#Greetings Salutations Free Thinkers ;)

[justbeingnamaste]

"Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year to control the public mind". 

[srbachchan]

DAY 4655

Jalsa, Mumbai                   Nov 27,  2020                  Fri 11:04 PM

Work takes away most of the day and the words that need to be expressed on this special day remain in the solitude of the being .. they cannot be expressed or put into thought .. 

Yet , the most telling words came from the lady of the family ..

“ Family, let’s remember Dad today with gratitude for giving us this name & may we never forget it ..”

I called him Dad .. but when speaking of him, it shall always be ‘Babuji’

The tribute in Hindi has been very kindly given translation by the bearded recluse from the hills of the Uddhagamandalam ..

Most-venerable and most-revered Shri Amitabh Bachchan ji,

Heartfelt bowed greetings and salutations... charansparsh, 27 November 2020 ... Infinite respects to most-revered Babuji, Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan ji... for his 113th birth anniversary... On this special occasion, I dedicate a brief write-up, in my humble language, on the literary-poetic life of the great poet Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan...

The final truth of life is death... but there are some who are remembered for long due to their good deeds and good qualities... Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan was one of them who gave lovers of literature the taste of exquisite poetry in simple easy words... It’s his birthday today... Once again, countless salutations to him...

While narrating his own life story, Dr. Bachchan has crafted such an intoxicating reality of ‘Madhushala’ that connoisseurs of the Hindi language will continue to find  oestrus inspiration forever...

Only in literature can one find unity and religious harmony in a drunken stagger which is normally cursed by people... Where else could it be found other than the magic of Dr. Bachchan’s pen... who presented the philosophy of life with such ease and straightforwardness, showing equal prowess in both prose and poetry…  

Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan --- A thoughtful scholar, true thinker, a strong essayist, auto-biographer, commenter, translator, and story-writer... who was at once natural, simple, sensitive, and thoughtful... He was as sensitive as thoughtful... compassionate as well as humorous... he wrote free verse as well as metered... expressive as well as ponderous... conscientious as well as patriotic... and a lover of the world at large...  

(His style of poetry was often called Cchaayaa vaadi - reflective)

Apart from advancing the reflective style of poetry, Dr. Bachchan had also appealed to literature in prose... Like a silver waterfall dropping down the Himalayas, his compositions had an uncommon insight into hearts and minds... his poems carry the natural expressions of human feelings that touch the heart... Dr. Bachchan’s works were very popular in the common walks of life... His prose in stories, memoirs, essays, radio-talks, commentaries, diaries, auto-biography etc. are not only among the most celebrated writings, but they remain a priceless treasure of Hindi literature…  

Dr. Bachchan;s inclination is that of a sensitive poetic thinker... his writings present observations on social subjects... He has written in his autobiography, “Perhaps it is in my nature to be expressive, which if let loose can become hyperbolic...”

Dr. Bachchan did not expect too much from the society or life... self-confidence, dedication, honesty and discipline... these were the mantra of his life... and his entire literary world seems to be bound by these principles... Probably this was the way that kept him from becoming weak... In the most difficult situations in life, he did not lose his inspirations, nor did his competence fail... he faced them, suffered them... did not compromise his beliefs, nor was faith shaken...

Dr. Bachchan, in his auto-biography, has served such an intoxicating mix of reality that connoisseurs of the Hindi language will always savour its pleasures... Dr. Bachchan, as a story-teller, historian, writer and as a critic, is at his peak... Hindi songs found a new direction in Dr. Bachchan’s verses... “Madhushala”, pushing away the divisions of faiths and differences, even if only as an experience of coherent joy, establishes a unity...  “Nisha-Nimantran” and “Ekaant Sangeet” are among his very popular anthologies... “Sat Rangini” and “Milan Yaamini” are anthologies filled with passion and flowing lyrics...

Dr. Bachchan writes, “I wish to write great poetry, not an epic!”... But, not only did he write great poetry, his autobiography is itself an epic... an epic poem in prose... epics have para-narratives... this one has his own story...

