I am revisiting the Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tsu, a contemporary of Confucius. It is old by the standard of my short lifetime. And it is not so old in terms of our Earth, estimated at 4.5 billion years. Thus the text of the Tao Te Ching is both old and not…
The rumination about freedom vs determinism, the conundrum presented by cause and effect runs its course. It is time to move on to another stop on our journey. After all, change in scenery, variety is what we are looking for. Life is more than one topic, a single discussion. I took a short walk…
How much should I care? Is care involuntary? Can I choose to care or not to care? Or what to care about? It appears that all of life, that is all that I am aware of, is involuntary… The organism, you and I are no exception, is a concatenated layered system of bio-chemical cause…
Why do I return to the old songs, the ballads that search the landscape of love and loss, of faithfulness and betrayal? Homer’s great tale, The Iliad, is such a story put into verse. I awakened at 4:30 AM this morning, with the chorus to this song, echoing in my waking consciousness. Laughing, is…
Well it is Sunday, blazing hot, and we need rain. Looking for rain in early June… What is happening to us? I wanted to change my routine. I began the day with an early walk around the backyard. Nature is uplifting, visually inspiring as vegetation is in seasonal bloom, and wild life is at…
I have little to say this morning. At the end of the week I am “running on empty” as the phrase goes. The duties of the week demand attention, a quotient of energy/effort and little is left over when every day is full. Today is rainy, overcast, in the 50s, cool for springtime. Spring…
Yesterday was the birthday of STEVIE NICKS. If you are a member of the “Boomer” generation, those born right after WWII, odds are that you know that Nicks is a member of Fleetwood Mac a premier rock band of the Age of Aquarius. To a millennial person born in the 80s or a gen…
Here’s to the song writers, the lyricists, the word-smiths of rhythm, rhyme and harmony! If it were not so early in the day I’d raise a glass of sweet red wine to toast all that I have been given by their songs. (Out of an abundance of caution, it is best to stay away…
Sunday morning. Arrived at a local coffee shop, along with a few early-bird bike riders. The coffee, excellent, and what better venue with a hum of voices in the background for wrestling with words to express inchoate thoughts. The mind is like that: associations rapidly intersecting in unpredictable fashion. You search for words to…
I was once a kid. I remember feeling trepidation the day report cards were issued. A report card is an evaluation, derived from the aggregation of grades of your progress in the subjects which you have attempted to learn. Kids do not volunteer for the role of student, as learning is difficult work. They’d…
