Another spring day, splendid with sunlight. Maybe I’ll go for a short walk by the river. Today is Mother’s Day and I never could repay what I owe to my mother. She’d want me to pay it forward in any case. Men are tasked to become mother and father, not limited to the socially…
Saturday stands to be one more glorious dawning of spring. I, however am beset with a head cold. I give credit to Fortune for smiling upon me as the medication enabled me to sleep through the night. Discomfort notwithstanding I am eager to experience what the day holds. We viewed an outstanding film last…
Early May is a transition to spring. Spring equates to longer and warmer days. Trees release pollen, male robins sing, seeking a female of the species, for mating and nest building. What is Robin consciousness? Is there a smidgen of self-awareness in the matrix of instinct? Does a robin “feel”, register loss in any…
April’s final day promises to be glorious with a Natality that always surprises and inspires. Having witnessed the emergence of vegetation in springtime year by year, I feel delight once again at the onrush of life. New life rises up from a brown and gray debris strewn ground. Never ending life is concealed from…
Another splendid spring morning, and today is Thursday. The day stands to be full. A lift-off here at Starbucks has been gratifying. I witnessed the entrance of a mom with three pre-school children, two female and one male. The mother appeared to thoroughly enjoy the company of her offspring, and the children definitely discovered…
Hence the superior manobserves the people that he employsat a distanceto ascertain their trustworthinessand when employed nearobserves them to test their respect. By assigning them difficult tasks,he tests their ability; by questioningthem unexpectedly, he tests their knowledge;by designating an urgent task, he tests their commitment; by entrusting them with wealth, he tests their benevolence;…
“The goodness of service does not imply that it is the same on all occasions. Serving parents to provide contentment does not prescribe how it is to be done; in festivities enjoyment does not depend on the dishes that are used; in mourning as an expression of grief the rituals are insignificant. Rites determine…
The vain take pleasure in every good opinion they hear about themselves (abstracted entirely from the point of view of utility, and just as much removed from truth or falsity), just as they suffer from every bad opinion. This is because they submit – they feel submissive – to both good and bad opinions…
Zengzi was living in the state of Wei. He wore a robe of quilted hemp and no outer garment. He appeared rough and emaciated, his hands and feet had hard callouses. He would go three days without lighting a fire and ten years without a new coat. If he put his hat on straight,…
Zhuangzi said to Huizi,“When Confucius was in his sixtieth yearhe changed his views.What he previously held to be truehe now regards as false.We do not know whether what he now holds to be trueis not what he regarded to be falsefor fifty-nine years.” Huizi replied, “Confucius is earnestin his pursuit of learning and acts…