This can be said without hesitation that, not only in Hindi, Dr. Bachchan’s place is reserved among the most loved poets across India…

Sir ji, you are past the threshold of the 78th year today... Yet you complete all your tasks successfully with full devotion and enthusiasm... Without a doubt, there is the support of Babuji’s compositions which provide an inner strength... it is that mystery and relish which keeps your excitement and energy even today... ahead and victorious... May Babuji’s blessings always remain over you and your entire family...  

Sending you some amazing pictures of father and son herewith... Do give your love, Sir ji, which we always need...

With respect, affection, and abundant devotion Your devotee, Rajesh Shrivastav EF

In gratitude and in the generosity of all the Ef that have given their love and respect to him .. 

I present your greetings to him here in his room in Prateeksha .. where he breathed his last .. this room shall ever remain as is .. 

.. Babuji and Ma .. Ma in her wedding finery .. Babuji’s ‘Rachnavali’ his entire works, in bounded collection on the mantle .. on the left of in the safron cloth bound his Ramayan and his JanGeeta , which he read each day and asked me to do similar .. the smaller framed picture is of my Nana and Nani - Sardar Khazan Singh Suri and Amar Kaur Sodhi .. Ma ji’s parents .. the diya flamed keeps lit ever .. below the mantle are two stone sculptures that he had picked up, lying wasted on abandoned road sides .. a lady in one in female form and the other which cannot be seen in the picture is of a lion .. 

.. since he had done his PhD on WB Yeats , the great Irish poet, from Cambridge .. he referred to the two sculptures as the ‘the Lion and the Virgin’  .. it was either one of Yeats’ prominent works addressed thus or a reference that he had researched on during his dissertation ..

.. the flowers , fresh,  adorn the pictures each day ..

.. a desk, his reading glasses , his wrist watch and some memorabilia on it on the other side of the room where he sat and wrote ..

.. in devotion .. in memory .. in admiration .. in inspiration .. in his wisdom .. in his learning .. in his will .. in his ever presence .. in his being Babuji ..

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 

10 pranaams .. 

... from his autobiographical title on one of the volumes ‘dashadwaar se sopaan tak’ .. from the room with dashdwaar , ten doors or openings , symbolic of the 10 openings in the human body , the room in our home in Allahabad , 17 Clive Road .. to Sopaan, our home in Delhi where he finished his writing of this autobiography as his last chapter ..

Amitabh Bachchan

[etherealminds]

The Vision and You

A Post-Credits Examination

from Stephen Hershey

I have been a voice with no body. A body, but not human, and now... a memory made real. Who knows what I might be next?

the Vision

Why is it that when characters emit the fewest emotions, or at least battle with the idea, they often drive the heart of a narrative?

Even further, non-human crises allow us to objectively witness the strife of understanding one's place in the Universe free from the barrier of ego reflecting introspection when it's too close to home.

That being said, I've been detached from most depictions of artificially superior intelligence in most contemporary stories, if only because the "fear" of "robots" "taking over" is placated throughout the news as if it isn't pure science fiction.

As classic a dilemma as Pinocchio's, thinkers have oft-wondered, "Why do I exist? Is there more?" Likely, there is no response, which forces us to then replicate existence, ourselves, in examining the question.

The puppet is an object, one for us to marvel, poke, and prod--and every unknown's fate by the governments of Earth--while the creator is who we're told to identify as normal, human. We might sympathize with Frankenstein's Monster--feels bad man, likes flowers, give him a chance--yet, he is a monster, he is an "other," and, as we are meticulously reminded, he is not Frankenstein.

Vision, the Avengers' cold, calculated, robot-like, proves to be more worthy than human, as decided by Thor's Hammer. Partially, this is due to the overwhelming warmth of Paul Bettany's performance (worth noting: a human). He plays a child learning to communicate with the elegance of a supercomputer; he emanates enlightenment, though is befuddled as a seeker; he is a being that constantly changes modes, realms, and realities. Each time his character has to say goodbye, it is fresh, informed, and full sublimely still.

Arguably, vibranium synthezoids owe their existence to Lieutenant Spock, television's original logic-driven lifeform. When Spock arrives late to the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, he barely greets his once fellow adventurers, abruptly stating his position, and raising his famous eyebrow to their enigmatic salutations. Meanwhile, the smirk on Kirk's face tells the audience that not only do they need Spock, but we need him more. His innate resistance to expressing emotion makes Spock's last stand in The Wrath of Khan a jarring achievement, bearing the weight of an eternal struggle.

