The Unexpected Way
It's Sol's day … a sunny, calm, lovely Fall day in TulseyTown . . .
…there are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths. – Mark Nepo
[T]he will of the majority does not embrace all interests in a society, which must be protected equally. That is the reason for constitutional rule as the founding principle of a liberal polity. – Nathan Gardels, “Illiberal Democracy Comes To America,” in Noēma, November 7, 2024.
The backlash begins. Trump voters are shocked to learn that tariffs will raise consumer prices – Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From An American.
Consider John Prine's advice: Blow up your TV, move to the country, eat some peaches, and try to find Jesus on your own.
If [any health care system] does not consider which elements of life it overlooks, we can slip from a stance of genuine scientific curiosity into a mere prescriptive formula. From that point on, it can become a box to shut people into rather than a sophisticated approach to helping them. – Ana Todorović writing for Psyche.
Enlightenment and clarity of the mind occur only in response to endeavoring in The Way, which ripens the conditions of your practice. It is not that the sound of [the rain] or the color of blossoms that are vivid. Although the sound of [the rain] is wondrous, it is heard at the moment when it hits the leaves. Although the color of the blossoms is beautiful, they do not open by themselves but unfold in the light of springtime. Studying The Way is like this, attained when conditions come together. Although you have your own capacity, practice The Way with the combined strength of the community. Practice and search with the one mind of those, known and unknown, who've joined you on The Way. Thousands are with you in this very moment. – after Zen Master Dogen
I Go Down to the Shore
I go down to the shore in the morning
… and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall –
what shall I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.
– Mary Oliver, “I Go Down to the Shore” in A Thousand Mornings, Penguin Press, 2012,