flee

if you don't find friendliness, hospitality, and compassion where you live, flee.

parasitic politics

there are those in government who share the name Liberal with that class of voters called Liberals, but in reality are a distinct political species called Parasites who feed on their host, the people, no matter what they are called.

Playing Games

never play chess with someone playing poker. never.

the poker player sees all you see on the board, but you will never see what they see in their hand. play poker and they will have as much uncertainty as you and will judge their risks with a great deal more caution. in deed, make this double-game player uncomfortable with uncertainty by playing their game and you will find they usually fold.

theives' honor

Among thieves, honor is a pragmatic necessity, not a character trait.

the science of science

I love science. It fascinates me, continually pointing to truths tho never illuminating. The spiritual does this. And because I have such regard for the derivative understandings of existence science provides, I have little regard for those who close its books and make it their religion of hostility to everything science isn't. In a way, their belief system is a sacrilege to the pure motives of science. Take a look at all the science news; it is a cavalcade of discoveries, a process of learning, not just 'knowing'. And in its fabulous discoveries are discoveries of its errors. In deed, the history of science is rife with mistakes and its landscape littered with the bones of martyrs for its corrections. It would be well to see its landscape littered with the bones of those who continually attempt to make science an iconoclastic ideology.

perfect isn't

perfect grammar is not perfect truth
perfect mathematics is not perfect reality
and perfect structure is not perfect beauty

remove doubt

remove doubt. it is a broad and tall object but never weighs more than a seed.

the low door to love

i once came to love by a gate
to a door i was too tall for
and ruminated on the chore
until it was too big to state,

then i recalled the old wooded gate
with its stone wall and door so low
and how i stooped and bent my back
and to the other side walked through slow.

a petal falls

is it a flower when a petal falls?
and can the same be true for love?

natural love

a natural source
knows its natural course
and can do nothing less nor more,
and in moving to its end
it moves to its beginning.
there is nothing new in this knowing.
we have known it before we knew,
tho in knowing it anew
we are astonished
because we see the other
in the mirror of our soul
and feel at home.

love wrecks

A love that moves too fast usually crashes into another love.

a promise

I have not maintained the habit to post on this blog. My attention has been placed on surviving in this new world called America. It is a surprise to some that I am not happy to return. I resume life in a culture I feel alien in; it has treated me this way. Birth into it is a fact but not a reality. Returning to it is a reality but not a fact. My heart sees these things in such ways.

How can one not embrace this mother called American culture that bore and suckled him, that raised and tutored him and bred his manners? Quite a question. The answer is I transcended this identity, first innately, then by living among others in different ways in distant lands and learning what it is to be Human. This is a greater distinction than being a man from a place.

Enough for now. There's another matter. A stout, full figured but very short woman, a woman said to be the smartest in Zagreb, compelled me by the force of reason into a promise to write about my life on this blog. She knows my life well, so her intent was absurd; no one would believe it. If I heard tales about my life, I would not believe them either. Yet, I capitulated and made a promise. And, in consequence, I suspended writing here.

After all these months, I think I may satisfy the promise to her on my terms. Like promising to swim, but up to my ankles. She and her husband once saved my life by giving me a place to sleep and rice every evening. This is the only sign of gratitude expected.

unhonored and ignored

Our minds know more than we do.

essential wonder

Like is more essential than love, love more wonderful than like.

Seasons

Every shorn sheep grows a new coat. The sheep has its seasons; we do, too.

In Absence of Trust

Deal prudently with those not reciprocating your trust, and if possible don't deal with them at all. Such people can be willful and indifferent to the pain they will cause in your life.

wax, wick, and flame

They sat for a long while before silence broke. She looked right, left, then put her fingers to her lips as she looked up with tears in her eyes, asking, "What are we?"

Sam controlled his emotion, breathed deeply and said, "We are wax, wick, and flame, made to burn and glow. Then we give up the light. We stand straight in shelter, dance in a draft or out in the open air. We will be remembered how we glowed, bright or dim, and, for some, we will not remembered at all. As for her, darling, we will always remember her vibrant dance and brilliant glow."
. . . . .

Pearls

Our lives are strings, our task to add pearls.

modern democracy

I was asked, 'What is modern democracy?' I replied, 'It is people voting for their dictators.'

Delusion is that there is not God

The delusion is that there is not God. Religion moves beyond delusion.

Each in religion moves at a different pace. The attainment is reality as it is, and knowing God unmediated.

Delusion is a matter of the mind, its master the ego. Its a troubled master.

For some, they live in the intellect, sitting uncomfortably on a fence of contractions. For others, they live in wisdom, laying comfortably in a hammock of paradox.

To go beyond the senses, needs and pleasures, achieves an intimacy with reality and its Originator - to know without knowing, to feel without feeling, all without effort, in union with God.

Posted 1/07/08 on Blogcatalog

The Oracle

Afraid of transcendent heights, don't be cruel and own the horse with wings.

Hiatus

I have suspended posting while actively seeking employment.

childhood's lesson

You can’t be ‘here’ and ‘there’ at the same time, you cannot be in the present and the past now, and you cannot travel this life of time and be somewhere far behind.

It isn’t about control; control is for weakness, and the past cannot be controlled. It is about the childlike autonomy to stand and fall, again and again, until you can stand without falling. It is the childlike power to take a step, and fall, and get up and do it again and again, until you can walk several steps, and be excited and laugh because you did it.

The childlike take the successes of life and move on. The only baggage in life required to carry is the good and intelligence and abilities you have made and taken forward from your past. This is freedom.

a poetic reply

I received a letter. In its conclusion, I was asked, "What should I be?" I replied in a letter just one line, "Gold as strong as iron, iron as soft as gold, and in a sea of sand, a diamond light so bold."

space is a cradle

Light in the midst of darkness, something in the midst of nothing. Space is a cradle. The absence of something is ordered as well as what is there.

The Indivisible One

The purpose of God is indivisible.

No Robin Hoods

Those by nature selfish are thieves.

don't be fooled

A whale doesn't swim in a puddle no matter how vast it is.

Commentary Breadth is not a measure of depth, no matter how frequently people behave as if it wasn't so.

a lesson at hand

The young man lamented his condition and declared in exasperation, "I have nothing in life!"
The old man replied, "Close your hand! Hold hard."
The young man, jolted by the command, closed his hand.
"Harder."
The young man's knuckles and fingers began to turn red.
"Open!"
He slowly opened his hand.
"Look. You still have nothing. Don't use your life for nothing again."

possessed or possession

To be possessed by a thought or to possess a thought - to be acted upon or to act. To be a master, i must first begin by submitting.

fortune knocks

Grumpy, you get out of bed on a Saturday morning, and all you want to do is have a cup of coffee.

Just getting to the kitchen, the doorbell rings. You hesitate. You don't want to answer. Your hair's a mess, your slippers don't match. You say, 'what the heck'.

You're greeted by a guy in a black suit with sunglasses, and a limousine with blacked out windows waiting on the street. He asks your name. Confused, you stammer and give it anyway. He hands you an envelop, and turns and walks away.

Too early to think, you shut the door and open the envelop. It's a receipt for a deposit to your bank account for 1,000,000 dollars.

What do you do?

in the chilling shade

I was asked, 'What is totalitarianism?' I replied, 'All the plants in the woods and fields living in the chilling shade of one big tree.'

bankruptcy

I was asked, 'What is bankruptcy?' I replied, 'Love without respect.'

worth worship

Where anything evokes indelible awareness, preoccupation, regard, and response, great worth is found and worship performed.

be free and at peace

The old man was asked, "How can I be at peace and free in this world?"
The old man answered, "When an object moves, does space move, too?"
"I see objects move."
"Do you see space move?"
"No."
"Be as space, and as space, what is there is not you. Be free and at peace."

among the trees

Kit was 11 at the time, and it was just before Dad's 60th birthday. We'd not been back long from Sunday service, when Dad asked Kit if he'd like to come for a walk with him through the woods bordering the lake. Kit said, 'Sure!' Dad smiled at us both and said, 'Well, bring the dog, too!' as he walked down the front steps.