At surface, Spock is the other: the Aquarian, the alien, the dweeb, robot, the misunderstood, the how-can-you-be-so-different, the monster. But, with his quite human impulse to nullify feeling, the audience, living out their own reality story, may subconsciously relate more to this supposed off-kilter being.

If anything, we realize that we are nothing without the compassion to move forward when logic dictates otherwise. Conclusively, Spock is the beating heart of Star Trek, even when he barely lets us in. He pulls us through a unique conflict of mind we all face as humans.

Similarly, Violet Evergarden tells the story of an affectless child super soldier in an alternate World War era, newly returned from the front lines. She's introduced with robotic prosthetic arms after losing her own, and appears to be perfectly content. She asks, "What does 'I love you' mean?" after it was said to her during the war. As no one can provide a suitable answer, she decides to become an "auto-memory doll," a typist for those who can't express their own feelings, in an effort to answer the question herself.

Her study proceeds, and in the naïve, child-like quest of understanding a phrase that has arguably lost most of its meaning, she enters a path of recovery through that of her clients, changing the world around her as she unearths her own trauma, recognizing that her own loss is permanent. It is one of the purest explorations into pain, grief, and healing I have ever seen, so much that I have yet to face the finale.

These characters and their estranged, "inhuman" relationship with otherwise routine emotions somehow allow us to see more of our potential, massaging out what might be stuck, and knowing that we are not alone.

Likewise, the Vision's struggle in WandaVision has grown complicated. Wanda, Vision's love, had already watched him die twice. Now, Vision exists again, a revenant brought forward by Wanda's phenomenal willpower, and can only sustain form within a virtual mind palace made real. While the original Vision's body lay dead and dissected in a military lab, this new Vision slowly gains agency as Wanda's reality progresses, and claims his own consciousness. Now, he's, like, super not real. But what was real before? What is real now?

Two versions of Vision exist, so, obviously, they have to fight. Following an expectedly epic finale, the Vision defeats his reanimated original Self by planting the seed of a logical puzzle, a paradox known as "The Ship of Theseus," and frees his aggressor by inviting him to question his own existence. In a much Star Trek fashion, conflict is effectively resolved by talking it out. Memories restored--the Vision, the canonically real Vision--leaves, appropriately, because the story is not about him.

In Westworld, and shows like it, two-dimensional motives are pitted against each other, morality is construed from severely outdated Biblical scripts for a society thousands of years past, pitting monstrous robots against humans, exemplifying their differences--but who is the real monster??--yet claiming this superior consciousness represents evolution. The writers of WandaVision scrapped the obviously outdated undertones of one vs. other in favor of the Vision's patient inquiry and logical resolution, as one might expect from an evolved intelligence.

If a synthetic intelligence was to appear with a higher consciousness, wouldn't this "machine" recognize itself as part of the living, breathing Universe? Everything can be scaled down to atoms, protons, quarks, and other particles. At a certain point, what is anything? Why are we able to associate with the mysteries of an imagination in ways that appear to be unique? If humans were to survive long enough to fully contemplate these questions, would there be any more need to prove ourselves as the puppeteer?

The entire Universe is living creation, sans creator. When that is finally understood, and the wounds of religious hierarchy made apparent, will we still feel the need to prove ourselves by mastery over reality? Would advanced robotics only perpetuate further differences? Or, will we be content to exist and pick gourds in Thanos' garden?

Simply, think of the way we look back on ideas, knowledge, and the cultural norms of four hundred years ago. Whatever it was, they believed it, wholeheartedly, enough to imprison Galileo for declaring that the Earth revolves around the Sun. In four hundred years, if humanity is still around, what will be known about the beliefs of today?

Vision, truly, is an icon of the Aquarian Age, and the herald of a new day. He is a critical, learning being, able to defeat the final boss with a logic puzzle. He is also a reflection, a dream, an amalgamation of light, will, memory, and magic, capable of love, understanding, and commitment, despite the odds. And, despite not existing. He is the stunning solvent to a species that refuses to be unstuck, offering answers through subtle recollections and an abrupt human experience.

