"I'm 87... This One Question Changed How I See Everything"

Full screen recommended.

Before It's Too Late,

"I'm 87... This One Question 

Changed How I See Everything"

"After years of living and learning the hard way, I'm sharing the life lessons I wish I knew when I was younger. In this video, I talk about time, relationships, regrets, success, and what truly matters in life. If you're in your 20s, 30s, 40s, or beyond, this wisdom could save you decades of mistakes. This is raw, honest advice from someone who's lived long enough to know what actually matters. Don't waste years figuring it out like I did. Learn from my mistakes and make better choices while you still have time. Leave a comment and tell me what lesson hit you the hardest. What's one thing you're going to change after watching this? I read every comment and love hearing your stories."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"I’m 74… This Quiet Choice Cost Me Everything"

Before Time Runs Out,

"I’m 74… This Quiet Choice Cost Me Everything"

"I’m 74 years old… and this quiet choice cost me everything. In this emotional life lesson, I share the danger of playing it safe and the high price of emotional suppression. Many of us spend our lives trying to "keep the peace" and be the person everyone expects us to be, but at 74, I’ve realized that silence is a slow-growing regret. If you are struggling with career choices, family distance, or finding your true self, this stoic reflection on aging is a powerful wake-up call. Don't wait until the house is empty to find your voice."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

I'm 74 too, brother. Some profound truth here...

A Musical Interlude From Long, Long Ago: Friend & Lover, "Reach Out Of The Darkness"

Friend & Lover, "Reach Out Of The Darkness"

You know, sometimes you stumble upon a little gem on YouTube you'd completely forgotten about, like this song from 1968, and that made me think, OMG, 58 years ago?! Is that possible? I remember it well, really liked it then, and now it makes me smile and shake my head in wonder. What a long strange trip it's been...lol  - CP

"A Look to the Heavens"

"To the eye, this cosmic composition nicely balances the Bubble Nebula at the right with open star cluster M52. The pair would be lopsided on other scales, though. Embedded in a complex of interstellar dust and gas and blown by the winds from a single, massive O-type star, the Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7635, is a mere 10 light-years wide. On the other hand, M52 is a rich open cluster of around a thousand stars. The cluster is about 25 light-years across. 

Seen toward the northern boundary of Cassiopeia, distance estimates for the Bubble Nebula and associated cloud complex are around 11,000 light-years, while star cluster M52 lies nearly 5,000 light-years away. The wide telescopic field of view spans about 1.5 degrees on the sky or three times the apparent size of a full Moon."

-https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210925.html

"A Tale Told By An Idiot..."

 

"In Three Words..."

 

“Requiem for a Ladybug”

“Requiem for a Ladybug”

by Frankly Francis

“You lie still less than a foot away on top of the soft mouse pad that protects me from carpal tunnel syndrome. I noticed this morning, through eyes not yet clarified by my first coffee of the day, your presence in my study. Odd, I thought, that you would even be present now. It is certainly past your time of the year in these parts.

I had the presence of mind to reckon that your life must be short. Rather than remove you from my space, both physical and mental, I decided that if these were your final moments then my study could be your Hospice and I your companion.

Your flight and movement were a little chaotic, seemingly random. You nestled in the heat of the light in the globe of my desk lamp, you circled my cranium, you landed in various spots, and in and on various objects on my desk while I got about the business of the day.

Sometimes I could see you, other times I did not know where you were. Then you would rise again to a new location. I wondered if you had any purpose in this, if there was more going on than my conscious programming allowed me to realize.

Perhaps it was, in your reality, some last business to be done? Or perhaps a ritual of your species’ existence? I hoped that if there is any pleasure in being a Ladybug that it was satisfying in some way, even so far from your natural habitat. Then you landed on your final resting spot and moved no more.

For me, my study is a place of many good things. I hope in your last moments it was to you as well. Rest in Peace my little Ladybug. And thanks for reminding me of the preciousness and fragility of life.”

- http://franklyfrancis.com/?p=1255.

