Meditation allows us many things, but possibly the most important thing is that it allows us to shift our perception. Instead of thinking about “things,” we can shift our perception so we “experience” what we are thinking — opening new doors to insight.
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It occurred to me that I could use decimals in my numbering scheme to allow me more than one entry on a given day. I promise not to make a habit of that practice…
3 lbs Corned Beef Brisket
1lb Baby Carrots
1lb small Yukon gold potatoes
Beef Broth
2 Yellow Onions
1 head Green Cabbage.
Garlic
Soda Bread
(There’s more to it than that, but that’s the assignment I’ve been given.)
I went to two stores looking for Authentic Irish Soda Bread. It’s a fairly small town but still, I couldn’t find any — so I made it myself.
4 cups Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbsp Butter
1 cup Raisins (either type, I prefer Golden Raisins)
1 Egg
1 - 3/4 Cups Buttermilk
Whisk dry ingredients. Add cubed butter and mix by hand. Stir in Raisins. Make a hole in the middle of the dry dough mixture and add whisked Egg and Buttermilk. Fold until well mixed. Turn out onto a floured surface and press into a ball, work the dough until it has a consistent texture but do not overwork. Place the dough in a cast iron skillet approximately 8” in diameter. Flatten the dough to an even thickness, score an “X” on the top, and bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 425 until a toothpick comes out clean.
The dinner was delicious.
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I call this post my ode to Instagram. If this were Instagram, I would have ended the post with the caption above. The reason I have a blog is that I like to write and arguably Instagram is not the place for that sort of thing. Of course, neither is TikTok, X, or Facebook. I’ve read that people should be familiar with TikTok slang and be able to use it to relate to younger generations. (You would be correct in assuming I am an older generation.) For example, I could have added the hashtag “xyzbca” to the above photo as a means of pointing out how cool the photo was. That’s not going to happen here. I think words are enough.
I will say the following about today’s social media platforms, you don’t have to know how to read to use them. To be frank, I think it is one of the design goals of the developers. All of the social media platforms mentioned above are designed to influence us in some way. You can say that about any form of communication, this writing included, but I think it is especially true about those sites and many other social media sites. Social media presents us with unsubstantiated ideas. By that, I mean there are often few if any facts to back up the propositions being put forward. I know what you are thinking, where are your facts for this garbage you are throwing out here? It’s simple, what I’m telling you amounts to my opinion, the difference is I’m making no effort to have this particular piece of my opinion sound like fact.
All of this is what you might want to think of as a tangent. It is my opinion that Instagram is the least dangerous social media platform, but still can be used for subtle forms of influencing. It is my opinion that X, TruthSocial, and even Facebook are a waste of time. I’ve seen too many people get hurt on Facebook, and I think X and TruthSocial (and others like them) are a complete waste of time. Not only that, they are dangerous. They can (and have) led us down paths that could ultimately change our society in ways that are intended to benefit a few, rather than benefit the many. Yes, that’s my opinion.
Something else to consider, not just my opinion, but the opinion of a growing number of social scientists, there is an expanding body of evidence-based studies showing the negative impact of smartphones on child development. (Smartphones are of course the portal to social media.) In short, the environment created by smartphones is hostile to children’s development. Here’s one example of the research: End the Phone-Based Childhood Now. This post now officially qualifies as a screed.
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Benjamin Franklin wrote under several pseudonyms. He wrote as “Silence Dogood” for the New-England Courant, he also wrote as the “Busy Body” for the American Weekly Mercury, and most famously, as “Richard Saunders” for Poor Richard’s Almanack. One of Franklin’s most famous maxims appeared in Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
The Founders were privileged to have available publications from Europe that few colonists had access to. One such publication was the Spectator. In 1726, the clergyman Thomas Fuller wrote an essay titled, “Directions, Counsels, and Cautions Tending to Prudent Management in Affairs of Common Life.” Fuller’s essay contained the following maxim: “Use thy self to rise and go to bed early. This may seem like a frivolous precept, because it respects such common matters; but if it be well observed, it will contribute very much toward the rendering of a life long, useful and happy.” Franklin took Fuller’s maxim and condensed it into his famous version published in Poor Richard’s Almanack.
