A history that looks back and mythologizes what has come before is nothing more than a tool of persuasion disguised as “thought.”
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If all cats are pets, it does not follow that if it is not a cat, it is not a pet. Listen carefully, you will hear this argument made in different forms more often than you can imagine. Don’t let this sort of thinking stand as an intelligent argument.
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Nothing that presents itself as a problem is ever a problem for long. The trick is to recognize it so it can be dealt with. If it can’t be dealt with perhaps it is not your problem.
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Tomorrow will come before you know it. Never let what is happening today stop you from waking up tomorrow with new hope and anticipation.
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Any activity that helps you to pay attention to your life is good.
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Okay, I have some 2024 goals. I’m going to lay them out here, because, well, a goal not stated is not a goal, right?
My First goal is to read six books a month. I checked that box in January (with a few days to spare too). I’ll chat about the “January 6” in a follow-on entry. It turned out not to be as difficult as I thought to knock out six books in a month, it was fun too.
My second goal is to exercise daily. When I say daily, I would seriously like to make this a daily activity. I expect this will be harder than reading six books a month, but we’ll see. What I have in mind is not that difficult. A little rowing, a little balancing, a little stretching for the back and legs, and probably the most important exercise, walking. When I’m here in Seattle I can walk up Queen Anne Hill (it’s a steep one). You’ll see the point of all this as we get into the rest of my goals for 2024.
With that, here they are. I would like to hike a couple hundred miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, bicycle from Missoula MT to Florence Beach OR, ride a portion of the Oregon BDR on my motorcycle, and the one I’m most excited about, print and hand bind my poetry, three copies, one for each child. That last one will take some skills that I don’t have. I’m referring here of course to hand bookbinding, but that also applies to writing poetry.
If I can pull off this list, it will be a good year for sure. I just need to keep the following tips in mind:
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If I am having dinner with you and I take my phone out of my pocket without your permission, feel free to take it away from me.
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It’s fine to pursue perfection but it must be tempered by the understanding that perfection is a thing not attainable… except perhaps by nature.
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A work of art needs to be created apart from time. It’s said that time “slows down” when we are being creative. This is a great truth of the universe, time is relative, not fixed.
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What do I know about writing? Nothing really. All I can say for sure is it makes me feel good. Perhaps this is a need I don’t understand. I do know it makes me feel fulfilled. Perhaps that is why I come back to it each day.
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Here is my advice to you (please forgive me for being so bold) write every day. You will learn more by exploring your own thoughts than you will by blindly adopting the thoughts of others.
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Which is better: The “collective intelligence” of society or the whims and desires of “great men?” To my way of thinking, the notion of “a great man” is pure fantasy. It is possible to rise to greatness when called upon, but to do so requires a special quality, not conferred by greatness, it is much more about humility and compassion.
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It’s raining in the mountains again. I’ve had one week of good skiing this winter. I’m not complaining. Wait, yes I am…
Don’t use the top.
Don’t use the trough.
Turn on the bearm.
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To understand the path we are on, we have to understand what drives us. What it is that made us choose this path. We must also ask if this is the right path to be on. There is no disgrace in altering our path if that’s what it takes to remain true to ourselves.
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I should write a poem
for my birthday,
but I don’t know how
to begin.
Perhaps it’s COVID
that brings me this feeling
of not knowing,
maybe it’s just me.
I want to be somewhere else
today, but circumstances
are what they are,
I’m here.
We will fix this
by going out to dinner tonight.
Fuck COVID.
I’ll have a bourbon and some fresh pasta.
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Most Americans are just fucking stupid when it comes to understanding the workings of our democracy. Another sign of someone who falls into this category is how willing they are to be told how to think.
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I discovered this while walking through the Seattle Center fountain courtyard. I would never have known what this was unless I had seen a mouse scamper along this trail, never veering off the path…
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If someone is not giving you the space you need to be yourself there is a question you need to ask: Is that person someone you truly need in your life? Would you be better off If there were more distance between you and that person?
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When it’s time to retire, it’s best to walk away and start a new life. You only get one shot at living, don’t spend the entire time doing the same things over and over again…
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Heraclitus and Parmenides defined the basic conflict that society must continually resolve. The conflict between stasis and flux. You cannot have a society that evolves in a positive direction if you adhere unwaveringly to one or the other of these views and refuse to acknowledge the role of the other.
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I am happy to have firmly held beliefs, but that does not put me above you, that does not give me the right to impose those beliefs on you. As long as we respect the law and our fellow man, we can say we are living justly.
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You should always keep a vision in front of you. No matter how weird or unattainable it may seem, it is the force that drives us and keeps us moving forward.
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Life is short. It’s a shame we tend to realize that so late in the game. It’s time to play catch-up.
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All good thru-hikers have a trail name. I’m not exactly a thru-hiker (maybe a thru-cyclist) even though I haven’t done the AT or the PCT, I’ve done other “thru” like things. I’m going to say that gives me an excuse to adopt a trail name for myself… My friend Terry would probably call me “Postman.” I like that, but the meaning is a bit obtuse (except of course for Terry and me). The truth of the matter is, that you have to be given your trail name by someone else. I haven’t been granted that privilege yet…
I’ll go with “Postman” for now, but I’m leaning toward “B-Rad.”
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My favorite work of art is Albrecht Durer’s Melencolia I. This was the first piece of art to explore perspective visually. It illustrates clearly that what we see is relative to where we stand. All knowledge is gained by altering our perspective. I find this notion uplifting.
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