There are some people who believe that the opposite of love is hate. I used to believe this, too. I used to believe that thinking about someone, hating them, and wishing they would change somehow, is just desserts for being somehow, awful. My anger then, was an inability to accept the other person as they truly are. My hate was an obsession, and obsession is just another fancy term for addiction. Hate is an addiction.
I have had people tell me to my face that they hate me. I know what that feels like, but looking back, I now see…
The purpose of attaining and asserting dominance in any realm, is to avoid accountability.
In the past month, I read a few very interesting articles on what appears to be an aristocracy in America. First, there is “The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy”, a long, thorough accounting of how a wealthy aristocracy came to be in modern-day America. An aristocracy that is thriving today.
Then there is this article, “Land of the Lawless: How power in America has turned the rule of law into a mere myth”, by Ralph Nader, a man who ran for president a few times, and who has detailed numerous examples of corruption in America. …
How an open mind can clear the way for gratitude.
I just finished watching the HBO documentary, “The Bee Gees — How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”. I enjoyed the entire documentary. I especially liked learning that their falsetto singing style was improvised and adopted later in their career in pursuit of a new sound. I also learned that the Bee Gees wrote many songs for other artists, too.
I took note of the following statement in the beginning by Barry Gibb, the last remaining brother:
“I am beginning to recognize the fact that Nothing is true. Nothing. It all comes down to perception.”
I was surprised that someone…
Gratitude is about our relationship to everything else.
It’s Monday morning. I’m aware that millions of people are going to work in jobs that they just don’t like. I’m aware that there are also millions of people who don’t have a job to go to. They’re behind on their rent. They can’t pay their bills. Unemployment benefits are ending soon. The fiscal cliff.
I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a job. It pays the bills. I work from home. I enjoy my job, just not as much as I enjoy writing. Even then, I’m finding opportunities to write at work.
So I know what my priorities…
I see the value of religion. I just don’t see the value of religious domination.
I’ve been thinking about religion lately. You can see it in my articles about the Texas Heartbeat Act. I have some friends who are religious and some who are not. I know people who are Christian, Buddhist, and Yogi. I have known a few Jews, too. The central theme in my life and religion is that I want everyone to be able to practice whatever religion they want so long as we are at peace with each other.
Most of my concerns about religion are about religious domination. I see the benefits of religion. I see how people can live…
To understand what someone really thinks, their motion practice could offer a clue.
When I read, I remind myself that what I am reading came from a brain. I remind myself that the words I’m reading didn’t come from a vacuum. Someone thought about the words I’m reading long enough to string them together to describe an idea. That person had an idea and felt inspired enough to write about it. I think of the written word as a window into someone’s mind.
So it was with some interest, that I happened upon an article about the so-called “architect” of the Texas Heartbeat law, Jonathan Mitchell. Up until this point, I had never…
Scientists tend to err on the side of caution. I wonder why.
I know someone who refuses to get vaccinated. He’s a relative and that makes this harder. He’s doing all kinds of research to justify his decision not to get vaccinated. I feel for him, I really do. I will defend him to the end. Even when he makes a mistake. But I think this one, this could be his undoing. And I really want to see him for Christmas.
I was like him once. I was fueled with conspiracy theories. I was the ultimate contrarian. For every argument you have in favor of your position, I could find two or…
Unless your name is Jeremiah Johnson, you derive your freedom from everyone else.
In this world, we all have some level of freedom. For many of us, we’re free to travel, free to be left alone, and free to take care of ourselves. Many of us have found freedom in our minds. But there are still some people who think they should be free to not wear a mask, to not get vaccinated during a pandemic. The willfully unvaccinated and unmasked seem not to understand that their freedom is dependent on the freedom of everyone else.
There are people who would have us believe that it is their right to put others in…
When big business fills the vacuum left by a shrinking government.
There is a common sentiment within conservative circles that the government that governs least governs best. But for the most part, conservatives have been silent on the role of private business as a form of governance. They are also silent on the role of churches, business associations, and other groups. Beyond government the only other exception is unions. Conservatives have some rather unflattering things to say about unions.
And lately, the conservative crowd has expressed deep unhappiness about the business of social media and internet search. I find it seriously ironic that they had to run to the big government…
The cause is often our lack of awareness, skills, or capacity.
As a general rule, I don’t take aspirin or Tylenol unless the pain is severe. I want to know exactly what’s going on in my body. I accept the pain that I feel as an indicator of what I need to do next. Numbing the pain reduces my awareness of my condition. I only use pain killer as a last resort to minimize the disruptions to my awareness of my condition. I think of pain as sort of a compass, guiding me through life.
This idea that pain is the signal, not the cause, is something that I learned a…