"The Invitation"

"The Invitation"

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for,

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,

for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,

if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have

become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,

without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,

if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you

to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful,

to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;

if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul;

if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty,

every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,

and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair,

weary and bruised to the bone,

and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me

and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like

the company you keep in the empty moments."

- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The Daily "Near You?"

Karnack, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Is It Any Wonder..."

"Thomas Edison said in all seriousness: "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the labor of thinking" - if we bother with facts at all, we hunt like bird dogs after the facts that bolster up what we already think - and ignore all the others! We want only the facts that justify our acts - the facts that fit in conveniently with our wishful thinking and justify our preconceived prejudices. As Andre Maurois put it: "Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true. Everything that is not puts us into a rage." Is it any wonder, then, that we find it so hard to get at the answers to our problems? Wouldn't we have the same trouble trying to solve a second-grade arithmetic problem, if we went ahead on the assumption that two plus two equals five? Yet there are a lot of people in this world who make life a hell for themselves and others by insisting that two plus two equals five - or maybe five hundred!"

- Dale Carnegie

"Cipolla’s 5 Laws of Human Stupidity"

Full screen recommended.

"Cipolla’s 5 Laws of Human Stupidity"

"Carlo Cipolla's Law of Stupidity states that 'always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.' Even though Cipolla originally wrote about the principle and its consequences for society in the form of an amusing letter to his friends, it gained wide attention. Today Cipolla's law is often used to highlight the importance of critical thinking and careful decision making in order to counteract the potential effects of endemic ignorance."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"My Task..."

“My task, which I am trying to achieve, is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel; it is, before all, to make you see. That and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you shall find there, according to your deserts, encouragement, consolation, fear, charm, all you demand – and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask.”

- Joseph Conrad

o

"We work in the dark. We do what we can to battle the evil that would otherwise destroy us. But if a man's character is his fate, it's not a choice but a calling. Sometimes the weight of this burden causes us to falter from the fragile fortress of our mind, allowing the monster without to turn within. We are left alone staring into the abyss, into the laughing face of madness."

- Fox Mulder, "X-Files"

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself

 does not become a monster, when you gaze long

 into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you.”

- Nietzsche

o

Freely download “Beyond Good And Evil”, by Friedrich Nietzsche, here:

- https://ia803401.us.archive.org/

"Hope In a Time of Hopelessness"

"Hope In a Time of Hopelessness" 

by Washingtons Blog

"Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage;

anger at the way things are, and courage 

to see that they do not remain the way they are."

- Augustine of Hippo

"Several long-time activists have told me recently they are overwhelmed, worried, and think that we may be losing the struggle. One very smart friend asked me if there is any basis for hope. Hope is an act of will, not a passive mood. Admittedly, things are easier when circumstances bring hope to us, and we can just receive the hopeful and inspiring news. But if we care about winning, we have to be able to decide to have hope even when outer circumstances aren't so positive.

I have children who are counting on me to leave them with a reasonably safe and sane planet. As I've said elsewhere, I care too much about my kids and my freedom to be afraid. I care enough about them that it gets my heart beating, connects me to something bigger than myself, and that gives me courage, even when the chips are down. 

If I allowed myself to lose hope about exposing falsehoods, about protecting our freedom and building a hopeful future, I would be dropping the ball for my kids. I would be condemning them to a potentially very grey world where bigger and worse things may happen, where their liberties and joys are wholly stripped away, where every ounce of vitality is beholden to joyless and useless tasks.

Many of us may be motivated by other things besides kids, and only you can know what that is. But we each must dig down deep, and connect with our most powerful motivations to win the struggle for freedom and truth.

I don't know about you, but I don't have the luxury of giving up hope. When I get depressed, overwhelmed or exhausted by the stunning acts of savagery, treason, and disinformation carried out by the imperialists, or the willful ignorance of far too many Americans, I will myself into finding some reason to have hope. Because the struggle for life and liberty is too important for me to give up." 

- http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/

○

Full screen recommended.

Jason Mraz, "I Won't Give Up"

And don't you ever give up...

"Why Good People Become Monsters"

Full screen recommended.

