Reflection for a new year We mistake what is manageable for a catastrophe; we despair of ourselves too soon; we alienate others by overreacting; we don’t notice and appreciate what there is still to be grateful for; we forget we’re going to die and that a lot of today’s headache will soon be forgotten….
It is unusual for me to leave you behind for any reason. When I crossed the Ohio River on the new toll bridge leaving Louisville, I felt deeply why I needed to leave you behind. For the first time I felt our family; how substantial, how strong it has become. We grieved for our…
A friend observed with chagrin that I was too pessimistic in outlook. I was tempted to compose a detailed justification. The inclination for a pointless dialog passed. This quotation sums it up for me: There are no pessimists; there are only realists and liars. —Paul Virilio
…………….in a time of empire collapse. “What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.” —-Seneca We get weepy and furious because our plans have failed and we strongly expected them not to. The task of philosophy is to disappoint us gently before life has a…
There is nothing more terrible, and more truthful than a mother weeping for her stillborn child. Words absolutely fail to convey anything of the meaning of the experience. One observes and understands nothing of what is happening. To weep is a natural, appropriate response to death, the passage of something or someone who is…
Friday morning at Baptist Health here in Louisville. I didn’t expect to be here at this time. Yesterday I received word that our daughter lost the baby that was due in another month. The news came as a shock, a lightning strike on a clear day. The pregnancy had proceeded normally with regular checkups. …
Anticipating the final days of 2017, and the beginning of the New Year of 2018 do we not all probe the future with our awareness? We hope, and some pray for conditions of health, well-being, and comity between family members, friends, and indeed the nations of the world. In 1970 I performatively enacted this…
I am interested in war. My interest is a profound irony because by temperament I am “bookish” as some would say. I like a good story, wherever I can find one. I have plans to read Homer, and have purchased several translations. I know it’s a good story. I viewed the film The Last…
What do you want? The thought came this morning while reading. I am looking forward to the start of a new year of philosophical work with friends. That seems to be the only way to understand what it is that I want from life….. I have concluded that I need help, that working on…
A seasonal light blanket of snow fell yesterday. The cold has arrived. The seasons continue as they have before humans were around to mark the passage of time, or even to conceive of time. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around…… (A Christmas joke for Gary.) These photo’s were…