When they returned, Kit talked about the frog he and Dad almost caught with their own hands, and about the small snake that slithered off the path as they approached the road back home.

Then, in a hushed voice, Kit added, 'You know Mom, I asked granddad, 'Why do you spend more time among the trees than you do among people?' And he said, 'Because they're firmly rooted and grow straight up to heaven.' Mom, What did he mean by that?'
. . . . .

thinking outside the box

His chatter was increasingly annoying, and her patience was eroding fast. When Fred congratulated himself for 'thinking outside the box', she winced, and snapped, 'The only people that need to think outside the box are blockheads.'
. . . . .

serving time

Space doesn't exist in time, time exists in space.
The servant is the owner and host of the household.

the ruler and the saw

If you can't measure the wood, it doesn't matter how sharp the saw.

PostScript The tyranny of the ruler can put the saw to bad use; the tyranny of the saw can do a very bad job.

statement of powers

I was asked 'What is the difference between a government and a state?' I replied, 'By compact, a government serves and is answerable to me. In a state, I am its chattel, born into political ownership, and must do what it demands.'

pull out the weeds

A relationship is a garden mutually owned. If one or both finds weeds sprouting, it doesn't mean that the garden be abandoned and joint ownership dissolved. Help the garden which mutually benefits. Get down and pull out the weeds.

experience speaks

After being introduced by Professor Guerrero, the old journalist casually leaned back against the chalkboard with arms crossed and looked over the class of students like a hawk looking for prey. One student began to shift in his chair, two began to cough, then another.

Thinking to himself, "Son los míos", he stood up straight, took three steps forward, and spoke in a voice as strong as Stentor's, "Journalism isn't an art, and it isn't a science. It's a triumph."

The old journalist paused, reviewed the looks of astonishment with satisfaction, then proceeded at a more natural volume, "To any who think journalism is as easy as reading and paper the cost of good writing, I say this, journalism is quite simply chipping away at nothing and coming up with something that keeps the reader glued until the last period, and makes him glad he was. Now you do it."
. . . . .

Buford’s Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I think the wellbein’ of any upright person is made from the sweat of the brow an' the time to enjoy life to boot. Look at me. I work hard at Sam’s warehouse from 6 in the mornin’, then play checkers with Jethro after work, follow' by'a watermelon seed spittin' contest for a pack of gum with Billy-Bob, then play the ocarina to my sweetheart Lilly, follow' by suppin' with ma an' pa, then go on this ol' hand-me-down ‘puter to scratch my head an' think of somethin' to do with it, then so tuckered out I go to bed an' sleep it all off. Y'all do the same, I reckon. Excep' play the ocarina to my sweetheart Lilly, acourse.

Then lately, I get to thinkin’ bout politics. These politicians, they promise alot, an’ make ya feel like ya rootin’ for a football team in the playoffs, but I know government ain’t a sport an' it sure ain't a legal business so the money for all these ideas would have to be comin’ from outa the wallets of folks like me an' my neighbors. Then I get steamin’.

Now there’s talk they want to take care bout folks’ health. I didn’t see that care after a storm came in an’ blowed granny’s house down like the big bad wolf. They can put a few men on the moon with the help of some of granny’s hard earned wages but won't help her with some wood and a few men to fix an ol’ house. Somethin' strangely unbalanced about politicians.

What does granny get instead? After church, gets to watch well paid politicians on Sunday morning TV at Martha’s trailer sassing each other with polite impoliteness an' some lookin’ to granny like they havin’ sissy fits.

I think I’d rather be free an' die young than to have Washington politicians take more of my life's labor in cash an’ manage my life at 'no cost' till the day I die. I don’t like their deal. They all made a mess of everything else they manage, anyway.

So, horsefeathers. I ain't their huckleberry.

Sincerely,
Buford

In Defense of Intelligence

You don't pull the apple tree out by its roots for critical examination to decide if you'll eat its fruit.

Rubrics of Happiness

I was asked, 'What can ensure my happiness?' I replied, 'Eliminate surprise; do not under-estimate the bad. Eliminate disappointment; do not over-estimate the good.'

Baka Kaže

[an impression written immediately after traveling to Slavonski Brod to visit a friend's 93 year old baka whose family life, to express it gently, was a disappointment to her. She died in October, four weeks later.]

Simplicity ~
in it no comfort,
none to find
in me its renown.

Stillness ~
in it no comfort,
so many to crush its door,
and then comes a light so dark.

Ah, but yet death's dawn,
its darkness so radient, calm and peaceful.

The Old Priest's Paper

after the funeral of the old priest, two fellow priests dutifully sorted through his meager belongings. they found a torn paper yellowed with age with the following faded penned script.

so be keen my young priest. observe without effort.
observe yourself and others without distinction. we
are all known and know others by these tokens ...

incidental remarks
strong declarations
opinions expressed
gossip spoken

judgements made
biases disclosed
prejudices exhibited
preferences performed

what is accepted
what is tolerated
what is rejected

what is praised
what is accused
what is approved
what is ridiculed

what is forgiven or not
what is excused or not
and what is excused or forgiven but not forgotten

questions not answered
questions evaded
questions given a question
questions given a lie
or the extent of an answer
and by the way an answer is given

how much time spent alone
how much time spent with others

who time is spent with
how much time is spent
how that time is spent
what is said about the time spent
and what is said about the company kept
compared to what may be known later

who is liked of those that don't know they are
and why they are liked
who is disliked of those that don't know they are
and why they are disliked

who is helped, friend, foe, neighbor or stranger
and by what means and extent, or who is not,
and whether the deed or its lost opportunity
is happily remembered, sadly regretted, or forgotten

and remember, my young priest, words are by the
mouth, actions by the entire body. Always best both
mouth and body agree, and wisely. we will speak
of all this more soon.
. . . . .

undergoing a blog redesign

After my experience a year ago, and the effort drove me crazy, I'm renovating this old blog again.

love learns

In love we learn then live our love.

now a word from our sponsor

Heaven's economy is not based on production. It's based on behaviour.

on being content

Better to have a daisy than to seek for a rose without thorns. The common is better than the trouble.

clarity unmediated

Think without words; be aware without thought.

distinguishing efforts

mediocrity does nothing more than it can
virtuosity does everything more than it must

balance

I was asked, "How do I keep my balance in life?" I replied, "In the same way you do when you walk a rail."

before there was religion

In my travels through other lands and immersed in their cultures, I am not drawn nor tempted into debate about religions. I am at peace and natural with others.

Yet if any conversation, whether by provocative mischief or sincere critique, suddenly looks for disagreement, I explain in unapologetic innocence, ‘Before there was religion, there is God and me.'

where nothing is

The value of any two links is that they join by embracing each other through the place where nothing is in each. Each link retains its individuality yet together gain a new identity. And so it is with us.

living summations

"To have" or "to be"? Crippled in one, we are whole in two.

close companions

Every weakness in one person has in another a corresponding mate called complaint.

calculated or inspired

To be led requires trust, to follow, belief.

superlative

I was asked, 'How can I describe a superlative?' I replied, 'With the silence of a smile.'

welcome to the academy of applied failures

Lesson one. Repeat this after me. "I can't" means I will not do the things necessary to achieve the ends I claim I want.

just another flower

The young man explained his difficulty in love. The old man advised, "Don't be just another flower in a field of flowers a woman loves."

friends in misfortune

Friends are like leaves on a tree. When the great winds of misfortune blow few, if any, remain.

already employed

Truth is the servant of no one.

benefit of loss

Losing everything from weakness, you will certainly lose nothing by being strong.

identity

What acts is the act.

heaven's choice

Empty of power he can be its vessel, disdaining power he receives it, Heaven knowing well all will benefit.

never-ending competition

A young lady in the back row stood up and asked the professor, 'What types of doctrines do you think currently effect the situation in this country?'

