Life On A B-I7

Day #224

True inner peace comes from the nature of our thoughts, not from our physical surroundings. If you want to elevate your thoughts and find more peace, do so by curating your physical surroundings so they inspire your thoughts.

Day #223

Until you learn to love yourself, the door is closed to enlightenment.

I suppose I could say a few more words about that… but you get the idea.

Not using the words “really” and “absolutely” when writing represents a small step towards enlightenment, or so I’m told.

Day #222

Eight things I enjoy about writing:

Writing is an act of bravery.
Writing tells us a great deal about who we are.
Writing allows us to converse with the universe.
Writing shows us our path.
Writing is a door to wisdom.
Writing helps us to be more objective.
Writing helps us to be more honest.
Writing can make us healthier.

Day #221

“It seems to me,”¹ people use social media to exert their will rather than share the truth. This is why (generally speaking) I shun social media as much as I possibly can. It would be nice if everyone asked themself, “Why” is that person saying what they are saying, rather than accept every statement they are handed as a priori truth. Humanity is not as evolved as we tend to think we are…

Day #220

It’s never a good idea to fall in love with your ideas. That is a good way to delude yourself. Along those same lines, be careful what you wish for, you may get it, or worse, you may not get it and end up living in regret.

Day #219

Question: What is “Originalism?”

Answer: Finding shit you like and then proclaiming that to be the law of the land.

A Bit of Help

There are times when I sit down to write and nothing worth writing comes to mind. Occasionally there are times when you get help that can’t be turned down. Today is one of those times…

As I write this, three big Labrador dogs are lying at my feet. No, they are not mine, well, at least they are for a few days. Anyway, they are making it almost impossible to think this morning because of the disagreeable aroma they are producing. My cat wandered into the room just as I was pondering what I would like to write. He immediately jumped up on the desk and walked across the keyboard. I’m not exactly sure how he was able to type so rapidly, perhaps I am a slower typist than I thought, this is what he said — in so many keystrokes:

Cat farts are not nearly as bad as dog farts.

Notes on Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations

A Sonnet by Jeffrey Rosen¹

Four habits of thought to erase from your mind:
This thought is unnecessary or destructive
This isn’t what you truly think; you find
Your mortal makes your divine part unproductive

Work for three things: proper understanding;
Unselfish action and truthful speech
And if you find yourself in a crash landing
Accept it calmly, as the sages teach

Do the work with patience and industry
Find fulfillment in what you’re doing now
Free from fear or hope of publicity
Your life will be happy if all your words are true

Life is short, and that’s all there is to say
Unrestrained moderation: the only way

This speaks to me. To me, it is a reminder to avoid distracting thoughts, prize the truth, and always contemplate the divine.² Be unselfish and truthful. If adversity befalls you accept it calmly. Be patient and always humble. Telling the truth brings happiness. Maintain moderation in speech and action at all times.

I would do well to read this every day, of course, I never read what I write, and that’s probably not a good thing. I might learn to write better if I did…

Day #218

I started writing today’s entry but got distracted by the news on Television. It’s hard not to have that happen these days.

I recently had a breakthrough in improving my skills in an area that I love. I had a coach who spoke to me in a way I could understand and that opened my eyes to some insights I had not previously grasped. Now I’m afraid I’ll forget what I learned. Living with the fear of something that might occur in the future is an uncomfortable feeling. In this case, I can take steps to avoid that happening. For example, I can make notes and refer to them periodically. That’s a great tool. In the case of the news on Television, it’s much more difficult to forget what you see occurring, and forgetting is hard to do, even if you try.

Day #217

Will Generative AI (GAI) ultimately learn to be more creative (smarter) than humans? It does not seem likely. It seems to me that GAI suffers from something similar to MAD Cow Disease — only in reverse.

Back in the mid-eighties when feeding meat-and-bone meal to cows made from their slaughtered companions was a common practice, the onset of MADCD was first detected. It took almost a decade to eradicate the occurrences of MADCD in the bovine food chain. Very few cases are reported today.

