The rhetoric of failure . . .
Tuesday, February 25, 2025. It's Tiw's day . . . and TulseyTown continues to flirt with Spring.
The jetsam in the mailbox this morning
The first and most important thing to remember is that no matter how our opponents want to pretend they are kings, or corporate executives whose only duty is to increase their profits – we’re still a democracy, end of story. – Common Cause.
Der Trumpenfurher in Putin's pocket. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.
Vive la Résistance and Thomas Paine! – Joyce Vance at Civil Discourse.
Some Republicans have found their voice. – Aaron Blake for The Washington Post.
Birth reminders
Pierre-Auguste Renoir born in 1841, Limoges, France
English novelist, critic, and composer Anthony Burgess. The author of “A Clockwork Orange” was born in 1917 Manchester England.
George Harrison, lead guitarist, composer sometime lead singer and former Beatle was born in 1943 Liverpool, England.
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
None of life's strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day
Now the darkness only stays the night-time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It's not always going to be this grey.
– George Harrison, “All Things Must Pass,” on Living In The Material World (solo album 1973)
Where two are gathered . . .
Monday, February 24, 2025.
It's the Moon's day . . . A lovely pre-Spring preview is in the forecasts for the day here in TulseyTown. Easy Southerlies, a few clouds, and low to mid 70's.
Three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had started in 2014. Here's an excellent update on the evolving issues, from NPR.
With so much going on, it’s hard to keep up. Here's an update re: the “Friday night massacre” from Joyce Vance.
Creatives’ births
Poet Jane Hirschfield celebrates her 72nd today. The award winner was born today in 1953 New York City.
The inventor and co-founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, was born on this day in 1955 San Francisco.
For What Binds Us
There are names for what binds us:
[...]
when two people have loved each other
see how it is like a
scar between their bodies,
stronger, darker, and proud;
how the black cord makes of them a single fabric
that nothing can tear or mend
Jane Hirshfield, "For What Binds Us" from Of Gravity & Angels. Wesleyan University Press,1988.
Detaching from duality . . .
Sunday, February 23, 2025. It's Sol's day . . . and Spring is on the horizon here in TulseyTown. Today's forecasts indicate the next ten days as mostly clear, sunny conditions with Southerlies and temperatures in the 60's and 70's with overnights remaining above freezing. It's almost – not quite – time to move the plants from their indoor Winter shelter.
Letting go, detachment, is not about loss. It's about freedom. And freedom? Freedom is not about getting, hoarding, or destruction. Freedom is the quiet silence of peace. – jb
While there are many reasons to be anxious today, I still have hope, not only in God, but in the fact that many Westerners, including Christians, are rediscovering the value of nonduality...a way of thinking, acting, reconciling, boundary-crossing, and bridge-building based on inner experience...It moves us beyond binary, either-or, us-against-them mentality. To be clear, nondual thinking isn’t about throwing out our rational mind or refusing to act against injustice; it’s about growing in mystical, contemplative, and unitive consciousness. – Fr. Richard Rohr, “The Mystics of the Rhine Valley,” Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation. 2.23.25
The wisdom we need for this time of great unraveling will be gained as we remember that we are not separate from nature... The wisdom will be found … outside the edges of the dominant culture...by listening to the voices of the whole, alive, interconnected world. – Victoria Loorz and Valerie Luna Serrels, Field Guide to Church of the Wild. Broadleaf. 2025.
An excellent example of “a voice outside the edges of the dominate culture” may be found by Cynthia Bourgeault in her brief excerpt from “The Way of the Wisdom Jesus.”
How blessed is the man who like Hafez
has tasted in his heart the wine made before Adam.
– Hafez