Category Archives: Ruminations

When a person says he doesn’t need your help, the message is clear: it’s not the help that’s unwanted, it’s you. Accept reality and lend a hand to someone who wants it. Everyone who matters will be happier.

When you peek into the deepest recesses of your own mind, you’re standing precariously close to the edge of everything you’ve been told to avoid, things too dangerous for adults.

Take stock of your wishes and dreams every day, not only for yourself but for those who matter most to you. Never let them grow brittle and tarnished; strive toward them with the fierceness reserved for love.

Abrupt changes in personality are rare. Abrupt changes in behavior are common. When the two marry, that’s the time for either stark terror or overwhelming joy.

Mired in the gumbo of a thousand years of experience, we try to extricate ourselves from the destiny that is as sure as the rising sun. It’s of no use to attempt to change absolute certainty. If drowning is the only option, … Continue reading →

The phone rang. I glanced at the LED panel. “Club for Growth.” No, thanks, I’ll skip that call. I know who they are. I know they want my money so they can spend it doing things that are contrary to … Continue reading →

Consider this: attempt to write a friendly conversational letter, carry on a relaxing conversation with a friend, take a walk on the beach, and enjoy a cup of coffee; all within the space of one minute. It can’t be done. We … Continue reading →

Some decisions are indefensible. They are so blatantly self-serving and so laced with avarice that no apologist can successfully endorse them as reasonable. But we turn a blind eye toward them and stay quiet because it just wouldn’t look right … Continue reading →

I am pleased that I’m able to complain about the pain in my knees and my wrists, but I’m not happy that I have pain in my knees and my wrists.  Appreciating the little things requires tolerance of the little … Continue reading →

Electric power is back on, the sun is rising in the east, birds are flying, so all is right with the world.

Fear is both a motivator and a demotivator. If that is true, that must mean fear has no effect on motivation, yes?

Disappointment has the capacity to take a person into a dark little world of his own making. Confronted with the appropriate frame of mind, though, it can simply amplify one’s creativity in finding ways toward attainment.

Writing is lonely, but only if the writer craves company. More often, the writer’s friends and acquaintances reside in his mind, living deep in the recesses of an imagination that can be frightful. My imaginary friends and inaccessible villains hide … Continue reading →

Skepticism about the words a person utters tends to recede when those words are coupled with comments that can be confirmed. People like me, though, who are deeply skeptical of others from time to time continue to hold onto seeds of … Continue reading →

‘Honor among thieves’ is a concept built on lies and cobbled together with broken promises and naked self-interest.

Solving complex problems takes a willingness to explore impossibilities as if they were possible.

Breakfast in the wee-est of the wee hours is a delight few experience with sufficient frequency.

When you wake up in the morning and look into the mirror, give yourself a boost. Smile. Give yourself a nod of acknowledgement and appreciation. Sing, if that’s your thing. Days that start off on a positive note are better … Continue reading →

Certainty is inversely correlated with wisdom and vice versa.

Some days, I think I’d have made a pretty damn good singer-songwriter if I could write music and carry a tune.

I begin the sixth month of the year 2015, wondering what Earth will look like two thousand fifteen years from now on June 1, 4030. The global floods of 3099 and 4006 will probably alter its appearance considerably, but the asteroid strike on … Continue reading →

I’ve noticed that the harder a person argues against someone’s strongly held beliefs, the less willing that target of the argument is to accept the premises offered as truth. Oh, my, is there a correlation, or is it just coincidental?

A few hours of hard work, scraped knuckles, and dirt under the fingernails can go a long way toward improving one’s disposition.

It is time, now, to sit back and reflect on life and to ponder where this one, the only one I have, will lead me in the days and months to come.

Generosity need not require the ability to give, only the desire. Where there is a will, there is a way.