And I won’t feel the flowing of the time when I’m goneAll the pleasures of love will not be mine when I’m goneMy pen won’t pour a lyric line when I’m goneSo I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here.– Phil Ochs, When I’m Gone It’s that time of year—the mad shift towards…
Mingling at a gathering of the vaccinated recently, I got into a conversation with a person of a certain age similar to mine about the art of living. It began with the talk of regional travel and places we’d each been in the northeast—a topic I can get behind—and eventually moved on to what you…
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller We charge through life honoring commitments and chasing dreams. Yet nothing is more urgent than the need to pause now and then to look around at what the world presents to you. The generations…
You’ve got to know when to hold ’emKnow when to fold ’emKnow when to walk awayAnd know when to run… Every gambler knowsThat the secret to survivin’Is knowin’ what to throw awayAnd knowin’ what to keep‘Cause every hand’s a winnerAnd every hand’s a loserAnd the best that you can hope forIs to die in your…
“Do you want to do intellectual work? Begin by creating within you a zone of silence, a habit of recollection, a will to renunciation and detachment which puts you entirely at the disposal of the work; acquire that state of soul unburdened by desire and self-will which is the state of grace of the intellectual…
I watched a squirrel, fat for winter, dig in the garden for who knows what. The squirrel wasn’t welcome, but invited itself to this place I’ve called my own. Its ancestors might say the same of me, for one day generations ago there was a stand of trees, the next day someone laid a foundation…
All that passes descends,and ascends again unseeninto the light: the rivercoming down from skyto hills, from hills to sea,and carving as it moves,to rise invisible,gathered to light, to returnagain. “The river’s injuryis its shape.” I’ve learned no more.We are what we are givenand what is taken away;blessed be the nameof the giver and taker.For everything…
Day’s sweetest moments are at dawn;Refreshed by his long sleep, the LightKisses the languid lips of Night,Ere she can rise and hasten on.All glowing from his dreamless restHe holds her closely to his breast,Warm lip to lip and limb to limb,Until she dies for love of him.– Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Dawn Sleeping in is relative…
There’s an ancient Greek word, frequently associated with Aristotle, called eudaimonia. Aristotle meant it as living virtuously. It’s best translated in modern English not as “happiness”, but as “flourishing” or “living well”. Let’s face it, chasing happiness is a fools game (for happiness is an evasive and subjective pursuit, and without purpose, empty), but pursuing…
“All art is but dirtying the paper delicately.” – John Ruskin The great thing about writing every morning is that feeling of creating something out of nothing. Reinforcing long term habits you once told yourself you ought to have with a little discipline. Discovering new things and figuring out a bit of yourself one post…