Being Alone Means Being Nothing Special

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If that sounds nonsensical or illogical, consider how significant it would be if you were the only one taking a test, the only one running a race, the only candidate on the ballot. You wouldn’t be different from anyone else because there would be no one else with whom to be compared.

By virtue of that, you wouldn’t have any measure against which to be valued. Neither would you have any bragging rights or any other claim to fame because none of those rewards would be the least bit significant.

Like it or not, this is the kind of world … Read the rest “Being Alone Means Being Nothing Special”

When Accurate Insight Had To Prevail

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The farmer landowner and I were about to part company after a good visit. I had seen firsthand how he was reclaiming land in eastern Tennessee that had been strip mined for coal.

But before we went our separate ways, I got his okay to stay a while longer to make a few pictures of a couple of houses just down the hill on his property. Simple and nearly identical, they appeared to have been at one time homes for tenant farmers. What struck me most, however, was the curtain that with each occasional puff of wind was blowing outside … Read the rest “When Accurate Insight Had To Prevail”

It’s Time To Ponder

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Yes, we are in the first few days of a new year. It’s time to ponder.

Note that we aren’t referring to New Years resolutions which for many years has been a noble effort only to be often riddled with dismal to failed results. 

Neither is it about a goal which sounds worthy of attention except that you will either hit the goal (yay!) or miss it (oh no!).

Neither do we want to call it our imagination which is often just too far out of reach or dreaming which isn’t even in our universe. 

That leaves pondering. We rarely … Read the rest “It’s Time To Ponder”

And On The Twenty-First Christmas . . . .

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Twenty Christmases had already gone by. Although I was much too young to remember the first one, several others were special as when I received a Radio Flyer coaster wagon and found a Schwinn bicycle under the tree. 

Those memories of lights, tinsel, and colorfully wrapped presents crowded my mind, became a wonderful and timeless blur. Yet, as special and varied as all those previous Christmases had been, none of them prepared me for the 21st one.

The timing could hardly have been worse. Only a dozen weeks before, I had been abruptly lifted from the niceties and comforts of … Read the rest “And On The Twenty-First Christmas . . . .”

A Ready Back Pocket Response

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Any attempt to discuss the present political side of our existence almost guarantees being sucked into the likes of a boxing ring with no referee to keep order. Few if any of the arguments even begin to make sense. Every attempt to reveal the truth is scorned or ignored.

At the same time, logic nearly always gets thrown out the window. Any decorum followed at the beginning is soon either lost or trampled by those who insist that on all counts they are unquestionably correct.

Nothing or no one is immune, not even if someone is successful in steering the … Read the rest “A Ready Back Pocket Response”

The Twin Holiday Gold Standard

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Of all the holidays we celebrate throughout the year, the two most prominent are Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

That’s not to say any or all the others aren’t important. They definitely are because in some form or fashion each of them either supports or stems from the origin and meaning exemplified in Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

It is in that context that in their own ways Thanksgiving and Christmas have combined to become what we might call the gold standard of all observances and holidays.

There is disagreement as to whether the first Thanksgiving really did occur in November and whether Jesus … Read the rest “The Twin Holiday Gold Standard”

Life’s Four Levels Of Learning

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Logically if not methodically, we begin to learn as soon as we are born and continue to learn until we take our last breath.

At first, it’s primitive like fussing loudly until someone changes our wet diaper or eagerly reaching toward food that’s about to be given to us. No matter how simple or direct our efforts, we are rewarded.

That’s the beginning of the first shelf of learning — what we learn from family. Not until later do we realize how many opportunities are provided by family members: the uncle who is an auto mechanic, the cousin who is … Read the rest “Life’s Four Levels Of Learning”

An Unprecedented Happening

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Yes, what I am about to describe to you has never happened before.

I am writing this at 3 A.M. on Wednesday. My latest column about timing was posted early yesterday and by late afternoon I had already received a note from a reader in Arizona who told me how much she enjoyed reading the column. 

Fast forward to a few minutes ago deep in the middle of the night when my sub-conscience confirmed that yes, it was a good column except I hadn’t gone far enough. That is, as soon as one recognizes that the time is right, it’s … Read the rest “An Unprecedented Happening”

It’s All About Timing

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At first glance, you might think this is about time, except we already know about that. There are sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, twenty-four hours in a day, and 365 days in a year.

We also know that no matter how much we wish it were otherwise, we can’t save, shorten or lengthen time. It’s the one thing in our lives that is an absolute constant.

Timing, however, is an entirely different issue. It can occur quickly and at any time — the reason we say such things as “the timing was sure right for … Read the rest “It’s All About Timing”

Caring In A World Awash In Need

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The word “care” is one of the most commonly used words in our vocabulary. One reason is that modern communication is the driving force behind our increasing awareness of everything that’s happening throughout the world — including situations deserving or often pleading for whatever care we can provide.

That need involves a dizzying number of people, institutions, events, and things. Close to home, that includes relatives, friends, then extends outwardly and in no particular order to include the dislocated, sick, elderly, homeless, unemployed, disadvantaged, and handicapped, then on to structures, institutions, organizations, plus such natural elements as water, plants, animals … Read the rest “Caring In A World Awash In Need”