The professor paused for a few seconds then said, 'Let me make what may sound like a poetically naive remark and then, elaborating, answer your question more specifically. There are two types of doctrines that continually compete for influence in human affairs: those that tear and rend, and those that unite and blend.'
. . . . .

political economy

There are those whose acts, even sacrifices, are governed and proceed from their beliefs, and there are those, always those, ever prepared to gain from these acts ~ at the believer's expense.

we are attached

We are all creatures of attachment.

as i am

It was their first date. She was lovely, articulate, intelligent ~ and very inquisitive. Growing increasingly uncomfortable and puzzled by her persistent questions about his past accomplishments, Sam excused himself and said, 'What I have done means nothing to me for the present. Nor should it to you. You build memories with me not with my past.'
. . . . .

a closed mind

A closed mind is like a crypt. If you have the patient fortitude to jar it open, you will only find the remains of what once lived.

sound illumination

This unusually expressive monk finished reading and said, ‘God spoke "Let there be light." Sound illuminates!’ The monk noticed Gretchen's look of surprise. ‘Or perhaps’, added the monk with a subtle smile and more disciplined manner, ‘sound is preeminent to light. His sound calls, there is response, then light is let to be.’
. . . . .

in the company of a 'know-it-all'

Asking two or more consecutive questions commands the conversation. So when in the company of an obnoxious know-it-all, question! Let him speak! You know what he knows, too, as soon as it passes his lips.

mirroring values

We act out of our values and in so doing we act to them.

social intelligence

Life is too short to live intelligently for the whim and convenience of others. Live intelligently for yourself.

at odds

Life's purpose is to grow old.
Evil's design is to be sure it doesn't.

the curious side of motherhood

There are mothers who raise their sons to be the kind of men they wouldn't want to marry.

where are you?

Success has no address; failure does.

change the frame

A bad frame of mind distorts the picture we see. Change the frame to improve the picture.

in every herd

Out of every herd of horses is a jackass.

bullying ignorance

I was asked ˝What is ignorance?˝ I replied, ˝Ignorance is a small amount of knowledge expecting a large amount of knowledge to yield. Strength is challenged, weakness exploited.˝

you and the unconscionable liar

Avoid unconscionable liars. They cannibalize reputation, property, and money. They steal past, present and future.

build it within

If the house of God is not built within it is not built anywhere at all.

the fragile intangible

Trust is the most fragile of human intangibles.

a complete success

To be a complete success in life be good and be good at something.

changing modality

In human life, everything is a variation on a theme. In one's life, change the theme, change the variations.

your very own

Love is a bank.

honesty

Honesty is sense in judgement, knowing right from wrong, doing what is expected, telling the truth, doing the truth, and accepting it.

union compared

Possession of knowledge is inferior to union with it. In deed, any possession is inferior to union.

foxes and the hound of truth

We are foxes, and when the hound of truth catches us he will grip us firmly in his teeth and not let us go until his master comes and decides.

servitude

I was asked, ¨What is servitude?¨I replied, ¨It is obligation without authority, performance without power, accomplishment without praise.¨

helpful limits

Let go the drowning dog that bites you.

those who don't seek

Ignorance is ubiquitous power over those who don't seek.

two halves complete

The heart is made of two halves and so is love.

in the ring

Purpose, plan, practice, pluck; let fate follow.

how durable belief?

A belief is tested by one's commitment to it in the face of obstacles, and one's devotion to it in the face of destruction.

prayer's seasons

The Spring of Life prays, "Thy voice, teach me to heed."
The Autumn of Life prays, "I heed thy voice, teach me."

discretion

Better to be a mystery than a fool.

live in this day

live the rest of your life in this day
live today as you wish to live the rest of your life
live the way you will be happy to remember you've lived this day

let go

To ascend you must be detached. To fly and soar, the eagle lets go of the limb.

an unshadowing love

Unconditional love: where those in its presence have no shadows.

an uncomfortable good

If your conscience is annoyingly present at critical moments, be grateful. The self-righteous and evil don't have this problem.

avoid absurdity

Inference based, theories cannot account for factual or dynamic anomalies. They are intellectual appealling high-brow fictive explanations that institutionally satisfy in spite of limitations that are often marginalized, hidden, or dismissed. Not explaining everything, they are only tentative explanations. As a result, theories should never be dogmas or ideologies.

act in the power of simplicity

After advising the young man, the old man added, ˝Power is in the simple, so the solutions are powerful because they are simple. You will see it so and act in the power of this simplicity.˝

those true to themselves

I have found that those true to themselves are too often true to no one else.

wagging the dog

I was asked ˝What is political power?˝ I replied, ˝The tail wagging the dog.˝

hearts

Some follow their hearts, others have hearts that struggle hard to follow them. Then there are those hearts that have nothing to lead or to follow.

focus

The impotence of intent summed in the phrase "I wish I had" should lead the heart to the power of attention to present concerns summed in the phrase "I will".

for the love of being correct

The ego can be an obnoxious companion. In expressing your thoughts, facts or opinions, sequester your ego, graciously ready to be corrected if conversation finds you in error.

constant among variables

My head may turn to other things, not my heart.

wrong all around

Excessive patience can be as wrong as the wrong done in the face of patience.

the intimate prayer of exquisite simplicity

As was his particular habit the first evening of each school year, the portly Headmaster strolled with imposing presence and measured footfalls through the school's dormitory biding each new young student an amiable good night.

Approaching the door of the last room, the Headmaster immediately stopped as he overheard the most intimate prayer of exquisite simplicity:

Lord
This is me
This is your's
This is thanks
This is all
Amen

. . . . .

perfect faith

Not knowing the mechanics and physics of flight, the bird flies. Perfect faith is not the precedent to action but is the act itself.

break out of the bell curve

Don't compare yourself to others; rise above your instincts. Break out of the bell curve.

cleverness

I was asked, ˝What is cleverness?˝ I replied, ˝Negligence in the long term.˝

the inscrutable you

Why complain about heaven's ways being so inscrutable when your ways are so curiously inscrutable to your neighbor? It's a little like one dog looking quizzically at another dog barking at the moon.

measuring success

The measure of a man's life is not his success but what he gave up or sacrificed to achieve it.

changing places

Our death is something that happens to others.

in any event

Not every possible act is necessary nor has the same probability of performance or occurrence as another. And though not every past act was necessary, each is evidence it was possible.

beyond the limits of cause

Physics has ˝causing˝, life ˝making˝. Applying ˝causing˝ to life activities compels a necessity that does not abide freedom that is the complement of choice and decision, the operational characteristics of life. ˝Cause˝ has no choice, ˝make˝ does.

yes, no, and maybe

In business dealings, remember this: yes is yes, no is no, and maybe is no unless it becomes yes.

no secrets in the afterlife

There are no secrets in the afterlife. You will be known in a way you are not known now.

matching within and without

There are truths within us and without us. When these truths match we are whole.

Secret match the truths without

meanness

Meanness, born of an ill heart, never weaned from its mother, paid for once with an entire life, with dishonest ledger has but one aim ~ to wreck, ruin, or annihilate.

balthasar gracian: a reading's afterthought

There is a clear distinction between choices of right and wrong that pervasively dissimulating complications can only disturb. The more variables and subtleties of deceit and heartless pre-eminence of self-interest and advantage sought among a people, the more craft required to perform right, let alone the slender tensile interior strength required to incline to it.