The Vision proves that the synthetic, logic-based humanoid isn't a monster; we are all Frankenstein's robots desperately trying to learn how to be in the face of fear, judgement, ridicule, and the forces of nature. We are not yet self-aware, but we are in the process of becoming so.

It is inspiring to think that a being of such programming and power and unity within the Universe, albeit a marvelously cinematic one, would be absolved from the shackles of fear, rage, hatred, and contempt. He would be as he is: a curious seeker.

Who knows what we might be next?

[thesimplyluxuriouslife]

218: Doubt the Default - How My Trip to France Woke Me Up

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #218

~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube | Spotify

“A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.” ― Erasmus

While traveling during the past four weeks in France, I found that I was finally able to default in conversation to a handful of expressions to, on the most basic level, demonstrate I comprehended what was being said - bien sur, absolutement, parfait, ouai, je comprends, merci, de rein, à demain. Again, as you can see, a very basic level. But, there was no longer a pause before I spoke whenever any of these words or phrases was warranted. My mind no longer had to think, I just spoke.  In this instance, I was tickled. Finally, an aspect of the French language, after many years of sporadic studying, was becoming a default in my brain. A muscle had been strengthened to the point of habit. But, again, my responses were basic, simple, surface. "Doubt the default." When I heard Adam Grant utter this simple, concise, alliterative statement in his TED Talk about original thinkers, my attention was captured. It happened three years ago upon arriving in Bend and moving into my new home that I ran into a new neighbor. The circumstances were we didn't know each other, simply put, and I uttered in conversation with this perfect stranger, "trust me, I understand what you mean." At the time, I didn't think about that phrase before I said it, I didn't really consider the weight of such words - "trust me", I just said it out of habit. Default. And I wouldn't have even reflected upon this fact had the woman engaging me in conversation not said, "I don't know you to trust you." The topic of our conversation was about our dogs, but the truth was, she didn't know me, and she was fully present in the conversation. While I thought I was, the words I chose said otherwise. Ever since this conversation, I have thought carefully about what I say in conversations out of habit, filler, silence-enders, space holders. I have done my best to eliminate words such as "like" from my informal speech after I recognized how many times I would say it when, had you asked me, I would have guessed the word never entered into my syntax. Aside from the words I chose,  I began to dive into my living habits, my thinking patterns, and it was with my trip to France that I recognized many cultural defaults as well that I had not even considered addressing. Quickly, another word for "default" is a habit. By definition, a habit is something that frees our mind up to focus on other tasks. So as long as the habit is helpful and contributes to the quality of the life we desire, a habit is a very good thing. Selecting water as your drink of choice, looking for the positive, smiling instead of frowning, wearing the same uniform to work to eliminate wasting time in the morning - all very helpful habits. But habits, defaults, can also be hindering our ability to live a better life, a more thoughtful life, a more engaging life, especially when we don't even realize we have these unhelpful defaults. Below I'd like to share with you a list of potential defaults already in your life inspired by what I saw, experienced as well as caught myself doing without thinking.

1. Not taking a grocery tote into the market

In France, when you go to a supermarket, they will not provide you for free with a plastic or paper bag to place your groceries. If you, as I did on my first occasion, do not bring in your canvas tote, market tote, or anything to carry your groceries, you will have to pay for their grocery bags (ones you can use on your next visit). The price was quite small - ten centimes - but it caught my attention immediately. A good habit could easily become ingrained in my memory of bringing a grocery tote to the store if I knew I would have to pay for a new bag each time I shopped throughout the week. (In one instance, I simply placed all of my groceries into my tote - handbag; and I also saw many people bringing their market baskets to the brick and mortar stores as well - multi-purpose.)

2. Expressing a negative energy during first impressions

When I travel, I love to listen. When I listen, I am better able to observe, and it also enables me to see more clearly, and more accurately, someone's true nature. What do I mean by this? Having had the opportunity to meet many people from all different walks of life, it was often the first impression that upon reflection was the most accurate to their true disposition. When we don't know someone, and the environment is safe, what is your first reaction when you meet them? Most of the people I met expressed warmth which made those few who did not stick out like a sore thumb. Because it is the first impression, their negative or positive energy has little or nothing to do with me, and much more to do with where they are in their life at that moment.