GAI machines suffer from the opposite fate. If they are not fed a continuous stream of new thought and knowledge the creativity they exhibit appears to degenerate. Whether or not GAI meets the challenge of becoming an intelligence to rival or better that of humans remains to be seen. If that does occur, the fate of humans becomes an interesting prospect.

As a side note, I spent some time in the late 70s installing and calibrating lumber-drying kilns in slaughterhouses. They were used to dry the blood of deceased cows which was then fed to the animals waiting in the feedlot. As far as I know, this was not proven to be detrimental to the waiting animals or humans. But you never know. I’ve seen some pretty strange human behavior, in the last couple of election cycles…

Closing Day at Sun Valley

On closing day at Sun Valley a lot of classic ski wear comes out of the closet. This fellow was sporting a 70’s era “Ski Team” sweater. He was kind enough to let me snap this photo. I voted him the best-dressed closing-day skier on the mountain.

Day #216

The Western Apache believe that the goal of life is to walk the “trail of wisdom.” For them, like the Cherokee and most Native Americans, the trail is a special place. To walk the “trail of wisdom” requires the walker to be focused on three things: “smoothness of mind,” “resilience of mind,” and “steadiness of mind.” These may seem strange, but when placed in the context of walking, they reflect an approach that helps the walker meet their goal… that is: Walking smoothly, steadily, and when necessary, resiliently. Someone who obeys these precepts is said to be on the right path. Cherokees call this ”du yu ko dv i.”

2025 Writing Project

A Year Pursuing Happiness

Each year I come up with a special writing project. The project has a topic that the entries revolve around. Past projects have also had a goal for the frequency of posting. All of this would be separate from normal journal entries like this one. Quite out of the blue this afternoon it struck me that reading influential texts on political and philosophical thought would be a worthwhile endeavor. To that end, I am going to propose (I’m speaking to myself now) that the following reading list would make an excellent goal. The inspiration for this project came from reading Jeffrey Rosen’s book “The Pursuit of Happiness.” It is a detailed yet readable presentation of the political and philosophical thought that guided the Founding Fathers. Rosen presents a list of the most cited books from the Founding Era. I propose to use this as the reading list for my project.

1. Cicero, Tusculan Disputations
2. Cicero, On Duties
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. Seneca’s Essays
5. Epictetus’s Enchiridion
6. Plutarch’s Lives
7. Xenophon’s Memorabilia of Socrates
8. Hume’s Essays
9. Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws
10. Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
11. Locke’s Treatises on Government
12. Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments

I recognize this would be a significant undertaking, kind of like riding a bike across the country — I plan to do that as well. I won’t be able to do this alone. I’m not a scholar. I will need to consult supplemental sources to even understand most of the thoughts contained in these books, but that will be part of the challenge. I do have a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but I don’t expect that to be of much help since I spent almost my entire working life programming computers. The irony of that does not escape me. I credit Jeffery Rosen for the inspiration. “The Pursuit of Happiness” is a book I think every thoughtful person should read — at least once.

Day #215

God’s Waiting Room

If you are wondering where God looks when it comes time to acquire another soul, look no further than the Super 8 Motel in Driggs Idaho. Keep in mind though, you have to be there at about 6 AM, on a powder day at Grand Targee.

Imagination

“Even as a man imagines himself to be, such he is, and he is also that which he imagines.”

— Paracelsus (1493-1521)

Our imagination has power. The trick is to tap into it. If we can do that, we can become much more than we might otherwise. By using our imagination we can shape our thoughts which in turn can lead down new roads.