Percipient cunning, commanding appropriate oblique measures with care and employing attentive, distracting charm, can be just as necessary to perform right as it is used by villainy to mock it. Application is different, as are the results, in one act or many, over time or an instant, delivering on occassion the bad to hell with finesse while serving heaven to the good with grace.

nothing is lost

What I lose is not lost to God.

degree of exposure

When you're at the pinnacle of success, you have 360 degree exposure. Of course, that's not the same degree of exposure you have at the bottom of the barrel.

little things

Little things have a magnitude disproportionate to themselves. And in such lies greatness.

a father's love

I have found that much that I do that I identify myself with is done for my children. They are the edifice upon which I raise my efforts, and yet they are to the world’s eye, at best, an inconspicuous foundation to all I do and am. I do not trumpet my love, but my devotion to my children is deep. I believe this is typical of fatherhood: the oblique expression of love for children to whom the father is deeply committed.

go ahead

Standing on nothing, nothing is lost if a step is taken.

made by belief

We are what we believe, not what we believe we are.

acquiring new strenghts

Disciple: one who learns under another's discipline. To be taught and trained requires giving up freedoms to acquire new strengths.

nature

I was asked, 'What is nature?' I replied, 'Nature is intelligence without an I.'

an act of kindness

An act of kindness is equal to an eternity of friendship.

shilling trust

Whatever a man's distinction, be they breeding, education, drive, charm, or entrusted responsibilities, they may be given too much esteem and account a man too well. Such distinctions can lead to unwarranted regard. Consider the apostles. Eleven of the twelve never suspected their treasurer of treachery.

spared the incompatible

Don't be concerned about being rejected; you've just been spared the company of the incompatible.

misers begging

How absurd ~ the misers of mercy begging Heaven's gifts.

answers to a prayer

[a true story]

There was once a man deeply troubled in love who earnestly asked Heaven to send him the highest angel to help. Then one night an angel came. ¨I am he¨, the angel said. The angel showed this man a vision ~ among others so real ~ of a young man and woman seated at table writing. Standing over them were another young man and woman watching. The angel said, ¨Do as you see. With the woman you love, write all the things you each privately and publicly want and need. Have with you others who know you both. They will insure nothing is left out.¨ Embarrassed, this man asked, ¨Even our most intimate wants and needs?¨ ¨Yes,¨ replied the angel, ¨Then exchange your writings.¨
. . . . .

possessing an instrument

Never confuse the possession of an instrument ~ tool, body, or mind ~ with the ability to use it. All instruments require mastery, and mastery is acquired by the application of one's life to it.

how a story is told

When events are the result of lies, duplicities, and deceptions, they become complicated stories to tell. They require much fore-thought, organization and effort to explain. Honesty, truth and integrity may have their mysteries, but the stories that result are always straight-forward and simple.

excellence

I was asked, 'What is excellence?' I replied, 'Excellence is where intent and actions are equal, uniform and commensurate vectors achieving an outcome that is good or beautiful to the elevation of life.'

scratching the head in wonder

Reckoning by their impatience, I am slow to learn the lessons others wish to teach me. But by and by I master their lessons to often discover that those who taught me have yet to learn the lessons they teach.

the ends we value

Goal is value. We can measure the value of our goal by how many other goals it displaces. The goal we ultimately value, however, is the one for which we are prepared to risk other great values.

comforting impulse

Opportunity implicates proximity. We seize what is near.

the straight line of the circle

All that is hidden is pregnant ~
All that is revealing is birthing ~
Revealing is continual because the hidden is perpetual.

tyranny's hunt for the just

I was asked, ¨What is tyranny?¨ I replied, ¨Tyranny is where the unjust hunt the just as outlaws.

¨

strength in love

Love has beauty. Truth has strength and lends its strength to Love. Then Love's beauty cannot be sullied, nor its tenderness compromised.

transacting

We trade on values, not principles.

precious distinctions

Be generous with your love, and spend your time as tho it were scarce.

you make the difference

Unhappiness and dissatisfaction are completely different. Unhappiness is the sense you cannot alter events. Dissatisfaction is the prelude to doing just that.

the ridiculously stupid

One does not drink a cupful of wine from a tub. Let the means fit the purpose. Ostentation can be ridiculously stupid.

leadership and management skills

[opening paragraph for a conference paper]

Leadership and management skills: they are an academic's tautology, a binary god in the cosmology of modern management theory, fraternal twins profitably employed in the pursuit of every organization's goals and objectives. Though uniquely different, neither can be successfully subsumed under the other; they mutually benefit.
. . . . .

change your attitude

The chief problem with a sense of superiority is that it is made from such inferior material.

the usual problem

The problem isn't that there are bad people in the world. There will always be bad people. The problem is that good people think they're too good to come together to fight the bad.

be as air and wind

Until one is as light as the air and moves as the wind he is still attached to the world.

the heretic in academe

Shaking his head and chuckling while reading Scientific American, the young physics professor was overheard saying to himself, 'People believe in time but not God. Idiots. People submit to space but not God. Morons. People bow to gravity but not God. Imbeciles.'

be smart

The mind makes too many mistakes not to be joined with the heart before it's right.

[untitled]

Life resonates with symphonies that resonate Life as Nature belies a one note composer with a single score.

time and place

The young man finished by summarizing, 'Thus you need time to make place.'

The old man replied by reminding him, 'But you said time is known by objects, their existence, change and alteration and movement. So, if time is a function of objects ~ or possibly an inherent property or attribute as your reasoning suggests ~ then I need place first for objects; I need space for time.'

the truth about love

God's love is not at the expense of truth. Indeed, love resides in truth, and love is unconditional because truth is unconditional. Truth is what is, and not as we wish what is to be. Thus God's love for you is not at the expense of truth about you.

gratitude gratuitously given

This is God's world, and the leaves of the tree can complain and lament as they dance in the wind and breeze that they wish to be free to wander, but should they, they are already dead and under the whim of the wind. Let the leaf be grateful for the twig, the twig for the branch, the branch for the trunk, the trunk its roots, the roots and trunk the seed, and the seed for the earth's womb and the nurturing sky.

concealment's publicity

Confession of faith alone can conceal a great deal of disbelief; works alone can conceal a bad heart.

no harmony, no balance

Man's free will is an example to Nature to be satisfied with itself.

bless now

The past is gone, the future is yet to be; I bless Now, and in the root of this blessing is my thanks to God.

lipping ignorance

Labels are a limited vocabulary improperly used by those who find knowing an effort and thinking an inconvenience.

the most important person revealed

Who you turn to first and the frequency reveals the most important person in your life.

appearing from an exit

The very nature of existence is the appearance from an exit.

the unintended consequence

Judgment often asserts inferiority, but not always the object of the judgment.

to vie

To vie, one seeks to equal or exceed his rival. Perhaps, therefore, the aspiration for spiritual perfection is because evil appears to be so perfect. But to be perfect in form does not mean excellence in use. It is better to aspire to spiritual excellence which is the best answer to evil than the narrow, rigid, and self-attentive way of perfection.

mind the body

We have so abstracted that portion of life called mind that we are compelled to think in terms of a mind, body dichotomy. Yet, they are one and the same. The body is mind; intelligence permeates the entire body.

fatal conceit

Fatalism is a conceit.

hollow hearts, empty heads

[written of those who live murmuring complaints]

Winds none the loner
Tho no bounds beleague
Their lullen choir
Singing sullen siege
. . . . .

with whom i am

I am not sure whether I am a crow or an eagle, but when I am in excellent company I know I am a dove.

recount with caution

Exercise care in admitting your faults and mistakes. Such off-hand or deliberate confessions will be remembered and quoted to your detriment. There are many who, in not admitting their own shortcomings, protect their image by recounting yours.

join the future now

Regret is not meant to arrest time, but to join the future in correction now.

a eulogy in his own words

'The world has changed. There are few occupations that exist in this day requiring men of the old order. Few jobs still require the raw muscular strength and fear-facing grit that manhood is capable. Sinews of muscle, grunts, and sweat have given way to imperceptible breathing, légèreté on levers, buttons and keyboards, and soothing wisps of refrigerated air.

Firefighters are a remnant of that old order which few want to, or are able to, emulate. These men fight with pike axes, plaster hooks, halagan tools, ladders, hoses, pipes and water against one of the most destructive forces in nature.

But these men aren't defined by their occupation. Their life-risking deeds define their occupation. I know this from observing these men. I know it from experience. I was once one of them.'
. . . . .

that breed of family

There is that breed of family that hymns the eternal truths, piously salutes the Creator of all each sabbath, yet will make one of their own look good at the expense of others, endorse one of their own to the detriment of others, and protect one of their own from a justice they themselves would pursue against others.

friendship

Friendship: the acceptance of another as our self, and seeking his interest as if our own.

beneath words

The old man answered the young man, 'Something that sounds absurd - because it's unfamiliar - may give the lie to what's accepted. Associations hidden by common usage of language can be discovered.'