"Why Good People Become Monsters"

"How does a kind soul turn cold? How do loving people end up doing unthinkable things? In this psychological deep-dive, we explore one of the most haunting questions of our time: Why do good people become monsters? Drawing on the insights of Carl Jung, Gabor Maté, Philip Zimbardo, and other great minds, this video uncovers the hidden triggers, emotional wounds, and social conditions that can cause even the best among us to fall into darkness.

In this video, you'll learn: The role of the shadow and repressed pain in moral collapse; How trauma, fear, and survival mechanisms shape our darkest behaviors; Why systems, silence, and self-deception often create the “monsters” we condemn; How power, idealism, and love - when distorted - can become dangerous; And most importantly: how to stop this transformation before it’s too late.

This video isn’t just about others - it’s about us. Because the potential for light and darkness exists within everyone. You’ll walk away not only with insight, but with tools for self-awareness, healing, and transformation - including the most powerful revelation of all: your darkness isn’t your enemy. It’s your invitation to awaken. The monster is not the end of your story. It is the call to awaken.”

"How It Really Is"

 

And a bullet-proof vest, too...

"In A Desperate Attempt To Stop The Bleeding, A Conspiracy To Force The Price Of Silver Down Is Unfolding Right In Front Of Our Eyes"

"In A Desperate Attempt To Stop The Bleeding, A Conspiracy To

 Force The Price Of Silver Down Is Unfolding Right In Front Of Our Eyes"

by Michael Snyder

"They aren’t even trying to pretend to hide what they are doing. Everyone knows that the meteoric rise in the price of silver in 2025 has put an immense amount of stress on certain financial institutions. Of course nobody is publicly confirming how much damage has been done, but it must be pretty severe if CME Group is taking such extreme measures to force the price of silver down. For the second time in less than a week, CME Group has abruptly raised margin requirements on precious metals futures…"Gold and silver prices lost ground on Wednesday as investors booked profits after a historic annual rally and exchange operator CME Group hiked the margins on precious metal futures for the second time in the space of a week."

They probably thought that it was best to pull a stunt like this during the holidays while less people are paying attention. A statement was released by CME Group which said that this latest move to hike margin requirements was done “to ensure adequate collateral coverage”…

"CME Group, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, said Tuesday that margins for gold, silver, platinum and palladium would increase again after the close of business Wednesday. It said in a statement that the decision was made “as per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage.”

Give me a break. We all know why this was done. What we are witnessing is literally a conspiracy to force the price of silver down. They knew that when they suddenly increased margin requirements, it would create a squeeze and force precious metals prices lower…"One reason behind recent declines in silver, including the stark fall on Wednesday, is changes to trading rules implemented by exchange operator CME Group, which hosts widely traded silver futures contracts.

Traders operating in CME’s derivatives market must put down cash to support their trades, with the exact amount or margin required varying. Amid volatile trading, the CME raised margin requirements effective Monday for precious metals including silver, and announced that margin requirements would rise again after Wednesday. If traders cannot put up more cash, their positions are often forcibly closed, or sold, typically at unfavorable prices. This can cause a wave of selling that pushes prices down further, taking some of the shine out of silver- for now."

I am so disgusted by this. The first margin hike didn’t get the results that they wanted, and so they did it again. Shame on them. We are supposed to be at least pretending that we have some semblance of a free market system left. But even after this desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, the price of silver is still up more than 140 percent in 2025…"Even after sharp declines on Wednesday, silver prices have gained more than 140% this year and remain relatively close to all-time highs above $82 reached on Sunday."

And most analysts are still projecting that the price of silver will continue to rise in 2026 because the fundamentals for silver are exceedingly favorable…"Yet there are also fundamentals behind silver’s remarkable rally this year. The precious metal, like gold - up almost two-thirds in 2025 to record levels - is considered a store of value and a hedge against the dollar, which weakened this year amid falling U.S. interest rates. Silver also benefits from industrial demand typical of the current moment, including uses in solar panels, electric vehicles, and data centers powering artificial intelligence."

