Musings

The Wisdom of Age  The older I get the more I . . .

Parsing Our Emotions

Knowing what to call our emotions and how to evaluate them may be the hardest thing about growing up. 
 
Anxiety and nervousness are bad and often destructive, but how far are they from excitement?
 
We all know you can love something so much you hurt.  Is that good?  Or, the real question may be, "should we pursue situations like that?"
 
In my life the edge between peacefulness and boredom is very small, but incredibly important, as is the edge between being interested in something and lusting after it.


On Vacations   We take vacations to find the perfect day of a child:  lazing in the sun, or playing in the snow.

What you need.  You probably don't need any more.

On Cats A cat is something no one would ever want, until you have one.


Thankfulness can keep you sane.  It requires an appreciation of benevolence; it forces you to look outside yourself; it's expression brings valuable communication. 

Complexity does not need to be troubling unless you are trying to control it.  Enjoy what may appear to be chaos.   

Debating about just war does not take into consideration that for Christians, love outweighs justice.  

Most people do not think the way you do. 

War is never what it appears.  It is less noble, more violent, less effective, and more self-destructive than we ever imagine.  War further divides classes, exploiting the poor with their very lives and profiting war industries.
 

While civility is not the highest end of humankind, it can get us by in times when we forget other more important values.

 

Things other people have said:

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today. - William Allen White

Anxiety is a thin stram of fear trickling through the mind.  If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.  - Arthur Roche