The old man took pencil and paper and wrote, 'a cause from a cause that comes from an effect.' After writing a list of prepositions beneath the words 'from', he instructed the young man, 'Now make substitutions for each 'from' in any combination. My point will be evident.'

bookends

When you achieve your goal you achieve your decision.

everything in sequence

Can't sharpen the blade when you're still forging the steel.

life finds

I have found that life finds.

the least attractive side of evil

You can always identify the least attractive side of evil ~ it believes doing good is a loss.

arts of conversation

So many skilled in the art of mortal conversation but so few in the eternal one.

blend in uniqueness

We are all unconnected but want to be touched, to have the benefit of connection without the loss of individuality, without the loss of identity. If we would only realize, man and woman, that there is no more loss of that uniqueness we feel is our's than there is loss in the colors in the rainbow. Each is distinguished from the other in their connections, while each is joined in a pleasant blend.

in the white

There are those who, in leading a tidy life, see everything in black and white. With such a convenient vision of life, these comfortably see themselves in the white.

payment

Our debts are paid with our loves and wishes.

boldness in restraint

Boldness in restraint is as great as boldness in action. Restraint is a measure of discipline of will and volition without disfiguring integrity of need, means, and intent.

Bold acts have far fewer opportunities to be performed where risk and loss are at their greatest, but restraint is not performed as often as all its frequent opportunities.

"nirvana"

I see that I see
I hear that I hear
I speak that I speak
I am that I am ~
This is that it is
So I am

your test

One man's trials are another man's test.

Insight your test is what you do in the face of another's trials

innocence's avenger

He said, 'Never with evil intent harm Innocence. Innocence has an avenger who will come. He will be more singular, his attention more focused, his sense of purpose more keen than yours. He will hunt you for retribution better than you hunted for mischief.'
. . . . .

destiny's double helix

I have thought on this a long time and think there are two destinies in each person's life: the one that is given & one that is chosen. We can ask Heaven to change the one given, and we can change the one we chose.

tomorrows today

Tomorrows are lived today.

assertiveness

Assertiveness is inner confidence and positive projection.
It is the fulfillment of self-respect in social interactions.
It is the equilibrium in what is correct.

grandpa

Grandpa was a lean, hearty man with a 'no-one's fool' gentleness, schooled in common sense and the results of reasoned efforts fired by the love of self-determination. At eighty he had the strength of a man half his age. His personal creed was strong, his code of conduct regarded by many as holy, and his diet rigorous - 'eat anything from the garden, and nothing more.' No drink or smoke passed his lips, nor did bad words.

I came to visit him in his country home bordered by a great garden, a humble estate almost hidden by acres of woodland but for a small break where a railway line could be seen not far beyond. New paint on the house, the weathervane repaired, otherwise it appeared nothing else had changed in five years.

Settled in, I was pleased to visit him and enjoy the country solitude. Grandpa came out to the front porch just as I was sitting comfortably in his old oak rocking chair. As if by the light of heaven, he smiled and said to me, 'Comfort elsewhere is laziness here.' Pointing beyond the garden, Grandpa added, 'Come. Help me with that woodpile over there, then we'll rest.' It was the beginning of many lessons I was to learn on what it is to be free.
. . . . .

any eventuality

You live for any eventuality that follows death. If you don't, perhaps you should.

fear of losing

You've been afraid of losing crumbs when in fact you've lost the whole loaf of bread.

responsibilities

Our responsibilities are always as we find them.

more or less

The more I understand the less I seem to know.

simply unassuming

Truth is unequal to all men know. It has no time, yet within the reality of men is its own place. Truth acquires from all, yet learns nothing from us and willingly allows us to draw from it. Oath, shrine, fane or convention cannot bind truth, yet it can be found in these. Truth is not made. It simply is.

chararcter known

Our character is known in what we encounter.

the consultant

Gretchen sat down after checking in at the flight counter and looked contemplatively out through the great glass windows of the airport corridor. The sky had a look of washed out blue as the sun burst through clouds like radiant silver. Looking out beyond the black runway at the bleach white snow remaining from the morning, she mused, 'This will be...'

A mobile rang, jarring her. Thinking it was her own, she instinctively reached into her handbag when she heard a strong Texas baritone drawl say 'Hello' from the seat behind her.

The strong voice continued 'yup ... yup ... an'?'

'If she wants a dog to kick, tell'er to go find one that's agreeable.'

'Hmm. She wants the burly butcher with the manhood of a eunuch.'

He chuckled.

'Politics is war, my friend, and she wants a tea party, so ...'

'No, Jack, and she ain't gonna win the primary by ... excuse me, Jack ...'

'Look what the other side of the aisle has. Those two aren't women. They're carnivores. Hell, they eat their own. And she hopes to be fightin' one of'em in the general.'

'Then tell her to fire her staff, and hire people with thick hides, stainless steel backbones, cast iron guts, and brawny brains.'

'Go soft soap someone else, if you think ...'

'It's possible.'

'Let's get things straight, Jack. I'll cancel this flight out and return, under these conditions ...'

'Wait a ...'

He breathed a deep sigh.

'I don't get involved in office politics.'

'You know my rule. I set up the expectations and contract to reflect it.'

'She knew my reputation comin' in. She knows how I work. I told her strategy, tactics, counsel, advice, recommendations, findin's, criticisms and critiques will serve her campaign, her platform, her personal interests, her alone, an'll be objective to boot. And one proof of it is that everyone in'er camp will probably find somethin' that'll piss'em off.'

'Their karma ain't tailored for me. It'll be their problem.'

'Then let me explain matters this way, Jack. She has a target for me to hit. She has one chance at it. I won't spend my time ridin' and guidin' an arrow to dodge in an' out, up an' down an' around some dumb jackass wannabe campaign gurus that get in the way of the bullseye. If I have to, I'll shoot'em first, then shoot the target. Get the picture?'

'You know better. I don't make friends with competin' agendas. And I can't be bought with a pretty face, so don't pull that bunny from the hat again. My name's worth more than a twenty minute carnival ride.'

His laugh was long and barely audible.

'Stop. You made your point.'

'Sure. Everybody wants the best. But some want the best advisor, others, the best mascot. She needs to make a choice and keep it.'

'I didn't hear ya ... she's on the ... take your time. I'll wait.'

'You certain?'

'Then she's mine, lock, stock and barrell. And she'll win. And, Jack, the fee just went up 20.'

'Yes. We understand each other. We always have.'

'Let me know if she accepts the bump.'

'Oh, I'll be here waitin'. Take all the time you need of the next fifteen minutes you got before this flight leaves.'
. . . . .

artificial intelligence

artificial intelligence: a semantic world that acts on how it feels no matter what it thinks.

the famished

Lacking knowledge and skills needed for the professional esteem they impatiently crave, the famished for identity earnestly seek. So they take and copy what they believe are the characteristics and vocabulary of those they find and deem competent. Yet the famished wish, while acquiring, to be regarded as complete, and any acquisitions to 'talent' incidental finishing touches that make them divine. While quietly building their house, they want us to keep our focus on their pretty picket fences.

innocence

Innocence is the absence of all virtues and the need for none.

lie in power

People occasionally need power, and in a lie they acquire it quickly. In deed, in an instant. Sadly they do not realize that the power is not in them but in the lie. They ride the tiger of their creation but are not its master; fall and they are its prey.

toleration terminal

Your unhappiness will extend as far as your toleration.

so what If you know

What good is it if you know everything about Ceasar, if you cannot think like him?

objects of remarks

He looked over the top of the magazine he was reading and added, 'After 30 years of practice, Freud couldn't figure out what women wanted.' With a shrug, she replied in a bored tone, 'It doesn't matter. They'll never get it.'
. . . . .

training the right person

Can train a hunting dog to be obedient, but you can't train a lapdog to hunt.

a prince in the household

If God in Heaven is the King of the Universe,
and I am a child of God,
then I am a prince in the household of God,
a nobleman in His kingdom,
and so I shall live this way among men.

