps like a crippled bird. Even
though her broken ankle is healing, the wound in
her heart has become infected.

[splendra]

DETACHMENT-

I must thank
you for introducing
me to Detachment.
Did You know ahead
of time we would like each
other so much? He is almost as
elusive and you are, but he is
more reliable. He rarely calls
before he comes over. Usually
I am so pleased to see him that
I don't object, and I know there
is no way to telephone him when
he is on the road. He has clear
eyes and a sapphire voice. When
he sighs, I can see his heart.

[ROFL]

These are all AWESOME! Thank you for sharing them.

[peaceteach]

Splendra,
I received the book and J. Ruth Gendler personally signed it! She also sent me a special extra and an email thanking me for her interest in her work. I think I would love her instantly. She lives and works in California.

I will take you up on your request to "help" post some of the other qualities, Splendra. But which ones to choose? Each page is almost more powerful than the next!

Thanks for letting me tag-team with you

[peaceteach]

ANXIETY-

Anxiety is secretive. He does not trust anyone, not even his friends, Worry, Terror, Doubt and Panic. He has a way of glombing onto your skin like smog, and then you feel unclean. He likes to visit me late at night when I am alone and exhausted. I have never slept with him, but he kissed me on the forehead once, and I had a headache for two years. He is sure a nuisance to get out of the house. He has no respect for locks or curtains or doors. I speak from experience. It takes cunning to get rid of him, a combination of anger, humor, and self-respect. A bath helps too. He does not like to get wet. As a last resort, if you are not near a bathtub, wet your face with tears.

[splendra]

I like the one on Jealousy too...God knows I like them all!!!

[peaceteach]

(This one is so powerful, it's scary!)

TERROR-

Terror is stricter than my first Latin teacher. She doesn't want anyone to become friendly with Ecstasy or run through the hills racing the Wind. On the west wall of her living room she keeps a long list of rules and a tally sheet of those she frightens and those who frighten her. In the margins she records your weaknesses. She demands privacy, but she doesn't hesitate to bother others at any hour of the day or night.

When Terror wants power, she has many ways to silence those who oppose her. She is willing to use violence to achieve her ends; often she prefers less obvious means. Terror knows that she can control the body by controlling the mind. When people are in states of confusion, Terror's propaganda passes for truth.

Terror came to our meditation class for a while. It was hard to breathe when she was in the room. However, she never stayed long. After a few minutes, she always opened her eyes. She knew if she sat really still she would scream.

[splendra]

LIBERATION-

Liberation tried to commit suicide when he was
seventeen. Things got even worse before they got
better. He was married to Terror for nearly ten years.
One day when he was wandering famished and half-
crazy in the mountains, he bumped into Ecstasy.
Ecstasy wept to be reunited with his old friend and
taught Liberation a simple prayer. After that Libera-
tion was free to leave Terror.

[peaceteach]

I just can't tell you the great effect this little charmer of a book is having on me, Splendra! What a gifted woman. If anyone wants to research J. Ruth Gendler, she can be found at:

J. Ruth Gendler - Author, Artist, Teacher - Berkeley, CA


P.S.- I kind of feel like we are "reading" together, S!

[splendra]

I am really glad that you like her so much too it is like we are reading together. Thanks for the link!!

[peaceteach]

CONFIDENCE -

Confidence ignores "No Trespassing" signs. It is as if he doesn't see them. He is an explorer committed to following his own direction. He studied mathematics in France and still views his life as a series of experiments. The only limits he respects are his own. He is honest and humble and very funny. After all these years, his sister doesn't understand why he still ice skates with Doubt.



I love that metaphor/personification, "He still ice skates with Doubt." That is so true in life! Facing a challenge, having the courage and confidence to plow through it, while occasionally letting doubt slide by you and remembering to brush it away for the time being.