Who would ever believe that growing up as a wild cowboy in the Old West would nurture the developing mind of a self-made philosopher?
Fillyosofy is my cowboy word for philosophy, only a fillyosofy is better because instead of coming from intellectual thinking it comes out of down to earth rock-hard experience in the Old Cowboy School of Hard-knocks (OCSH where the school colors are black-and-blue). A filly is a young female horse, thus fillyosofy alludes to horse-sense, which is also better than philosophy. Working on ranches either knocks all the sense out of you or knocks some into you. I’ll let you judge which you think I received.
My fillyosofies are my ideas and opinions about life, and since life is an ongoing learning process I reserve to change my opinions at any time.
Back in the early 1600s, Rene Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, was struggling with the meaning of life, and wondering if he really existed, or if he was just some kind of awareness floating around in the universe. He finally resolved that he really did exist. His proof was stated, I think, therefore I am. Too bad for him there weren’t any old-time cowboys around yet, or they could have saved him all that soul searching. Very early in the life of a cowboy, as he picks himself up out of a pile of rocks after being unwillingly dislodged from his horse, he knows for absolute certain he exists. In the words of author and old-time cowboy, Jon Garate, “I HURT, THEREFORE I AM, and that’s proof enough that I exist”.
Herein, a reader can harvest-in-full, or glean piece-meal, nuggets of horse-sense (country wisdom), feasting on the thoughts and ideas presented throughout this work of art.