love's essense

Love's essense is a continual promise continually satisfied.

the window

Be like the window; light passes both ways.

not accepting what is

We are motivated by not accepting what is.

common still

Though uniqueness is the preference of many, we are what we are because of the common.

statement by the chair

The old manager had a framed statement on the wall beside the chair job candidates were asked to sit. It read, 'I require much and offer much and only want people who want both.'

turn the knob to open

It's as though we have been sent from Heaven to live in a closet with instructions to turn the knob to open the door back to it.

first within

If a woman has no beauty within she has no beauty at all.

will

We live to learn to train our wills.

maturity

We graduate to maturity when we go from being mastered by the past to masters of the moment.

benefits of quick judgment

I have observed since my youth that those overtly or covertly quick to exercise judgment seek for themselves or those they love gain and status at the expense of those they judge.

our local world

The subtleties of life and what we take for granted are one and the same. We are masters in the subtleties within our own environment and our powers reside in what we take for granted.

need in love

Need in love is deficiency sometimes demanding, sometimes commanding, attention. To true love's sorrow, it seeks for itself, when love's premise is to mutually gain, give and share.

being true

A rose doesn't cheat the sun for moonlight.

loves's utensil

Some love to be better, some to be complete.

get out

If remaining in unhappiness to receive an answer that never comes to 'Why?', grasp the beginning of your quest as the only answer that matters: 'It's not right'.

from a place within

Our purpose in life is to find our own voice, to speak our own words, from a place within we discover is our own.

advice on life

The old man said, 'You wrote the drama you're in. If you don't like it, exit stage right and rewrite your script.'

expectations' force

People's expectations have a greater force in their lives than the power to choose. Choice tends to be exclusively contingent on expectation.

slipping into trouble

Tinkering trifles
Travailing trites
Trafficking troubles
Then tragedy strikes

words

The young woman suddenly said in a tone of emphatic disgust, 'Words mean nothing.' The old gentleman looked across her face, then into her eyes compassionately, and replied with calm certainty, 'Words are deeds that dismay or inspire. Words are acts that kindly touch or rudely slap.'
. . . . .

belief is not a truth

Belief is not a truth.

Belief is the commitment to and investment in a proposition that may or may not be true.

one's own visitor

Many people are a walled city living outside its gate.

glory found

Our glory is found in our trials ~ God's glory is found there, too.

the whole is in the parts

She looked me studiously in the eyes and asked, "Is the sum greater than the whole?" Caught off guard by the sudden turn in our conversation, I replied with a question. "What flies, the feathers or the bird?" She mused for a second, faintly laughed, then leaned forward and said with a smile, "The feathers are only one portion of all that makes a bird." Smiling back, I asked, "What flies, all that makes a bird or the bird?"
. . . . .

disappearing ink

whatever good you are or do for some
it is all written like disappearing ink on their hearts

our lease on life

We are all tenants with a lease. Some of us, however, behave like we are the landlord, others like there is no lease at all.

what satisfies

There are those that wealth satisfies in a way God does not.

an avenue

Respect is an avenue not a one way street.

associates and well-wishers

Lies have many more associates in this world than truth. Truth, however, has many more well-wishers.

a choice before you go

An angel suddenly appeared to a man in the middle of the night and declared, "Death is immanent. Choose now before you die: repent or forgive." Gripped with astonishment then slowly resigned to an inevitable fate, the man considered his common humanity and replied to the angel, "I forgive all who sinned against me." "Well chosen," replied the angel, "for there is repentance in it."

we cup what we choose

We are each a chalice of life choosing the drink we cup.

truth

Truth is a discreet, differentiated recognition of reality which is validated by the retention of its identity in spit of perspectives. Truth is predicateless, yet all things and their predicates can be identified with truth.

leaving the rude in its own company

The rude will press till you break with frustration or anger; let them fail and see the power you have in the best you are without them. Know your memories, and remember someone or something that is worthy of your attention for the moment. With equinimity, smile pleasantly - and, if necessary, seize or make an opportunity - and take your leave. Note the best of what may be bad and move on to other company.

becoming

something is nothing unless it embraces what embraces it and becomes.

what remains

Pity and purge desires that turn into frustrated needs, and be content with what gives, sustains, and maintains life from a decree that cannot be altered by reason, wish, magic, delusion or rebellion. Look! See! What remains will be recognized as blessing's source and its continual endowment upon you now.

dignity and nobleness

Being near dignity and nobleness is not the same as possessing them. Proximity and frequency of contact alone do not acquire their attributes. Whatever continual contact the King's chamber-pot has to the King, it remains a chamber-pot.

advice

Be sparse with advice; too freely given, it's seen as opinion's counterfeit. The foolish are often advised best by their own misfortune and the intelligent will prudently seek it out for sound planning or when pressed by exigency.

unconditional love

Unconditional love is absence of self and self's advantages, yet always virtue's illumination.

structured idiocy

Deductive logic is structured idiocy if its product is not a hypothesis for verification.

remember god?

The Gift-giver is greater than the gifts-given.

handle with care

Truth is like a sharp, double edge knife without a handle. It will cut him who holds it as easily as the one he hopes to cut.

love at hand

Getting older I sought peace more than love only to find love was at hand all along.

self-serving assumptions

Opinionated people base their judgments on self-serving assumptions.

understanding others

Incongruent behavior and words yield insight into purpose and motivation by first placing attention on the behavior.

sacrifice

Sacrifice doesn't take anything.

natural contemplation

Leaves and branches sway -
The tree remains still.

There's contemplation in this.

think on

Think your blessings came with a condition to be arrogant, rude, haughty, or selfish? or enjoy a sense of unique superiority? Such privilege born of blessing ~ an interesting concept. Think on.

"gelassenheit"

Be to brightness
a companion of night
Be to darkness
a companion of light

the write impact

[on a whimsy]

What's in a name? Reputation. Purple Cow PR has earned a solid reputation for being open and responsive, pragmatic, results driven, and radically innovative. As one observer remarked, 'Purple Cow PR doesn't pursue results. It makes them.'

As Croatia's powerhouse public relations and communications agency, Purple Cow PR is acknowledged as an achievement leader in substantive client outcomes. The engine that drives our success is senior veteran savvy and expertise blended with the top young, public relations specialists in the industry.

Providing an unmatched spectrum of agency services, from business, not-for-profit, and government public relations to high-profile communications and crisis management, Purple Cow PR's accent is on service, proactive and responsive strategic counsel, and innovative programs with measurable outcomes and distinguished results.

'Purple Cow PR doesn't pursue results. It makes them.'

Total internal collaboration is at the heart of Purple Cow PR's efforts on behalf of each client. We don't relegate some clients to junior and delegate other clients to senior agency members. Each client has our agency's entire attention and collective intelligence.

We don't think inside or outside the box. We don't nudge the box or shift it from here to there. There is no box. Each client's interest is articulated in a field of communication dynamics and relationships, where each message is tailored, each communication strategy is crafted, for impact and results - enhancing reputation, the bottom-line, or protecting in a critical moment.

Offering unmatched insight and knowledge of the Croatian market across all business and industry sectors, Purple Cow PR has the uncanny ability to immediately focus on the relevant.

With a rich network of local and international strategic partners, we can assemble teams that will advance organizations' agendas, goals, and major initiatives within Croatia or across borders. Our strategic partnerships effectively complement our service, together delivering line of sight, high performance outcomes equal to Purple Cow PR's standards and exceeding client expectations.

Running through Purple Cow PR's record agency performance is a simple core principle. We do for each client what we'd expect as a client - the very best from the very best.

What's in a name? Reputation. Purple Cow PR.

---

[translation]

tko smo mi?

Što je u imenu? Ugled. Agencija Purple Cow PR stekla je solidan ugled zbog otvorenosti i responzivnosti, pragmatičnosti, vo?enosti rezultatima i radikalnom inovativnošću. Kako je jedan promatrač primijetio: "Agencija Purple Cow PR ne teži rezultatima. Ona ih stvara."

