Violent stifling...
[noticed at Ruthless Precision in this post]
What label would you wear if you had the choice? Not conservative or liberal for me, thank you. Just describe me as one who hates violence, and especially unnecessary violence.
Daniel Pi proposed an argument [full thread] against God's existence. Briefly paraphrased:
As Another Birthday Year Starts
My birthday was yesterday. Thanks to Trevor Close for popping by in the afternoon, and...
A special thanks goes to Liz McTaggart (of Schloss Mittersill) for her time and generosity. (It was humbly appreciated. I wish I wasn't so fatigued, though.)
[from mental emetic]
When's the last time you had a good, intellectual argument with someone about politics? I have great arguments with some of my co-workers all the time, where we forcefully present opinions, take dissenting views with consideration or at least tolerance, and display respect for each others' views with good humor and moderation. Of course, we're talking about Baseball, but at least this shows that we have the ability to argue constructively. I'm as much to blame as anyone -- I won't discuss politics at work. I have had intelligent, thoughtful friends tell me without batting an eye that George W. Bush is evil, that Socialism is evil, that Wal-Mart is evil, that Hillary Clinton is evil, and that the U.N. is evil (these are all different friends, in case you were wondering). To say that this sort of rhetoric is not helpful is to miss the point. It is a word that should not be thrown around precisely because it cuts off debate, or at best reduces it to a first-grade level (no insult intended, first-graders!) Evil does exist, in my opinion, but true evil is not nearly as obvious or clear-cut an occurance as many people's words would indicate; I believe there is a murky gray veil of motives and justifications surrounding much of human history.
--noted on Jace K. Seavers
[I have a quote by Jace Seavers (the author, I believe) here, Friday Apr. 16/2004) ]
Noticed at The Cathy J Weblog in this post
[posted on Just Etchings]
"Self - doubt is that part of the soul that is able to taste the bitter in life as well as the sweet. It is open to the side of life that a sunny disposition must ignore in order to carry on smiling. It is less interested in pretence and more aware of the suffering entailed in daily living. It is realistic about the balance of suffering and happiness, but because of this realism is willing to be thankful for whatever genuine happiness is possible. It celebrates the melancholy nature of aloneness,
but because of its refusal to shirk aloneness knows the worth of real relationship."
---from The Heart Aroused : Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America by David Whyte
Albert Camus began his famous 1942 essay (Le Mythe de Sisyphe) with this statement: “There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question in philosophy. All other questions follow from that.” ...-- from this post
Camus’ suicide question deals with ultimate purpose and also faces us each day, but only as an underlying nuisance if we see no purpose to life. Most of us find purpose in life either in God or in a direct awareness of purposefulness, even if we deny His existence. But the torture question does not deal with something we know directly and it is not an easy question to dismiss via something like belief in God. For it deals with something much more uncertain: my own development of virtue. It asks essentially, “Have I developed enough virtue to not allow each day of my life to be reduced to wishing ill on others?
Truth today is not so much fact as fact retained....
Our obsession with secrecy and plots is therefore not aimed at opening the curtains in order to let in light. Rather we are wallowing in the dream that our personal limited powers of retention belong in the same category as those which occupy the front pages of the press....
We do not follow the trial of mystery in search of the truth, but in search of the confirmation that mystery exists. These imaginary secrets are titillating because all of us are bearers of fact and therefore control secrets.
Our Attics
It must be a terrible thing to be haunted by the ghost of one’s past. Who would want to have their past indiscretions dragged up in public. Who would wish to see the ramifications of all of their past mistakes layed out before their eyes. It is a terrible thing to see how one’s life may have had success, joy and contentment had things gone differently… to know the regret of a life squandered.---by Scott Williams in this post
The sad fact is that few of us need a visit by a spirit to reount our past failings. We are masters at remembering our shortcomings. It is not necessary for most of us that someone points out our faults, we are keenly aware of our failings, often keeping a mental list, exhaustive in it’s scope and subjectivity. We replay the past, again and again. We see it projected on the screen of our minds. We live with regrets. I have many…
"We have to work at being poor harder than we have to work at accumulating things."---Rev. Larry Rice (from Here's Help Network), in a Door Magazine interview with John Carney
The Thawing Heart
[seen at tallskinnykiwi.com]
Welcome to the Jungle
Its just like us humans to try for the quick fix. Delete the unhappiness and life will be all sunshiney again - a freshly squeeged brain! But what about all the hard, good things we learn from the pain? If we get rid of the memory do we loose the lessons as well? If we did that often enough, what would be left of us? Are some things just meant to happen, no matter how many times you try to delete them?--from The Cathy J Weblog in this post
[noticed at The Invisible Sun from gapingvoid.com
Who's Really Burnt?
[from The Heresy]
There are many who live insulated by right wing politics and ideology. When someone like Moore offers an effective challenge people usually respond in one of two ways. Reject the message because Moore is perceived as a Bush hating, biased, and dishonest left wing nut. The other is to see what Moore presents as the light of salvation illuminating the path out of ignorance to freedom. The problem is that neither reaction serves people well. Just because someone is biased that doesn't mean they are wrong. Just because Moore exposes the lies and inconsistencies of the current US Administration that doesn't mean everything he says is the truth.-- from this post
[noticed at In The Tent: The Tie That Binds]
When I've been asked to share my story in the past, my first thought was always, "which part?" In my mind, there have been three distinct chapters and each have been very different.--from this post
...
I don't undermine any one of those experiences, but each one has been very separate in my mind. Compartmentalized. Something unto itself. But recently I have had a nagging feeling deep within me, that there is more. There is a connection. There is a thread that is common, and weaves it all together into one story. Not random chapters, but a book.
Another Chapter
(excerpt from A-byss' from here)
My life
Is not how
I planned it to be.
Is not how
I want it to be.
Is not how
I pray for it
To be.
In the darkness
Of this pit,
I see a small
Light of hope.
Is it possible for me
To climb to such heights?
To rebuild the bridges?
To find my salvation?
---at i am unfinished
Since I moved yesterday/today
I need transplanting. But it would take a thick pair of garden gloves and a large tweezers to get me out of where I am. Once out, I may have a struggle to adjust to the new, bright light.---from ...seeking serenity
But I need it. Time on this planet is short, and I don't want to end up in the burning pile of weeds when the harvest is sorted.
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