It’s easy to see why people had such love and respect for Benjamin Franklin.
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I read the poem “Horses,” by Pablo Neruda. It was so beautiful it made me cry. So did the poem “A Blessing,” by James Wright, as did the poem “First Days of Spring — the Sky,” by Ryokan.
Needless to say, I wish I could write poetry (anything really) as beautifully as those poets.
Sidebar: I sometimes ignore Grammarly. It suggested I delete the phrase “Needless to say”. I like my way better. Of course, I am frequently accused of being verbose and not just by Grammarly…
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Don’t use the top.
Don’t use the trough.
Turn on the berm.
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Happy Birthday. I love you. Thank you for being a part of my life. I once got a ride from an Uber driver, and when I told him what a wonderful family I had, he told me he wanted to join my family. You are a big part of that.
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I watch in horror, as
They storm the steps
With no idea
What they are doing.
I am witnessing
The calculated destruction
Of democracy,
One man’s dream.
It saddens me
That so many allow themselves
To become
Ignorant tools.
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Have you ever seen
an elephant standing on one leg
on top of a stack
of tea cups?
I have.
When I looked more closely
I saw a reality
where elephants
weigh less than tea cups.
It was an optical illusion.
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Seek tranquility whenever you can. The thoughts that come to you when you do that are the best guides you can have.
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How you live your life
Says a lot about
How you will be viewed
Once you are gone.
It doesn’t hurt to keep that in mind…
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Today I wrote down the names of 64 poets.
That’s a lot of poetry.
I would like to read them all.
It looks like I may be getting a late start on that one.
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Impermanence. I suppose that sort of sums it all up. One day you are cruising along and the next day a broken water pipe sends you into chaos. The best way to deal with that is to live without water pipes. I’m working on that…
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There is a part of me that wants to live apart from the world. I would like to be alone with my thoughts, surrounded only by nature. I’m comfortable with my thoughts and with nature, but I have never given my thoughts free rein to roam like the open space that nature gives. I’m curious to see where the thoughts would go given that opportunity.
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It doesn’t matter where we are in time at the moment. We are where we have always been, and where we will be in the future — unless we open our eyes.
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Winter has withered everything
in this cold mountain place:
dignity is in
its desolation now, and beauty
in the cold clarity of its moon.
— Saigyo (1118-1190)
Yes, winter has its effect, but behold
the perfectly carved track in the
freshly fallen snow.
This is one man’s compliment to nature’s
cold mountain place.
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Nothing that can be said that is worth saying, can be said in words. That could be why I struggle so mightily with writing.
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I would be remiss if I did not mention my love for my brother in these entries. Of course, I never had a biological brother, but that doesn’t matter. My true brother has been a part of my life for all my best years. He knows me too well. He knows when I last changed the tires on my truck and what size I run. You know who you are. Thank you for being there for me. I love you.
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When I go to see my doctor and the nurse asks me to step on the scale, I like to say: “Do you mind if I take all my clothes off… I’d like to get an accurate reading.” It never fails to get a smile.
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I like my life. I’m reaching a point where I can actually appreciate that feeling. That doesn’t mean I know what tomorrow holds, quite the contrary, I don’t, but I have some good ideas about what will make tomorrow a good day.
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One must stop periodically and listen. Pay attention to what is going on around you. Unless you stop and pay attention, everything you experience will only be a reflection of yourself. That would place you as far from reality as you could possibly get.
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I have realized the reason I write is that someday I will no longer be here. If I place these words in the right hands, perhaps they will survive me by a generation. If I’m really lucky, maybe two.
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Life is a combination of joys and sorrows. They must be accepted together. Neither one should be allowed to rule.
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Always look ahead and not back. I have tried to live by that rule all my life. Occasionally I forget some past event that I probably should have hung on to. A hazard I suppose of adopting this approach to living. I’m not sure there is a solution, but as a precaution, I’ve started keeping a journal. That may prove to be beneficial, but only if I read it…
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Kill The Banker - Manhattan
I named this drink after a run at Revelstoke. I haven’t skied it yet, but by god, I’m going to, and when I do I’m going to have one of these to celebrate.
Note: You can only get these bitters from Mike at the Sitzmark Bar at Alta Lodge.
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