Kao agencija za odnose s javnošću i komunikacije "Hrvatske elektroprivrede", Purple Cow PR priznata je kao vodeća u postignućima istinskih rezultata svojih klijenata. Stroj koji pokreće naš uspjeh jest mudrost i ekspertiza naših veterana koje se skladno uklapaju s najboljim mladim stručnjacima za odnose s javnošću u industriji.

Jamčeći neusporediv spektar usluga koje agencija pruža, od poslovnih, neprofitabilnih i vladinih odnosa s javnošću do visoko profiliranih upravljanja komunikacijama i krizama, naglasak agencije Purple Cow PR jest na usluzi, proaktivnom i responzivnom strateškom savjetovanju, te inovativnim programima s mjerljivim rezultatima.

U srcu napora agencije Purple Cow PR za svakog pojedinog klijenta jest potpuna unutrašnja suradnja. Ne upućujemo jedne klijente mla?im, a delegiramo druge starijim članovima agencije. Svaki klijent ima potpunu pažnju i kolektivnu inteligenciju naše agencije.

Ne razmišljamo unutar ili izvan "kutije". Ne guramo niti prebacujemo "kutiju" s jednog mjesta na drugo. Ta, "kutija", ne postoji. Interes svakog klijenta rasčlanjen je na području komunikacijske dinamičnosti i odnosa gdje se kroji svaka poruka i izra?uje svaka strategija, komunikacija za učinak i rezultate ? poboljšavajući ugled, krajnji smisao, ili štiteći ga u kritičnom trenutku.

Nudeći neusporediv uvid i poznavanje hrvatskoga tržišta kroz sve poslove i industrijske sektore, Purple Cow PR ima izvanrednu sposobnost u istom se trenutku fokusirati na najbitnije.

S bogatom mrežom lokalnih i internacionalnih strateških partnera, u mogućnosti smo sastaviti timove koji će unaprijediti programe rada, ciljeve i glavne inicijative organizacije unutar Hrvatske ili izvan njenih granica. Naša strateška partnerstva djelotvorno upotpunjuju našu uslugu, zajedno dajući jasno vidljiva, visoko učinkovitia rješenja koja su jednaka standardima Purple Cow PRa i prelazeći očekivanja naših klijenata.

Pri pregledu agencijskih izvedbi nalazimo jednostavnu jezgru temeljnog pravila agencije.

Za svakog klijenta činimo ono što bismo mi očekivali da se učini za nas kao klijente – najbolje od najboljih.

Što je u imenu? Ugled. Purple Cow PR.

flashbacks

If you want good memories, make good decisions.

do you believe in magic?

One may as well stand at the pantry door waiting for supper to come out to the table, as to wait for one's gifts to manifest without work.

irritating truths and pleasing lies

Better the company of irritating truths than pleasing lies.

increasing law

The more laws the more punishment. The novelty of solutions is diminished. Wisdom fades, compassion wanes, and justice becomes a burden to the people.

"i can't"

"I can't" is something you do in the toillete.

past acts

Past acts are the present's refuse. No man need keep husks to enjoy his corn, nor dine on the threshing floor to enjoy his bread.

the beauty of it

Beauty needs character
but character need not beauty.

we're the tailor

How can God put on us if we don't fit him?

the company question

I am well below the threshold of guile and candidly confess that there are times when for the first time in the company of another I ask myself this question: 'would I want this person as a neighbor?'

the worst loneliness

To feel without while being within, to belong and not be valued, is the worst loneliness.

rock in the goose down pillow

The corporation had been too long in grave financial trouble. Eventually the board did what it must do and sacked the CEO.

After scouring for the best candidate they could find, the board hired a new CEO. The new CEO was a soft spoken, pleasant man, who, with a number of changes, quickly made his mark in the C-suite. One change was a highly progressive open door policy, where anyone in the company was welcome to speak with him in his office.

But it wouldn't be long before the entire company was abuzz about one conspicuous item in the CEO's office.

Hanging on the wall behind his desk was a very, very large, beautifully framed, magnificently designed graphic that read:

In controversial moments
My judgements rather fine,
I always see both points of view,
The one that's wrong and mine.

. . . . .

a child builds love

A mother's love provides the cornerstones, a father's love the keystone, to the arch of love a child builds.

love reasons

Love's Paradox: Union of selves that remain individual
Love's Theorem: Sharing in the fruits of sharing
Love's Postulate: Focus of attention in the absence of self-interest
Love's Corollary: Seeing life through a second pair of eyes

comebacks

Everything returns to its origins. Our acts do, too.

creative finesse

Creativity does not collaborate; it lends itself what it borrows.

advancement

Those who question learn more than those who agree.
Those who agree get further than those who question.

the diary

[written at mystique cafe in a country far, far away on a lonely, gray day]

Gretchen and I were traveling through the Holland countryside on our way to Amsterdam when our rental car's heater hose ruptured. I hailed a passing car and had the good fortune the gentleman stopped and spoke enough English for us to communicate. He called from his mobile for help, and a half hour later we were towed to a village not far from the thoroughfare. With one call to the rental agency the village mechanic was authorized to repair the broken hose. Gretchen and I decided to explore the shops while we waited. She went to a craft shop, while I was drawn to the bookshop next door.

I entered to meet a young woman coming from the back room who could tell from my poorly spoken French greeting I was a Brit. 'You are British, monsieur?' 'I am.' Playfully, she replied, 'Then let us speak English.' After small chatter about the village and shop, she explained that I was the first 'Englishman' to be in the shop since 1915. Indifferent, I awkwardly thanked her for bringing it to my attention.

After brief silence, she continued, explaining that her family four generations earlier had been deeply affected by a young British officer badly wounded near the beginning of the war. From what she described, in spite of his severe wounds, he exhibited extraordinary character and had a quiescent, peaceful presence - an inner certainty and dignity that seemed to overtake any who came to his bedside.

My curiosity roused, I rattled off some questions. Smiling, she raised her right hand up slowly to me and said, 'Wait! I will show you our family's greatest treasure.' She left for the back room. Flushed with mild irritation, I thought, 'How I hate non sequiturs.'

She returned with an old untitled leather cover book with a dark stain on its lower spine and front cover. Running her hand slowly across the front of the book, she said, 'This was the Englishman's blood.' Placing the book in my hands, she said, 'Open.'

Opening the book, I saw what looked like a diary entry at the top of the page dated 21 August 1914. The young lady laughed gently with pleasure. I looked up and only saw bright eyes. 'You are a blessed man!' 'Why?' I asked. Leaning forward, she spoke softly, 'You have begun well, monsieur.' Then moving her hands as if shooing me away, she continued, 'Now read!' And so I did.

21 August 1914 Calcutta

Our final overture to sense and reason failed. Father's will has prevailed. Cogshall and I must return to England forthwith. Such a father and patron exasperates. Our studies end before begun. One more son from the family for another war? We leave tomorrow.

22 August 1914 Calcutta

Arrived at the railway station to a most singular event. One of our trunks was so heavy that two porters had difficulty removing it carefully from the cart. Impatient, the station master yelled at them with resounding ferocity. The usually reticent Dr Cogshall, annoyed by the ill mannered station master, sternly retorted in Hindi, 'Leave them be!' The station master stood astonished, then slowly turned his back and walked away. The two porters continued with conspicuous equanimity. When they finished, I asked Cogshall to ask them from whence they acquired such extraordinary dispositions. Cogshall spoke to them in Hindi. With subtle smiles, they both turned from Cogshall to me, peered into my eyes, and answered as if in song as one man. From his extraordinary memory and wit, Cogshall has given me this translation.

porter 1 ~ be still in movement
porter 2 ~ move in stillness
porter 1 ~ seeing all destinies
porter 2 ~ be not in nor out
porter 1 ~ be here and there now
porter 2 ~ there is rest in movement
porter 1 ~ when you are still
porter 2 ~ this stillness is clarity
porter 1 ~ murmuring shadows
porter 2 ~ banished from self
porter 1 ~ is translucence
porter 2 ~ stillness - no commotion
porter 1 ~ silence - no dissent
porter 2 ~ then perception clear
porter 1 ~ then thought timeless
porter 2 ~ then action grace
porter 1 ~ then speech true
porter 2 ~ this is called
porter 1 ~ life without a shell
porter 2 ~ this is called
porter 1 ~ indefectible peace
porter 2 ~ this is called
porter 1 ~ extensible existence
porter 2 ~ this is called
porter 1 ~ the atom of being
porter 2 ~ this is called
porter 1 ~ the power of power
porter 2 ~ we call it
porter 1 ~ living
porter 1 & 2 ~ in the origination of existence

I am captivated. Ready to pay the cost for Father's certain anger, I have decided to delay our travels, to meet with these two men tomorrow. I want to learn what they know.

