Enjoying the view from Limbo
As you back away from a mirror, your reflection becomes smaller, and therefore less minutely detailed — but also, in another sense, more complete and true, due to the widening context. For a man seeking the truest image of himself, the goal is to hone his eyesight and maintain perfect focus, while viewing his reflection in ever more distant surfaces. The smaller he...
A beautiful world is a comforting thought, until you allow yourself the luxury of comparing that thought to our present reality, at which point the phrase “beautiful world” suddenly becomes a cruel mockery of our lives, and possibly a source of paralyzing cynicism. The danger of “idealism,” then, lies in its potential to eviscerate the will to live by making all hope appear...
I have a city-dwelling student who has recently begun to take a keen interest in the special wonders of the night sky. She sometimes sends me urgent messages to alert me to a perfect crescent moon, or to ask me which star is shining so bright on the horizon this evening. On a couple of occasions, the objects she is noticing, as though...
As the city aggrandizes itself, it carelessly obliterates the night sky. On the clearest night these days, no more than a few stars are visible from my neighborhood. Artificial light spreads and engulfs all with its perpetual gaudy clarity, hiding the natural obscurity that once provided the divine backdrop highlighting the distant presence of the most ancient light, thus serving as man’s daily...
A few new thoughts on the current state of things, proffered to those visiting this site for the same reason I maintain it, namely as an increasingly rare port in an increasingly violent storm. In other words, these are thoughts for the happy few, we lonely and “socially-distanced” holdouts for reason and civility in a world gone stark raving mad. “We have to...
It’s March 1st, and therefore as good a day as any, and better than most, to share an Emily Dickinson poem about hope, change, and time. Dear March — Come in — Dear March — Come in —How glad I am —I hoped for you before — Put down your Hat —You must have walked —How out of Breath you are —Dear March,...
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