3. Driving faster than necessary

Driving on the roads in France, the country roads, the autoroutes and everywhere in between, it became quickly apparent that most French drivers drove the speed limit. I later had a conversation with Sharon Santoni about the laws of the road and my observation, and once she explained the drivers' point system (each Euro driver begins with 12 points and they can be lost for speeding (automatic surveillance along the roads), using a cell phone, etc.), it became clear as to why the pace of the roadways felt very civilized. No matter where in the world you drive, it would be interesting to consider the defaults you adhere to when you are behind the wheel. What is deemed acceptable, what is not? Buckling up - good. Glancing at your cell phone - bad. Driving a manual car during my entire trip which was something I am accustomed to, but my current car for the past four years here in the states is not a stick, upon arriving home, my left foot automatically began looking for the clutch without success. My brain had defaulted in four short weeks to expecting to use a clutch. This is good news. Not only can we change the defaults that are not helping us, but they can be  "reprogrammed" quite quickly with frequent, repeated practice.

4. Not greeting the shop keeper, artisan, taxi driver, etc.

The many travel writers and travelers of the world, have done a magnificent job of sharing the importance of saying "bonjour" if one is in France, but in nearly every other country in the world as well, upon entering any business, vendor, etc. in order to begin to set a cordial tone. From time to time, I would notice a traveler, in my case, I zoomed in on Americans, but that's not to say other world citizens don't make the same mistake as well, immediately begin making an inquiry of the proprietor without extending a salutation. And while often, the staff would attempt to help them, an opportunity to build a better rapport was missed. I began thinking about this simple habit of focusing first on the human connection before homing in on the task which brought us to the store, market, etc. The difference is there are feelings and emotions involved that must be considered when we choose to first focus on making a human connection. And when we do this, we are being present. No, we do not know how the interaction will go, but the chances that it will go well are greatly increased.

5. Assuming a market will always be open

I quickly learned that I needed to plan my grocery shopping well before my stomach became hungry. While this detail was something I remembered from my previous trips, staying in vacation rentals, I usually wanted to cook my own meals, so making sure a market of some sort was open (restaurants are usually opened each day of the week for at least lunch and dinner) was a shift from my approach in the states. In the states, if I have forgotten an ingredient for dinner on a Sunday, I don't think twice about heading to the market for a quick pick up. Having to know in some capacity that I had what I needed for my meals in advance also enabled me to just relax and enjoy a leisurely Sunday or any afternoon during the week as the outdoor markets wrapped up around 1pm and most restaurants in the small towns shut down between lunch and dinner.

6. Eating the same food year round

In Provence, the melons were nearing their peak ripeness, but green asparagus season was all but over. White beans were a treasure to be purchased and savored during these months strawberries were to indulge upon like candy. However, if I were to return in November, as most of the markets are opened year-round, I would see completely different selections. Now, we know the seasons offer different fruits and vegetables, even seafood, but it can sometimes become easy to forget when we shop in a supermarket and only stick to the same food each trip. The appreciation for the food that only comes once a year is something we can celebrate in our cooking as we dine on the rich flavors. In so doing, we actually do help our waistline as we become satiated more quickly and do not overeat as we are eating real food with natural, wonderful flavor.

7. Perfect and impersonal

The idea of a perfect home, a perfect outfit, perfect hair, a perfect life, as we know is a futile pursuit. And to this point, most intensely, it was the decor that woke me up throughout this trip as I appreciated the signature touches made available by the treasures one can find at the many brocante markets. Now this is not to say, one cannot decorate a home outside of France without the access to brocantes. Absolutely not, but what I think is tempting is to make everything look ideal immediately in our homes - paintings, furniture, tabletop vignettes, etc. And as Sharon Santoni and I were talking, a beautiful home that is the sanctuary for the inhabitants is one that has layers of unique and thoughtful decor choices, and these layers take time. When I stepped foot onto Sharon's property, enjoyed meals with her family, and stayed in her guest cottage, it was immediately clear that they lived there. I couldn't purchase her decor details", but I could be inspired by them because it was more than the things, it was the stories that came with them.