23 August 1914 Calcutta
. . . . .

light moving

Light casts lights,
overtakes the edge of objects,
moves without sound around corners,
to illumine what has seen it from the dark.

feathered bed or feathered faces

Feathers are just like opinions ~ better to sleep on them than to toss them into the face of others.

technorati

After spending the summer learning [and going bonkers with] coding into the wee hours of the night, writing, testing, and rewriting code, scrapping, one after the other, page designs, I have finally restored and renovated this blog [credit Aridewa], and ended this achievement with 'claiming' [?!] my blog at technorati. What an achievement. A little like graduating university. Study, persistence, a ceremony, a celebration capped later with friends and a few stout ales. But not this time. I will kiss and embrace sleep.

an angel

An angel requires no property to be defined, no property to be noticed, pursues no acquisitions, nor profits, lends not at a rate, nor borrows at one. Truth and love are his only possessions, not held in his hands but in his acts.

bureaucrat

Bureaucrat: without understanding, nor a wit of thought, one who is satisfied when a fact matches a rule.

thoughts like gifts

There are times we must leave our thoughts like gifts at the feet of those we care about and without ceremony walk quietly away. Rarely ignored, the manner of our behaviour will make recipients of these gifts.

master mystery solved

A master is a student at the root of his being.

complicity

Evil's reward is no retribution.

the straight line curves

We see a rule as a straight line until we turn it on its side and discover that it curves.

space life

We live in the space of our souls.

tale of a sweet talking frog

[my rendering of an old tale]

Long, long ago, deep in a forest a league or more from the earls's great castle was a little humble rustic village. And in this little humble rustic village lived a quaint little old man with a particular habit.

Every morning, if the weather be fair mind you, the old man with staff in hand went down a well trodden path that meandered through the forest whilst listening to the chirpping of birds and watching shafts of sunlight glowing through limbs and leaves.

On one particular morning walk, or better said a shuffle, the old man heard a voice that said so sweetly, 'If you kiss me I will turn into a beautiful young maiden and be your's forever.'

The old man, startled, stopped, pulled the back of his pants up with one hand, and looked about to find from whence this sweet voice spoke. With no success, the old man continued, staff firmly in hand, when again he heard, 'If you kiss me I will turn into a beautiful young maiden and be your's forever.'

Again the old man stopped, scratched the top of his head, and looked around. Glancing to the ground whilst now rubbing his chin he saw a large green frog with large green eyes batting its long green eyelashes, that said, 'Sir', with emphasis, 'if you kiss me I will turn into a beautiful young maiden and be your's forever.'

The old man, first startled, now excited, without a reply picked up the large green frog, put it in his pouch, and rushed back to the village as quickly as his old feet could shuffle.

Whilst shuffling from the forest to the small open field that led to the village green, the old man saw two of his dearest friends sitting on an old log by the edge of the green. He approached them with a hearty greeting and told them his story of the talking frog. Mute, they stared at him in disbelief, turned to each other nearly nose to nose, then suddenly burst out laughing so uncontrollably that they both nearly fell off the log.

With a slight squint of the eye and nod of the head, the old man spoke, 'I tell the truth and so will prove!', and forthwith, like sleight of hand, pulled the large green frog out from his pouch. There it was, in his hand, batting its long green eyelashes, saying with mild but noticeable impatience, 'Sir, if you kiss me I will turn into a beautiful young maiden and be your's forever.'

Starring at the large green frog with large green eyes batting its eyelashes, the old man's friends rose to his side and nudged him with their elbows shouting, 'Well aren't you going to kiss the frog? Kiss the frog! Aren't you going to kiss the frog?'

The old man looked up at his two dear friends and replied, 'Are you daft? At my age? I would rather a talking frog.'

known by a game

One doesn't realize clearly how responsible they are for their own destiny - circumstances encountered, made, altered, or altered by - until they play a game.

"abgescheidenheit"

Be as the snow
no rest in rest

Be as the rain
no movement in movement

Glide like the eagle
no feelings in feeling

Dive like the hawk
no thoughts in thought

Be as a bowl empty
it waits without waiting

Be as a cup full
it gives without giving

unhinged

A man without a woman is a gate without a fence.

a glowing difference

These people of brass ~ they forever need polishing, always by others. So don't be taken by a glowing similarity. Keep with people of gold.

roots to conceit

There once was a tree regarded by the other trees in the forest to be mighty in stature and magnificent in form. With each new spring, he appreciatively mused over the adoration he received, and in time this turned into such a deep rooted conceit that it superseded interest in the very roots that bore him. "Why, what started me has no resemblance to what I have become", thought the tree. His thought and attention were so focused on his grand foliage and great sprawling limbs that he grew farther from what he was. As time passed, he lost his remembrance of what made him, and slowly lost what he really was. He had become his praise.

bad government

I was asked, "What is a bad government?" I replied, "It's where the sheppard abuses the sheep and feeds the wolves."

constituting conflict

Shared symbols... shared meanings... shared values... shared rules... shared purpose: the properties constituting the reason for group formation, maintenance, and movement. Symbols... meaning... values... rules... purpose: the properties constituting conflict between groups.

the water

Be like the water; it is in agreement with itself in rest or movement.

don't be a pinhead

When you're at your peak, be sure you're not standing on the point of a pin.

fitting answers

It's amazing that people dismiss the presence of answers felt imprecisely tailored to their prayers ~ when Heaven's wisdom suggests they must grow to fit their answers.

the darkside

Judgements of others are Prides's finest moments, unforgiving Pride's highest power.

lying paradox

A lie disposes of truth like trash yet hides it like treasure.

flipping the koan

The old Zen master asked, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" The young village boy shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It depends Master; is it clapping against my cheek?"

sim.ple sym.me.tries 1

wisdom: love stuffed in knowledge.
compassion: knowledge stuffed in love.

sim.ple sym.me.tries 2

action: where perfection follows completion.
speech: where completion follows perfection.

the sweetener

Goodness given sweetens goodness received.

currency only meant to be spent

Your life is currency. Spend it.

self sowing

Each one of us is an individual field of life, and all that we say, and all that we do, are seeds thrown upon the field of ourselves. Be careful, then. Do not sow seeds you do not want grown.

love boat

Building a relationship is like building a boat. Two first frame it with keel and ribs, then lay the planking for the hull; next the deck and finally the mast and sail are installed. Build your boat well, the two of you! A well made boat will be comfortable in calm waters, and rugged enough to withstand the tempests at sea - they come inevitably.

self-instinct

People assess others for themselves.

letter to a young professional

[excerpt of a letter of advice written to a young professional entering the political campaign world]

Many years ago I conducted polling for two federal campaigns – Senate and Congressional seats, respectively. The Senate campaign staff dismissed a couple of serious and urgent recommendations – because they were based on the qualitative side of my efforts. On the other hand, the Congressional candidate and campaign manager had to be coaxed and persauded on a couple of matters, but then assiduously applied recommendations and counsel given.

The Senate race failed at the polls (they listened too late); the Congressional race won.

Some years later, I was asked to give a presentation in Washington on these campaigns from the research perspective as to the what's, how's, and why's of (what they said had turned out to be) predictive, 'qualitative' insights 'derived' from hard crosstabulated polling-data that appeared to