This is a question that should be asked daily. Once you are focused on the rungs, it can be hard to remember what is at the top.
I remember two somewhat related stories from a strange series (strange mostly because they had been inadequately translated from an Oriental language) that our Sensei’s produced for all too brief a time about trying to achieve difficult goals. The first involved a pilot who files a flight plan before take off, and though he arrives at his destination, is never actually on that flight path but is always correcting towards it and is therefore successful. And the other was about a person trying to cross a field full of pitfalls, and because he only watched his feet to avoid falling, never makes it to the other side.
Now there is nothing I can do if your goals are bad and you are happy with them. If the pursuit of wealth or popularity is what floats your boat, and you are not particular about where that wealth comes from or with whom you are popular, then we will never see eye to eye. But I remember an erstwhile friend once mentioning feeling like he had suddenly opened his eyes and found himself at a party with people he didn’t like and it was two in the morning and he couldn’t remember how he got there.
It is never too late to leave the party …
And while I am remembering good advice, I also remember a dearly departed friend trying to make me understand that the price of a stock or commodity, or really anything, contained all the information available, and that everyday one should reevaluate what one held. Not following that advice cost me a lot.
My rambling point? Everyday you need to check where your ladder is leaning and decide if that is somewhere you can and should go. What is past is past, but as it is for Scrooge on Christmas Eve, the future is not yet written, and you are not wedded to past behaviour. Who else has ladders leaning on your same wall? Do you admire those people? Are they bringing happiness to the people in their lives? Are they forces of positive change or constant negativity? Have you benefited from sharing in their goals? Is there a better wall on which you could lean your ladder?
Have a thoughtful Thursday and try to do no harm.
I guess I was tired … I didn’t have any place to go though … and nice to wake to lovely tunes and yes, to keeping on keeping on. Some days do seem trickier than others.
Gary Johnson sounds awfully sane … why is it that there aren’t more fiscally conservative, socially flaming liberal folk? Dang it all. Actually maybe there are but we just don’t speak loudly enough. But people are so xenophobic – imagine having the chutzpah to mention that illegal aliens are more law abiding than citizens. Hatred and fear of immigrants is a consistent theme. But without the Irish, for example, New York wouldn’t exist and we all know they were just dirty, ignorant drunks out to take locals’ jobs. And how many of these raping and pillaging Mexicans does Trump employ in his towers? Or clean Walmarts and the homes of the Walmart family with their combined wealth equalling the bottom 42’s wealth also combined? He sure is also right about people wanting a consistent, quality product and that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol. And indeed, how can it be that you are faced with these dynastic families and also Trump. It is embarrassing, he is quite right. I would vote for him.
Too many tomatillos seems like a nice problem to have. I don’t think I will fare well in the no heat/no ac competition, and am going to claim I am latitudinally challenged.
And glad the dreams are getting more interesting … if I remember correctly they were being alarming. I have been dreaming more what with smoking less (although left to my own devices this weekend I have reverted to old form and loving every indulgent moment but making sure I eat – seem to have finally put on a couple of pounds!) and also the dreams are much more pleasant. The lyrica really did cause anxiety and nightmares … who knew? What a relief.
It is still raining, and coming down hard.
Q: “why is it that there aren’t more fiscally conservative, socially flaming liberal folk”
A: there are
they are the true libertarians. live and let live. the golden rule. only as much government as you need. pretty basic stuff really.
in a two party system your choices are limited to two points on a line. the game is to campaign at the extremes for the primaries, return to center for the elections. no matter who wins, you have landed somewhere between two broad and general world views. you may actually disagree with 95 % of “your sides” policy. but better than the others 96. thus the use of “wedge” issues to get your vote, as there is no difference between the two parties on all of the important issues that an awake and informed person cares about. but you guys know all this. most likely for years, even decades. i think it was in 1988 i first voted libertarian, can’t remember for sure. i was just a kid.
i need to go out and pick the garden. it is very cold, and very wet, otherwise i would have done it already. no time to polish this up. toodles. 🙂
This was kind of disturbing, but here goes. I remember my best friend in England’s mum describing Dylan’s voice as sounding like sand, glue and string:
I voted libertarian during my youthful days …
should one interpret your song choice as both literal, and figurative?
i have picked, washed, bagged.
is there still a true libertarian party in Canada, or have they been infltrated by the dark side like here?
the multinational corporations, or what some should refer to as the “New World Order”, find much to support though they be bastardized libertarian principles. the deregulation dogma is the best example of this.
preaching to the choir here, i know. back to the keeping on thing.
There is no useful libertarian party, and the small c-conservatives turned into fascists somehow. The libertarians are like the communists, and argue bitterly amongst themselves about private street lights and are doomed to the fringe.
We had what seemed like a fiscal conservative movement back in the 80’s but they were lead by the son of a preacher and turned out to live in a moral straight-jacket.
was his name Scott Walker? oh, wait a minute. he would have been in his late teens, early 20’s. he was still flunking college then. ouch. 😡
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-learned-early-lessons-at-fathers-iowa-church-b99435429z1-290442461.html
hey, i probably have a job for next year. helping run a food cart. i would absolutely love it. the woman i gave the veggies to runs one now part time, and wants to expand next year after she retires. she also needs someone to take over her garden. hers was an “epic” fail again this year. she has the room to grow a tremendous amount of produce that she could use for her business.
i still have to make it until then though. but still a lead to something that would pay the bills, but even better, it would for me be really rewarding.
Hey that would be great … I think a pushy friend of yours might have suggested you would do well with a food truck … and if you could tend her garden! Cool.
a small “C” conservative “out of the park” homerun.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/a-refugee-crisis-made-in-america/
be sure to read the comments as well.
and this. interesting source for the article, yes? maybe there is hope yet.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/banking-criminals-exposed-rowan-bosworth-davies
it’s not a right/left thing at all. it hasn’t been for decades.
Okay that was weird. My video changed, but the comment hadn’t …. Both good articles. Depressing but good. The US cannot alone be blamed for the refugee crisis, but they certainly bear a great deal of responsibility. How the banks can be stripped of power when politics has become such as expensive game is another question. And anyhow when HSBC got finally fined for drug money laundering the payoff went to the US treasury and Justice Department. So who ultimately benefited? Like paying protection money and no one went to jail. When the “Justice” department is getting the shake down money they have no incentive to stop the crime, and since the rest of the government profits from the war on drugs it is a hopeless Catch-22.