since feeling is first
e.e. cummings
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
– the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter which says
we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life’s not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis
A big (day late) happy birthday to Dave Rogers.
Dave, just a reminder for you, of how much you’ve been an influence on me from a long time ago. I’m happy to have made our acquaintance across this big wild woolly world wide web.
The moment the writers of the Gospels set down the words of Jesus they began to kill the message. There is no room for prophets within religious institutions – indeed within any institutions – for as Paul Tillich knew, all human institutions, including the church, are inherently demonic. Tribal societies persecute and silence prophets. Open societies tolerate them at their fringes, and our prophets today come not from the church but from our artists, poets and writers who follow their inner authority. Samuel Beckett’s voice is one of modernity’s most authentically religious. Beckett, like the author of Ecclesiastes, was a realist. He saw the pathetic, empty monuments we spend a lifetime building to ourselves. He knew, as we read in Ecclesiastes, that nothing is certain or permanent, real or unreal, and that the secret of wisdom is detachment without withdrawal, that, since death awaits us all, all is vanity, that we must give up on the childish notion that one is rewarded for virtue or wisdom.
A thought to ponder for the day. (actually a few…)
Becoming a parent when you’re young teaches you to grow up, by leading you to face responsibility.
Becoming a parent when you’re older teaches you to be young again, by seeing the world through their eyes.
Been a rough past few days at the hosting company I use. I’m hoping things settle down today and get back to normal. Hopefully then PF and the me will be back.
Hope you are having a good Memorial Day.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Art Carey: Credit to Mom, mentors:
…The fire that incinerated the North Philadelphia rowhouse had begun in the basement, probably ignited by someone cooking crack. The house was inhabited at the time by Blakeley’s father, a man who had climbed high and fallen fast.
“My mother was very blunt,” Cooper remembers. “She said, ‘This is what drugs will do to you. You want to throw your life away? This is the end result.’ “
Cooper, then 5, was so impressed he made a vow: “I will be better than my father.”
In the years that followed, it became his mantra, especially in times of stress and discouragement. “It became the sole motivating force in all I did,” Cooper says.
Today, Cooper, 30, is a senior information technology engineer at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Frazer, Chester County. His job is to devise code that enables computer systems to talk to each other. In night school at Wharton, he’s taking business courses and he plans to pursue an MBA.
But it could all have turned out so differently.
“I grew up on the same streets where murders have occurred,” he says. “But I was able to steer clear of that because I had people who had my best interests at heart and were willing to show me another way.”
How Cooper traveled from where he came from to where he is now is a testament to his innate drive and motivation, to that amalgam of traits and values we call “character.” But, as Cooper readily admits, he benefited also from family – in his case, a determined and dedicated single mother, and a civic-minded elderly couple who mentored and supported him.
A powerful story.
I’m just returning from our Mother’s Day vacation in Sea Isle City and wanted to wish all the mothers out there a happy Mother’s Day 🙂
Kent Newsome: A Little Perspective Can Set You Free:
People from my work life have discovered my blog. I knew it would happen when I started doing it. It’s always a little scary to put yourself out there. But as Ayelet says, we are who we are, and there is freedom and efficiency in just letting down your guard and trusting yourself. Who we really are is the best resume of all. Other than a few well-meaning jokes about my little online journal, I have never once had a negative reaction to my blog. And I have had more than a few people tell me that it makes them more comfortable to see who I am away from work.
We can’t change the blogosphere, and we can’t make others embrace our blogging philosophy. What we can do is try to see things from other points of view.
That’s what I’m going to do.
That’s pretty much where I am, and what I try to do every day. It’s good advice, that’s hard to keep.
Matthew Alvey wrote up a nice profile of me for the Media Giraffe database a while back.
Chris Gardner’s autobiography, “The Pursuit of Happyness”, is worth your time to read, front to back. In it, Chris Gardner records his journey, from his fatherless, poor working class upbringing in Milwaukee, to his stint in the Navy, to his first marriage, his second marriage and the birth of his son, to the breakup of his second marriage, his climb from the the streets of San Francisco with his son, through the establishment of his career as a big time stock broker and investor. Along the way he doesn’t flinch from documenting the bad decisions he may have made or emotions that haunted his heart.
It’s an inspiring story, and one I bet many can relate to, even if they did not face the kinds of trials and tribulations that he did on his way to achieving success and purpose in life.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. – Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) – my favorite quotes page
I avoided seeing the movie based upon the book (my manager, Anandhan, has a great in-depth review on his blog), because I was afraid that the story would paint *too* positive a picture of him. From what I’ve read, the movie glosses over much of what the book provides you – a deeper look into a man driven by hopes, dreams, and beginnings. Sadly it seems the movie attributes genius as a major factor to his success (the Rubik’s cube scene is not in the book – just a small example) – where the book makes clear – it was persistence and heart that defined it. I plan on renting it and giving it a gander, nevertheless.
While I may not be a multi-millionaire, I most definitely can relate to Chris Gardner’s story and his perspectives on many aspects of life.
I almost want to say that if you want to know more about me personally – read this book.
Almost.