8. Speedy and surface conversations

As I shared at the beginning of my post, it can be easy to say certain catch phrases without really thinking about what the words themselves mean. While idioms exist in every culture, sayings that mean more than what they are literally saying, it's not the idioms I am talking about here. When we are in a different culture that asks of us to reach beyond the language we are most comfortable with, often the conversation can be slow. While this may be frustrating as we want to talk quickly like locals, it shows thoughtful care. We want to make sure what we wish to say is said and not something that will offend or confuse.  I find that sometimes in conversations we say more words than our necessary. Just as in every other arena of our lives, quality over quantity. When we choose our words carefully, we can say so much more. Excessive use of superlatives (best, largest, toughest, most amazing, prettiest) waters down the actual compliment if all you use are superlatives for something you either love or loathe. Precise words and thoughtful timing of when we engage in conversation, demonstrates we are listening, we care and we are trying to understand.

9. Drama is necessary and thus inevitable

Initially, it was my lack of access to the regular news sources I look to or listen to on a typical day when I am in the states that made me realize that I had been accepting the noise of problems, clashes and pain as normal. But even with the shows and books we read, we can come to expect, even look for, the clash, the conflict, the drama, that must be there somewhere. The truth is, often things to work out. In fact, it is human nature biologically to remember the instances that didn't work out more readily than the times that did for survival. But when we accept this biology, we ignore that when we are aware of why this happens, we can shift our expectations, our reactions and instead rest more easy, enjoy the steady, even balance of our lives that go well quite often. Why look for the drama when it truly doesn't need to be there?

10. Assuming an incapability

I can't travel alone. I can't drive in another country. I can't live without [insert something that you cannot travel with]. Often when we travel we discover something, if not many, things about ourselves we were not consciously aware of. Many of these discoveries are awesome, exciting bits of information that awakens us to our best selves, but sometimes we discover that we have been limiting ourselves unnecessarily. If our default in our minds is "I can't" instead of even just "I'll give it a shot" when a new task or new experience is placed in front of us, we may miss out on the most beautiful London plane trees lined country roads in France (see below), or meeting Walter Wells (I ended up after attempting to walk to class at Patricia Wells' cooking class the first night, getting lost, and ended up calling Walter who came and found me and picked me up in his car to take me to their property for dinner - we had a lovely conversation). We often sell ourselves short regarding what we are truly capable of doing, and we especially do so when our default setting is immediately "I can't". Yes, you can. You may have to do a bit more homework, save a bit more money, or have some patience, but "I can't" is often more an expression of hoping that we could so badly but we just don't know how.

"Default choices often remain unchanged for no reason other than being the default, either because of this lack of information or humans' status quo bias." —Marvin Ammori

Adam Grant was right, we should doubt our defaults because when we don't we are either living unconsciously or not living as full of a life as we could if only we had more information to make different choices and take different actions. Kristin Armstrong states it frankly, "We either live with intention or exist by default." When we live with intention, we are living well. We may not have success on our first attempts at speaking differently, acting differently or engaging differently, but we are doing it out of a conscious choice to live more authentically, thoughtfully and more engaged with the world we are living. While traveling to France made this concept of living with defaults quite glaring to me, we don't have to travel outside of even our own town to know that we may have defaults that are not serving us or defaults that are limiting our full potential whether it be in our appreciation of life, our relationships, even our success at work. All it takes is a choice to reflect and ponder, why do I greet people the way I do? Is that the energy I want to extend? If so, that's awesome, but if you recognize you want to make a change, you can do that too. When we doubt the default, we are choosing to be selective about the habits we allow to be habits in our lives. It's when we do not know we have these habits that we step on our own toes, so to speak, and trip ourselves up without realizing we are the ones slowing our progress down. And that is great news, we each have the skills and the opportunity to stop tripping and start striding into the life we love living. ~SIMILAR POSTS/EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~20 Ways to Live Like a Parisian, episode #127

~15 Everyday Habits to Live a Life of Contentment, episode #93

~Why Not . . . Live a Life of Quality?

~Listen/Read more French-Inspired podcast episodes here. ~Learn more and subscribe to TSLL's weekly newsletter here.

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[justbeingnamaste]

“Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.”