Blog

As the morning rays peek over the trees
and dive into my lake,
at the edge of the shadows,
my egrets wade and fish for their breakfast.
They are barefoot, too.

First a synopsis of the list, by Forrest Keith:
Our generation is learning this younger than the generations before us due to our increased ability to share this through social media. I want my children to know this earlier in life and to share it with their children earlier yet:
1. Ignore the small stuff. (And damn near everything is small stuff.)
2. Get pains, aches, …Read More

A ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound, Belker, was so ill that his family and his veterinarian agreed it was more humane to put him down. For the learning experience, including closure, the family’s six-year-old boy was invited to be there.
After the beloved family pet passed, the teary-eyed vocalizations of grief naturally included a disappointment with the fact that dogs’ lives are shorter …Read More

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are actually one out of 292 million.
(It’s actually a bit over 292 million, but why split hairs?
The one-in-292-million odds come from all the different combinations of the five white balls — in any order — out of a drum of 69 balls, multiplied by 26. For every five-ball combination, you then have 26 …Read More

We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is; I freely admit to being wrong. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific …Read More

(Epicurus was a man who made a living for himself by espousing philosophy in ancient Greece around 300 years Before Christ. He lived a long life for his time, 71 years.)
The core concept of his teaching was that the secret to life was to make your life pain-free and tranquil; and that it was your job to do so in order to …Read More

Look for something good around you.
Any simple thing.
For instance, you can just look around and find something that you like to look at.
Or recognize some good in someone.
Or feel something good in yourself.
Maybe just reflect that you finished a cycle of action.
It can be as simple as having finished the dishes,
or straightened your desktop,
or your countertop.
Anything good around you.
Typically something small,
but notice big good things when you stumble across them, too.
When you notice something, whatever good thing it …Read More

Choose the one, whose soul calls to yours clearly,
Who sees you; who is brave enough to be afraid.
Accept his hand and guide him gently to your heart’s blood,
Where he can feel your warmth upon him and rest there,
And burn his heavy load in your fires.
Look into his eyes; look deep within and see what lies dormant or awake or shy or expectant there.
Look into his eyes and see there his fathers and grandfathers and all the wars and madness their …Read More

And their death makes the sadness of the heart break much worse.
To add insult to injury, now your digestive system has to go through hell, too.
Then it takes work—intention and action—to get back to a healthy system again with new butterflies.
The action is to ingest proper organisms for the digestive system and to do effective exercise for the whole self. Only after …Read More

Our Founding Fathers, here in this country, brought about the only true revolution that has ever taken place in man’s history.
Every other revolution simply exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers.
Only here did that little band of men so advanced beyond their time that the world has never seen their like since, evolve the idea that you and I have within ourselves the God-given right and the ability to determine our own destiny.
But freedom …Read More

“Heartily know, when half-gods go, the gods arrive.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

My six word story submission.

by Derrick Brown

Nutrition Lies That Made The World Sick and Fat
1. Eggs Are Bad For Your Health
Eggs are so incredibly nutritious that they’re often called “nature’s multivitamin.”
The nutrients in them are enough to turn a single cell into an entire baby chicken.
However, eggs have been demonized in the past because they contain a large amount of cholesterol, which was believed to increase the risk of …Read More

Years ago, I would look at people and ask myself whether they liked me.
I eventually learned to instead ask myself whether I like them.
I like you.

What I really want, from all of my loved ones, is:
I want you to raid my refrigerator.
I want you to keep coming around; at least message me, preferably with photos, when you can’t visit or meet me.
I want you to ask me questions; ask my opinion; ask my advice.
I want you to tell me your problems and your thoughts about them. I want you to bounce your ideas about how to handle them off me.
And I want you …Read More

First, I brined the turkey. I’ve never done that before. I’ll never fail to again. It certainly made the turkey moister. (I like that word.) Irrefutably.
I didn’t let it soak overnight, though. It soaked in the brine about five hours before I rinsed it and then I let it sit on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet in the fridge, …Read More

So I don’t.

Thanks to public education, most people today believe that America is a “democracy.” But we’re not a democracy. We’re not “mob-ruled” as much as the puppet masters would like us to be. Our country was founded to be ruled by law, through representatives, which makes us a Constitutional Republic.
This form of representation is not only manifested in the way our government is structured, but also in the way that we elect our presidents. The delegate process and the Electoral College …Read More

Extremely well-communicated–aesthetically!
Enjoy!

Years later, when a friend asked him what was the best lyric he ever wrote, he answered without hesitation; “All you need is Love.”
My favorite of his profundities is, “When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment. I told them they didn’t understand life.”
He also said, “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, …Read More

Me: “I’ll raise it like it is one of my own, and have a little cry when it moves into its own place.”

Hear it here:

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and …Read More

The olive branch has symbolized peace since before words were written, thousands of years BC. The ancient tale tells us that Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, competed in a contest for a city. The one who could produce the gift most useful to mortals would win. Poseidon offered the horse, for its use in warfare. Athena offered the olive tree, for its use …Read More

I say we need more people to do more work toward leaving better children for our planet.

And that’s what best we can do now to help leave a better planet for our children’s children.

But Mary comes home early and uses it before John sees she’s home.
Yep, she gets stuck.
She insists her doctor remove it; not John, dammit.
Long raincoat. Deeply furrowed brow. John drives them in careful silence.

At Doc’s office, Mary’s hands on the desk, John opens the back of the raincoat like a pair of curtains. “Ever seen anything like this, Doc?”
“Well sure; but not framed like that.”

.
This. Watch. This.

I can tell you from personal, first-hand experience that you do not have to die to leave your body.
Further, once you leave your body fully enough to experience even portions of what Anita experienced, you will inevitably have more joy and more love—both to experience for yourself and to flow to others.
Now get this: with that experience, you come to fully understand where love comes from. Then you have an endless supply of it. Truly endless. (Though that …Read More

And perhaps just a little of loving life’s marts. For trading what one has to share is the route to riches, both financial and heartfelt; and money really can buy love and happiness.  This truth is not fair, but it is a truth; money can too buy happiness—of sorts, at least. It affords one the wherewithal to enjoy the happiness of pursuit, with some capture, some wins. Those wins are …Read More