All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that. —Balthasar Gracian So began our essay, Flavors of Time by Dean Buonomano. We awaken to consciousness upon birth, a consciousness that increases with the mastery of motor skills and then of language. Observe a child over the year…
I finished the essay on the subject of time. That’s my second read. And I’ll likely read it again. I’ve been intrigued with “time” for many years. I cannot help but notice that a great deal of poetry happens to be verses that meditate upon the difference that times passage makes in human consciousness…
How do I say this? On this Sunday afternoon the Superbowl spectacle is to be staged in Minneapolis. I find it hard to care. I am stuck back on groundhog day, February the 2nd. It was a sunny day, Punxsutawny Phil returned to his burrow and thus six more weeks of winter are in…
The link between excellence in parenting and a happy childhood is obvious. There are not many excellent parents. From my observation of families, and of my own experience a majority of us greet our newly born child as if we were Adam and Eve. I am sobered to acknowledge that most of us enter…
This morning I decided to sleep in, to get more rest. Typically I arise at 6AM and am out the door 45 minutes later. It is Saturday so why not “sleep in?” The last hour or so of this morning’s rest were interrupted by troubled dreams. So much for getting more rest. I will…
As planned I met with friends Tuesday evening for philosophy discussion. We considered the words of Seneca on the subject of friendship. The subject was apropos in our own time of political gridlock, when words seem to make little difference. Feeling is confused with thinking. Feelings are shifting sand, nothing upon which to forge…
It is Tuesday morning. The sun rises gloriously. The air is still and cold, about 13 degrees F. The President will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight. I will not be watching. I plan to be with friends sampling Scotch and philosophizing about an essay by Seneca on friendship. Friendship takes…
What lessons can be taken away from the stories of the three Julio-Claudian emperors, the city-bred descendants of Augustus and Livia? The language is that of Will Durant. Durant writes “They began like Gabriel, and ended like Lucifer.” 1. When power devolves from being distributed between the legislative and the executive branch an unconstitutional…
Spent the last hour reading Will Durant’s account of three Roman emperors, The Story of Civilization vol. III. The writing style is as lucid as the content of the story is disturbing, displaying aspects of able rule and extremes of cruelty. Here are some excerpts. Gaius Caesar Germanicus (Caligula or Little Boot) emperor AD…
The Women’s March of protest and hope in Chicago provided much material for reflection. Participation is a catalysis for personal change. I know I am not the same person I was one week ago. I am changed in ways that will be recognizable as my future unfolds. Everything is connected. We separate aspects of…
