We are engulfed in an immense ancient indifference that does not sleep or dream. Call it Nature if you will, though everything that is is natural— the lignite-bearing earth, the factory, a darkness taller than the sky. This out-of-doors that wins our release and temporary peace— not because it is pristine or pretty, but…
The years click by, one becomes older, and things get worse. Many would agree with this generalization of their experience. If one is unlucky it would be difficult to see life otherwise , beset with chronic medical issues, and subject to the indignities of medicare for treatment. Luck counts for a great deal in…
There are two more days left in November. Then comes December the darkest month, which is also the coming of Christmas. Christmas is a festival of lights. Darkness and light. This morning I wish that I were a bear having found a warm place to hibernate until spring. But I am not a bear…
That is a term that has not come to mind for many years. The concept means causation. Nothing comes to be apart from depending on many other things. It is an important, often used word in Buddhist texts. The Buddhist tradition takes cause and effect with total seriousness, –as serious as a heart attack…
We visited the ELMHURST ART MUSEUM on Saturday. May not one purpose of a holiday, be the opportunity to step outside of ordinary time, to be with friends and family, and to seek experiences that widen one’s world, increase one’s capacity to wonder? That is exactly what I wish for myself and for those…
Honduran migrants, October 2018 Perhaps confusion is a natural state of mind for us. The condition never completely goes away. We try to minimize confusion. Civilization is the construction of a “world” to reduce our confusion. The Natural world is given, not made by us. Nature is a congerie of living organisms and inanimate…
The Day After Thanksgiving, is a day off for most people. Starbucks is quiet. Baristas behind the counter are working leisurely, exchanging stories of their thanksgiving experience. Each family Thanksgiving is one-of-a-kind. It is rare to enjoy a leisurely meal together, not to speak of having extended family and perhaps friends join the circle…
Yesterday, I saw an automobile that prompted me to reflect upon my heritage. I remembered my deceased half-brother, and a time and place of growing up as a kid.. On the display floor at the Roadster Shop in Mundelein a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 caught my eye. You could say that the mid 1950’s were…
Thinking of Frank Styburski’s photos, some of his images remain in my memory. There is a surplus of images around us. We are inundated. Over-stimulated our attention is fleeting and little of any of it is remembered. The Styburski photos by contrast show the underlying forms of Nature, and of the interface between civilization…
Last night was delightfully strange. On Thursday evenings a few of us, using philosophy as an excuse, meet at Taste of Paris Cafe in Mundelein. The purpose is to reflect upon a topical discussion of earlier in the week, while we drink wine or coffee. I never know who will show up or if anyone…