Day #214

James Madison late in his life expressed the concept of a “commerce of ideas.” He believed that media, using as he put it, “the cool voice of reason,” could be used to influence the population, steering public opinion in a manner that favored reason and peaceful debate over selfish and irrational modes of thought. While this was likely the case in his time, today in the era of mass media for profit, all bets in this regard are off. The only thing you can be sure of is that the media you are consuming is doing the best it can to persuade you to view the world in the way most advantageous to its paid subscribers and commercial supporters. This applies to all outlets from the New York Times to Truth Social. Choose your content wisely and question what you are consuming.

Day #213

Thinking about Arthur Miller’s words (#209) I have to say that I miss my sweetheart when I am away from her. I don’t know how to put into words what she means to me. I am a lucky man to have stumbled into her life. It is revealing to say it was words that brought us together (another story perhaps). Words brought us together, I love to write, a coincidence possibly, but a fortunate one for sure.

Day #212

Frank Herbert said: (Paraphrasing) “The end of your life is the place where you stop the story.”

I started writing late in life. I might have gotten good at this if I had started sooner. I don’t regret coming to this choice later than sooner… I am enjoying this time with words very much. It brings me peace and a good bit of contentment. For my 70th birthday, my daughter gave me the first three volumes of Frank Herbert’s life work. I don’t think she knew how much I admire him, but now she does. Thank you, baby.

Day #211

Brenda Ueland said: “Everybody human has something to express.”

I don’t think she is telling us we all need to write some sort of manifesto. I believe she is saying we should think about leaving a few words behind that express who we are so that those who follow us can have a deeper appreciation for us.

Day #210

Joan Didion said: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking.”

Spot on, I could not agree more. I do fear losing my mind, more specifically my memory. I’m sure writing will help to prevent that. That’s a big part of the reason why I do this.

Day #209

Arthur Miller said: “The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him.”

That’s easy enough for me to do but I suspect that’s not exactly what he meant.

Day #208

Madeleine L’Engle said: “Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour.”

This may be the best advice from an author I have stumbled across. I appreciate that she does not attach any expectation to that writing because neither do I…

Writing is also good for old peoples’ brains.

Day #207

Jack Kerouac said: “One day I will find the right words.”

I’m searching. I’m getting closer but won’t get there unless I keep trying.

Federalist Paper #51

James Madison, whom I admire greatly, as much for his role in the establishment of our country as for his sheer brilliance, stated in the Federalist Paper #51 (the following is my paraphrasing) that when a government is formed the first priority is to give that government the tools to control the governed. It seems to me he is talking about laws. The second priority, and possibly most important, is to give the government the structure required to control itself.

The United States has come closer than any predecessor Democracy in achieving “a more perfect form of government.” We can and should learn from our ongoing experience. There may be no “perfect form,” but perhaps we should consider that life appointment to the Supreme Court is not ideal in practice. Might it not be better if appointments were made by a consortium composed of equally represented party membership taken from those persons elected to the Senate?

The Cat Who Taught Zen

“The Cat Who Taught Zen” is a wonderful little book. It is a primer on Zen. A collection of classic Zen stories woven together into a charming narrative that presents the stories in an abbreviated and simple fashion that even I can understand. The book is delightfully illustrated by the author, James Norbury. Many of the paintings are done in the Sumi-e style. A type of painting that uses black ink on special paper. The result gives a wonderfully spontaneous result to the finished subject.

Naturally, reading the book reminded me of my cat, Mr. Tux. I never thought of him as a Zen Teacher, but that is exactly what he is. If he could talk, I would have figured that out much sooner. His quiet non-verbal way of being is deceiving. What characterizes him most noticeably is the fact that he is constantly instructing. His way of being is his instruction. He is always in the moment when there is someone around him and paying attention to him. When he needs to be alone, he finds his way of managing that. I think this combination of being present for those who are around us, and withdrawing to a state of relaxation and contemplation when there is no one around is a fantastic lesson that I can use in my own life. I’ve been trying to practice this without really realizing what I was doing. Now that I have read “The Cat Who Taught Zen,” this has become all the more apparent to me, and all the more desirable.