But the highest minds of the world have never ceased to explore the double meaning, or, shall I say, the quadruple, or the centuple, or much more manifold meaning, of every sensuous fact: Orpheus, Empedocles, Heraclitus, Plato, Plutarch, Dante, Swedenborg, and the masters of sculpture, picture and poetry.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, from his essay, The Poet
Many fires burn below the surface.
His arrival in Philadelphia is one of the most famous scenes in autobiographical history: the bedraggled 17-year-old runaway, cheeky yet with a pretense of humility, straggling off the boat and buying three puffy rolls as he wanders up Market Street. But wait a minute. There's something more. Peel back a layer and we can see him as a 65-year-old wry observer, sitting in an English country house, writing this scene, pretending it's part of a letter to his son, an illegitimate son who has become a royal governor with aristocratic pretensions and needs to be reminded of his humble roots.
-Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
History is a child building a sandcastle by the sea, and that child is the whole majesty of man's power in the world.
“Success Strategies” could be an exciting new academic field, but it may be even more beneficial if its lessons are addressed in elementary and high schools as a Life Skills program.
-Michael Wade, from his substack
When faced with the prospect of admitting you’re wrong or looking for a better explanation, most people get busy looking for an explanation.
-Ben Carlson, from this post
In the school of life, every experience offers a lesson. . . .
Some people fully embrace learning, while others choose to cut class.
"I wanted to change lives, yes," Camus wrote when young, "but not the world, which I worshipped as divine."
His deepest gift, always, had to do with finding the confidence to affirm: "The great courage is still to gaze as squarely at the light as at death." His enduring lesson was that the difficulty—the irrationality—of life need not rob us of our joy. That Sisyphus's efforts will always be fruitless need not mean that his life is wasted. A plague can awaken heroism and compassion precisely because we are no longer sleepwalking through life.
-Pico Iyer, Aflame: Learning from Silence
Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.
We shouldn't forget, as we learned in school, that normalcy is merely the psychosis of the majority.
What we need more than ever, though, is help in discovering if we’re asking the right questions and choosing to go to the right place.
-Seth Godin, from this post
Basic words for complex things.
-Jarod K. Anderson, Definitions
I'm crazy enough to believe that the happiest man on earth is the man with the fewest needs.
We are immersed in beauty, but our eyes have no clear vision.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, from his essay Art
When we lack real problems, we create imaginary ones; when we
lack meaningful work, we perfect the unimportant.
The deep question in American politics today, however, concerns the fate of the Democratic Party. For Republicans, the future will look and sound like Trump and his band of young buccaneers, about to take Washington by storm. They may succeed or fail in arriving at their destination, but the direction is set. It is otherwise with the Democrats: the 2024 election shattered the party, and it isn’t clear how—or if—the pieces will come together again. . . .
Ever since, the Democrats have stumbled inside a house of mirrors, where wish is confused with reality and fatal errors appear as a mere failure to communicate. In that place of illusion, they embrace a mythology that elevates them into wondrous spirits—representatives of science, perpetual guardians of “our democracy,” saviors of a dying earth, adjudicators of perfect justice. By definition, only satanic forces could oppose such a chosen people. To abandon this mythology will be traumatic and identity-crushing.
-Martin Gurri, from his essay Lost in the Funhouse
Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass. The moon was not quite full, but bright, and it was behind them, so I could see them plain as day, though it was deep night. Lightning bugs flashed against the black canvas. I waited at Miss Watson's kitchen door, rocked a loose step board with my foot, knew she was going to tell me to fix it tomorrow. I was waiting there for her to give me a pan of corn bread that she had made with my Sadie's recipe. Waiting is a big part of a slave's life, waiting and waiting to wait some more. Waiting for demands. Waiting for food. Waiting for the end of days. Waiting for the just and deserved Christian reward at the end of it all.
Those while boys, Huck and Tom, watched me. They were always playing some kind of pretending game where I was eight a villain or prey, but certainly their toy. They hopped about out there with the chiggers, mosquitoes and other biting bugs, but never made any progress toward me. It always pays to give white folks what they want, so I stepped into the yard and called out into the night.
-Percival Everett, James
The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny - it is the light that guides your way.
-attributed to Heraclitus
After a very pleasant dining experience at 1922 On The Square, My Sweetie and I walked down the street to the wondrous Midland Theatre where we took in a great show from the ageless Oak Ridge Boys. Much fun.
I am present at the sowing of the seed of the world. With a geometry of sunbeams, the soul lays the foundation of nature.
..........................this will be interesting.
There’s a long roster of governors, senators, members of Congress, and celebrities who can take the plunge. A short list includes Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker, Maryland governor Wes Moore, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, and California governor Gavin Newsom. Senator Christopher Murphy of Connecticut and Ro Khanna, a Silicon Valley congressman, seem likely to announce. For Democrats hungry for wealthy, famous outsiders, billionaire Mark Cuban and Stephen A. Smith, the ESPN commentator, could be viable. Pete Buttigieg will probably run again. Both Harris and her old running mate, Tim Walz, might be in the mix. For those nostalgic for bruising centrists, Rahm Emmanuel is floating a trial balloon.
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