“It is a fault to wish to be understood before we have made ourselves clear to ourselves.” — Simone Weil The quote above is making the rounds on Twitter again, stirred up first by Maria Popova and recently by Tim Ferriss. When the student is ready the teacher will appear, it is said, and whatever…
How many hoursdo I sit hereaching to do what I do not dowhen, suddenly,he throws a single note higher than the othersso that I feelthe green field of hope, and then, descending,all this world’s sorrow,so deadly, so beautiful.– Mary Oliver, Schubert Today is the anniversary of the death of Franz Schubert, who passed away at…
And I don’t believe in the existence of angelsBut looking at you I wonder if that’s trueBut if I did I would summon them togetherAnd ask them to watch over youTo each burn a candle for youTo make bright and clear your pathAnd to walk, like Christ, in grace and loveAnd guide you into my…
Stoicism is accepting whatever the world throws at you. Not to be bullied by the universe, but to accept fate and manage the moment. This, of course, is an oversimplification, but for our purposes we’ll run with this definition. There are bookshelves full of stoic philosophy at the ready should you wish to dive deeper….
“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” — Marcus Aurelius There’s something about an extended vacation that makes you hyper-aware of the world you return to. You gain new perspective on the world, you break free of the stories you’ve been telling yourself, the…
Time drops in decay, Like a candle burnt out, And the mountains and woods Have their day, have their day; What one in the rout Of the fire-born moods Has fallen away?– WB Yeats, The Moods The Moods, as I understand it, are the messengers from God (God, in turn, is fire). Whatever your beliefs,…
“Is life too short to be taking this shit, or is life too short to be minding it?” – Violet Weingarten I spent part of the morning walking in the woods, seeking out the quiet reflections on an inky black pond nearby. October makes those reflections particularly brilliant and I wondered at my solitude with…
The brain burrows in its earthand sleeps,trusting dawn, though the sun’slight is a light without precedent, neverproved ahead of its coming, waited forby the law that hope has made it.– Wendell Berry, The Design of a House We all trust in dawn, and the fresh beginning it offers us. And now that it’s here, why…
How have I not made a note of every wordYou ever saidAnd time, is not on our sideBut I’ll pretend that it’s alright– Mumford & Sons, Beloved Each conversation, each moment of insight and full awareness of another’s presence is a gift twice given; now and in our memories. Life is a series of such…
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” – Carl Sagan I met an old friend at the airport, both of us heading for the same plane, and we caught up on each other’s lives until we boarded the plane and went our separate ways on the other end…
