Category Archives: Wisdom

Failing

Posted on February 24, 2014 by John Swinburn

Several years ago (2006, if memory serves), in another life, I arranged for a couple of speakers for one of my clients’ annual conferences.  This association client needed, in my opinion, a dose of self-critical introspection. Some industry players were … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Self-discipline, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Fifteen Years On

Posted on February 7, 2014 by John Swinburn

When I read a poignant rumination on what it’s like to be 45 years old, I found myself thinking back fifteen years to the time I was forty-five.  I tried to recall how I felt, what I thought I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Happiness, Philosophy, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Wisdom

Posted on February 6, 2014 by John Swinburn

If it were possible to successfully impart to young people the wisdom that comes with age, people in their middle age and older would be far happier.  Unfortunately, the understanding of life that accompanies age and experience comes only through…age … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | 2 Comments

Drive

Posted on January 17, 2014 by John Swinburn

Desire, want, hope…all emotions that seeks change for a perceived better.  “I have a desire to be better looking and have more money.”  “I have a deep-seated want to more gregarious.” “His hope is to achieve a medical breakthrough.” None … Continue reading →

Posted in Happiness, Philosophy, Self-discipline, Wisdom | 3 Comments

Photographic Evidence of Hyperdistance and Uberspace

Posted on December 16, 2013 by John Swinburn

If you stare intently enough into the highfalutin shot glass from which you’re sipping rye, you can see the other side of the universe.   This photo simply doesn’t do it justice. I recall, when I took this photo a … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Revelations

Posted on December 4, 2013 by John Swinburn

Last night I read a number of posts I’ve written but have not posted.  There are reasons. Most of the time, I write and immediately post; complete with grammar and spelling errors.  But sometimes, I write and say to myself, … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | 1 Comment

Being Present

Posted on October 18, 2013 by John Swinburn

It’s early, cool, and overcast.  I awoke considerably earlier this morning than I have in some time.  Until just a few weeks (or has it been months?) ago, it was common for me to be awake and out of bed … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Setting Down Roots

Posted on October 3, 2013 by John Swinburn

The obstacles to achieving a comprehensive sense of contentment in my life are all hand-made and carefully crafted, built slowly over a lifetime of opting, at crucial moments, to do not what I wanted but what was expected of me. It wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Happiness, Sense of place, Wisdom | 5 Comments

Cloudy Clarity

Posted on June 19, 2013 by John Swinburn

The moments of absolute clarity, those instances in which the veil of confusion lifts and the realities of the world reveal themselves, are precious.  Precious is synonymous with rare, isn’t it?  Well, yes it is.  And those moments of pristine … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Old Bones and Buddha and Searching for Home

Posted on May 1, 2013 by John Swinburn

One of my brothers lives in the country.  Not “in the country” on a manicured estate, not on a horse farm with beautifully painted barns and well-maintained pipe fences outlining lush fields of grass.  No, he lives in the country … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Philosophy, Serenity, Wisdom | 2 Comments

Searching, Searching

Posted on April 28, 2013 by John Swinburn

“Kathy, I’m lost, I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why.”  Paul Simon wrote the anthem of young idealists exploring their world, looking for meaning, for fulfillment, for …something.  Many others have written of the awkward search by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | 4 Comments

Hidden

Posted on April 26, 2013 by John Swinburn

You cannot think through my  mind, nor can I think through yours.  This is a terrible dilemma.  Not so much the fact that I can’t think through your mind, but that you can’t think through mine. If only you could, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dreams, Philosophy, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Changing Places

Posted on April 25, 2013 by John Swinburn

I wonder how much truth there is in Emerson’s words: “Traveling is a fool’s paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places. At home I dream that at Naples, at Rome, I can be intoxicated with beauty, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Travel, Wisdom | Leave a comment

The Core of the Problem Could be the Processor

Posted on April 18, 2013 by John Swinburn

When I created this site, I had grand visions that it might become a place of “big ideas.”  I envisioned earnest conversations and civil debates leading to secular epiphanies and a deeper appreciation of this universe.  Sadly, those things require … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | Leave a comment

Serious Questions that “Sound” Stupid

Posted on April 11, 2013 by John Swinburn

I’d call it being blind-sided. Something happens, some idea enters your head, some “data” is presented to you…something that brings about confusion and doubt. Serious doubt. Something that causes you to question almost everything you’ve ever learned. Has it ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Philosophy, Television, Wisdom | 2 Comments

The Legacies of Bigotry

Posted on March 22, 2013 by John Swinburn

As I watched the video presented below, I was struck by the fact that there have been so very many lives lost and ruined by bigotry in all its many forms. Stop, think what bigotry means: big·ot·ry /ˈbɪgətri/ noun, plural … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Secular morality, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Last Tears

Posted on March 6, 2013 by John Swinburn

You think you’ve seen and felt the pain of loneliness?  No, you haven’t. Real loneliness can be felt only at that very last moment, the breath that won’t be taken again.  It’s only then that mortality becomes real.  And by … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | Leave a comment

Too Little Sleep

Posted on February 28, 2013 by John Swinburn

I wonder what it is that dashes expectations and wishes on the rocks?  Whatever crushes those crucial components of hope should be incinerated.  None of us need such oppression. But here we are.  My mood proves to me that, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Dreams, Family, Politics, Religion, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Questions with no Answers

Posted on February 28, 2013 by John Swinburn

Perhaps the solitude does it.  The deepest, darkest hours of the night may unearth questions otherwise buried under the daytime rubble of incomplete thoughts and hurried conversations.  Regardless of their genesis, the questions tend to arise when I awaken many … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Respect New Year Resolutions

Posted on January 1, 2013 by John Swinburn

The beginning of a new year is an interesting time.  Some people see the new year as just another day.  Others view it as symbolic of a new beginning, a fresh start.  Some of that latter group establish goals they hope … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Philosophy, Resolutions, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Transition

Posted on December 31, 2012 by John Swinburn

The end of a calendar year is an artificial ending, but it is an ending, nonetheless.  It is a time we choose to mark as a milestone, both an ending and a beginning.  The end of a year can be, … Continue reading →

Posted in Wisdom | Leave a comment

Early Morning Thoughts

Posted on December 29, 2012 by John Swinburn

It’s just after 5:00 a.m.  After taking my turn at a few rounds of various word games, I ate a very small breakfast of oatmeal left over from a day or two ago, then finished washing last night’s dinner dishes, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | 2 Comments

Art and Language and Ideas: One and the Same

Posted on December 27, 2012 by John Swinburn

My wife and I went to Fort Worth today with the objectives of: 1) viewing the exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum entitled, “The Kimbell at 40: An Evolving Masterpiece,” and 2) viewing the exhibition entitled “To See as Artists … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Painting, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Secular Christmas Gifts and Greetings

Posted on December 25, 2012 by John Swinburn

Christmas Day, 2012.  Thus far, eight hours and forty-two minutes in, it has been unremarkable. Santa Claus did not visit overnight, nor did we expect him.  My wife and I cast the old man out a few years ago, directing … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | 2 Comments

Perception

Posted on December 11, 2012 by John Swinburn

I walk outside and the cold air takes my breath away.  The biting wind ignores my sweatshirt and tears at me as I make that horrible transition from warm serenity to frigid chaos.  At that instant, when warmth  is stripped … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | Leave a comment