* “If you get your food from the government, the government can starve you. * If you get your healthcare from the government, the government can let you die. * If you get your housing from the government, the government can throw you in the street. * If you get your education from the
“We become fully human — and happy — by training our desires through repeated right action until we desire the right things, in the right way, to the right degree, because they really are good and pleasant for a human being.” ~Aristotle
There is nothing finer than a pause in life When weather runs foul And mayhem slows down The skies turn sullen Frenzy eases off Endless toil is shelved Till the tempest fades Some folks see a downpour As a rude delay But to me it’s mercy A chance to
A little girl plays by the shore, Where waves roll endlessly, What wonders might the future store For this spirit dancing freely? She builds her castles in the sand, Chasing foam with laughter light, Unaware of life’s uncharted land, Stretching wide like ocean’s might. Tiny feet splash in
Today I rode my bicycle on the UCSD campus. I followed the Snake Path created by Alexis Smith in 1992. It begins in a small Garden of Eden and ends at the Geisel (Dr Seuss) Library. It represents the story of Adam and Eve following the advice of the Serpent
I recently learned something else about our cultural divide that separates family, friends and nations. It is about logic vs emotions. Why does advertising often appeal to the emotions? Because it works. Sex, love, anger, fear. Act now before it’s too late. Spontaneous purchases. Impulse items. Emotions getting the
Finally I understand the root cause of the political hatred in our modern culture. The secret is to view this through a moral (or spiritual) lens rather than a political one. Do people (media) wake up every morning looking for something hateful to say? No. In their own minds, they
I listen to audio books and podcasts while riding my motorcycle. I just learned that federal influence regulating the free speech of churches is fairly recent in US history. Tax exempt status silences many conservative pastors on political topics. Tax exemptions for churches didn’t begin officially until 1913 with
Lovely ~1000 km motorcycle ride today through Quebec and the Ontario country side. Started at 5AM in Montreal with a cold morning 3 deg C (37F), then warm rain showers in the afternoon and ended in Sault Ste Marie Ontario around 6PM. Fall colors are starting here. I passed many
I need to remember my Boston etiquette… An old fellow held the door for me at a restaurant. I thanked him but he didn’t hear me. So he walked off mumbling what sounded like an Irish curse or worse. So when he sat down I walked over to him
The river moves like a slow hymn, Carrying the weight of silt and sorrow, Its banks hold the footprints of those Who fled, who fought, who loved in shadow. ~James Wright
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that