love the moment

Meditation #17 By John Donne From Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1623), XVII: Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris (Now this bell, tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.) You might think my morning meditation a morbid one, as it seems to be focused much on dying. Certainly, in America, we love to maintain the myth of eternal youth. Men, during their mid-life crisis, divorce their wives and marry one half their age. Women, are encouraged to Botox, facelift, and fill any wrinkle - lest they surrender to the inevitable aging we all encounter. In those days when we lived in small villages, it was hard to ignore the tolling of the church bell. It's ringing was loud enough to pierce any veil of ignorance. It said clearly "we all must die". Death is an inevitability, but - unfortunately - living seems to be optional. So many of us, lemming-like, merge onto the freeway every morning with all of our peers. We park in the same spot. We drink the s...

Finding Common Ground on the Glienicke Bridge A federal judge late Friday again blocked Texas rules mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains, in a victory for abortion rights groups. Austin-based U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said that the health department regulations would remain suspended until further notice and that a trial date would be set in coming weeks. Sparks had previously suggested in court that the proposed rules had public health benefit. Opponents argue they could unduly shame and burden women seeking abortions." From the Associated Press http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/01/federal_judge_again_blocks_tex.html The Glienicke Bridge was made famous again in the recent Tom Hanks Movie "Bridge of Spies". If you've not seen the movie, this famous bridge was the site of prisoner exchanges between the East and West, I.e. - the Communist East and the Allied West, during the Cold War. I am of that age that remembers the bitter ...

Ennui a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: I am constantly amazed at the degree to which many of my friends, family and colleagues seem - in varying degrees - in a perpetual state of unease. Whether at the coffeepot or over drinks, I rarely hear a recounting of joyful weekends or exciting projects. Instead, I hear - and sometimes myself speak - tales of weariness and woe. And I understand - that even in times of technological wonders and scientific discovery - the world can be a difficult place. And even in the midst of what we call "first world problems", it is easy to forget that in the third world, people die every day for lack of basic healthcare, food and water. In so many ways, like the frog in the frying pan, we have lost the ability to feel. And whether it is gratitude for things that once brought us joy - or sorrow for the suffering of Syrian children - it is sadly true that modern lif...

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; From "If", by Rudyard Kipling If has been called the longest word in the English language. "If only" is a phrase that can lead to so many thoughts, words and emotions. "If only I had done this or that" is usually a preface to a sad story of regret and remorse. But "if" as referenced by Rudyard Kipling is a much more hopeful and instructive if. It recalls - at least for me - my Algebra axioms "If A, then B. If B, then C. Therefore, If A, then C". I think of this "if" as the logical or the contingent "if". But Kipling's "if...

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. But Heaven is full of good works. A saying attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux And you say I'm a fool-around Honey that may be true But I'd sooner fool around Than be a fool for a fool And if I could forgive The unadulterated adulterating apprehension I could forgive the rest too It's just a fact of life That no one cares to mention She wasn't good But she had good intentions Read more: Lyle Lovett - Good Intentions Lyrics | MetroLyrics I have often wondered if all of life could be explained by song lyrics. The Rolling Stones surely have taught me much. Particularly, you can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you find, you get what you need. But, the song lyric I quote most often is the Lyle Lovett lyric She wasn't good but she had good intentions. This is often true of me, as well. So it could easily be He wasn't good but HE had good intentions . ...

The Widow's Offering Then Jesus sat down opposite the offering box in the Temple, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. He called his disciples and said to them, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. For they all gave out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.  Gospel of Mark The Widow's Mite and The Prosperity Gospel From Huffington Post: You may have heard the story a few months ago about an Atlanta-based minister who claimed he needed a $65 million private jet so he could "safely and swiftly share the Good News of the Gospel worldwide." But almost as quickly as Pastor Creflo Dollar asked his 200,000 followers to each donate $300.00 towards the purchase of a luxurious jet, the campaign vanished and was ...

