On Freedom

[doomsday_disco]

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.

Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment.

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,

But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.

 

And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?

In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.

And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?

If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.

You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.

And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.

For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride?

And if it is a care you would cast off, that cart has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.

And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.

 

Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.

These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.

And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.

And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

 

When the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light: frankincense and myrrh smoke, silver musk, ambergris accord, ti leaf, benzoin, and violet ash.

[amoray]

This is Mail fresh, but I had to try it right away. Wet this smells more violet and ti leaf. It's fresh and bright, and then it begins to dry. The light turns to shadow. And oh the drydown is the grey smell of the gloaming. The ambergris is in the drydown with wisps of frankincense and myrhh. It's comforting and soft. Gorgeous. 

[monocainsheresy]

The ti leaf and violet ash are the stars of this one. Very bright, fresh, and pretty. The ambergris combines with those two notes, and a touch of lemony frankincense, to create a fizzy floral foam (though I would not categorize this as an overall floral scent). The other resins are somewhat faint, more benzoin than myrrh. They do a very good job setting off the other notes, like a pillow for a jewel. The silver musk is lovely, smoothing the whole thing out and making it feel quite sophisticated. The musk, ambergris, and violet last longest in the drydown.

 

I was hoping for a more resinous scent, but I'm sure that will develop with age. Reminds me very strongly of some of the fougeres Possets does, especially Grande.