Definition of heretic 1 religion: a person who differs in opinion from established dogma; 2) a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who refuses to acknowledge or accept a revealed truth; 2. one who differs in opinion from an accepted belief or doctrine: nonconformist Definition of orthodox 1 a: conforming to established doctrine especially in religion; orthodox principles; the orthodox interpretation b: conventional; took an orthodox approach to the problem;   Much of my early life, I exerted a great deal of effort to fit it. It was important to me to be liked, possibly even be loved. And given that faithful church attendance was part of my parent's life, it by default, became a part of mine. And, to fit in at church, it is important to accept their teachings. So, for the first 30 years of my life, I worked very hard to be orthodox. But, beginning with my expulsion from a Christian cult at 31, and ending with the church's absence when I needed...

Abraham Lincoln did not attend an Ivy League college. He was not wealthy as was Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. Harry S. Truman owned a haberdashery in Kansas City, and once declared bankruptcy when his business failed. King David of Israel was a ruddy shepherd, obviously not considered destined for greatness by his father. When the prophet Samuel came to anoint the next king, his father did not even present him for consideration to the great man. According to the gospels, Jesus of Nazareth was born to two poor peasants in first century Palestine - a land conquered and occupied by a hated overlord. All of these great men were not destined for greatness in the eyes of others. And yet, there is no doubt that - to varying degrees - they did achieve some degree of it.   Although hindsight is always clearer, would we - had we been alive in their day - would we have seen where their lives would lead and end? So, if great education is not the predictor of greatness ...

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. - John Lennon As I approach the age where I previously thought life would be winding down, I am surprised and happy to report that it actually seems to be just beginning. All of my life, I have been in a hurry. I think I worried that something great was happening somewhere else, and I was missing it. Or, I feared that since I thought of myself as lacking in so many ways, that without extra effort, I would miss out on life and it's purpose. I expect some of this resulted from so much of the time being told to be still , or be quiet in my childhood. As you can imagine, these are things that did not come naturally to me then (or now, for that matter). But also, I am sure it came from being raised by two people who, themselves, really did not know how to live. Even today, they sadly seem to be following some sort of script they do not understand. Almost as if it were a poorly written text, originally in a foreig...

A famous quote from the Vietnam War was a statement attributed to an unnamed U.S. officer by AP correspondent Peter Arnett in his writing about Bến Tre city on 7 February 1968: "It became necessary to destroy the town to save it", a United States major said today. He was talking about the decision by allied commanders to bomb and shell the town regardless of civilian casualties, to rout the Vietcong. Wikipedia Really? Wow. Do you ever feel that sometimes certain spokespersons , politicians or public officials say the exact opposite of what really happened? This is sometimes referred to as doublespeak or newspeak. Newspeak, as defined by Merriam-Webster: propagandistic language marked by euphemism, circumlocution, and the inversion of customary meanings   In case your education was lacking, this term was made famous by George Orwell in his dystopian novel about the future 1984 (written in 1948, BTW) And, finally, Merriam-Webster also defines oxymoron as:  a c...

"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!"    From the Gospel of Matthew 23:15 It would seem that since the beginning of America, there has been a fixation on morality and goodness. It seems reasonable, as many of the original Colonial settlers were Puritans. Alexis de Tocqueville, in his famous book "Democracy in America", wrote "Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith." And, given the moral themes espoused by both Democrats and Republicans in the recent election, it would seem that we still vehemently disagree over what is "good" and "moral" - or even "faith". Republicans, with their more Puritanical mores, tend to emphasize hard work, sexual chastity, and racial purity. One can see these themes in their requirement for welfare re...

act before anything exists govern before anyone rebels a giant tree grows from the tiniest shoot a great tower rises from a basket of dirt a thousand-mile journey begins at your feet   Verse 64 Tao Te Ching, translated by Red Pine; Copper Canyon Press New Year's Resolutions. New jobs. New loves. Everyone loves a fresh start. We humans are narrative-driven. We love and demand good stories. Americans are particularly fond of fairy tale endings. Whether the underdog in sports who beats the odds to win the championship - or the poor kid from the projects who becomes a tech billionaire - we take note of and celebrate such stories. And why not? Truly there are those stories and they should be celebrated. But, are those stories the norm or the exception? Are happy endings really something we should always strive for? Certainly, there are not definitive answers here - only opinions. My own opinion has been formed after years of searching always for th...