If the AI boom were to burst, that could change the outlook for silver. But right now the AI revolution is steaming ahead. And the U.S. dollar is probably going to continue to get even weaker in 2026. In 2025, the U.S. dollar index has fallen by nearly 10 percent…

"The dollar continues to face a challenging backdrop in 2026 following this year’s sharp depreciation, Charles Stanley’s Abbas Owainati says in a note. The dollar’s fall this year reflects concerns over long-term fiscal sustainability, an erosion of the currency’s safe haven status amid unpredictable policy, increased currency hedging by non-U.S. investors and changes in capital flows. The dollar could stay under pressure next year as the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates further, he says. A weaker dollar could support emerging markets equities by easing external debt burdens, improving capital flows and boosting local currency returns, he says. The DXY dollar index trades flat at 98.008. It has fallen nearly 10% in the year to date."

The Trump administration doesn’t mind that the dollar has been getting weaker because it makes our exports more appealing to the rest of the world. But when the U.S. dollar gets weaker, our purchasing power goes down. A weaker dollar is one of the primary reasons why we find ourselves in an affordability crisis that never seems to end. So if the U.S. dollar continues to lose value next year that will not be good news for millions of deeply struggling American households, but it will be great news for silver investors.

In addition, Martin Armstrong says that there are a number of geopolitical factors that will help move the price of silver higher during the months ahead…"When it comes to metal, Armstrong says, “People who know war and crisis are coming are buying metals. We have creative destruction. You have AI coming in and you have unemployment rising and you have GDP rising. You have shortages in commodities on top of this. Then you have geopolitical nonsense. Anthony Blinken (Secretary of State in the Biden Administration) put sanctions on Russia. Look at the metals. What did it do? It cut off the supply of gold, silver and platinum coming out of Russia. Now, you have China putting in a ban on exporting silver as of January 1, 2026. This is rather important. China controls about 60% of the supply of silver. This is one of the reasons why silver jumped up dramatically. This is a perfect storm. On top of all this, NATO is there only for war. That is it. Socrates is still saying Europe will lose badly in a war with Russia.”

Armstrong sees a bull market for gold, silver and other metals for years ahead. One big reason is shortages in the metals. Armstrong says, “I don’t see these shortages going away. The bull market is more likely to go into 2032. It will be volatile, and then you’ve got war coming. Once you get into war, prices are going to go up even more. It’s all a mess. This is a perfect storm.”

Yes, we certainly are facing “a perfect storm”, and I am entirely convinced that the year in front of us is going to be absolutely nuts. In the short-term, there will be plenty of opportunities for savvy investors to capitalize on all of the global chaos that we are witnessing. Some people will make a lot of money, and of course others will lose a lot of money. But in the end, the entire system is going to come crashing down all around us."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Connect Currency, 12/31/25

"Default Confirmed: China Rejects 

U.S. Emergency Deal, COMEX Closed"

"The deadline has passed. The negotiations failed. As of tonight, the COMEX is officially in a state of technical default. In this breaking update, we reveal the leaked details of the "Emergency Swap" proposal that the US Treasury sent to Beijing hours ago - and the document that came back stamped "REJECTED." China has effectively locked its doors. The Shanghai port is closed to silver exports. The price disconnect we warned you about is now reality. We are witnessing the end of the suppression era and the beginning of the Great Reset in precious metals."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Ukraine: This Changes Everything, A Massive Military Comeback Is Underway"

Dialogue Works, 1/1/26

"Ukraine: This Changes Everything, 

A Massive Military Comeback Is Underway"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Putin Cuts All Gas, U.S. And Europe Plunge Into A New Dark Age"

John Mearsheimer, 1/1/26

"Putin Cuts All Gas, 

U.S. And Europe Plunge Into A New Dark Age"

"John M. analyzes Putin's energy weapon as all Russian gas cut to Europe plunges continent into Dark Ages, ending global power status forever."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Yanis Varоufakis, 1/1/26

"Putin Cuts All Gas - 

Europe Surrenders To Dark Ages"

"Europe is sleepwalking into an energy-led economic collapse: as Russian gas disappears, factories shut down, living costs rise, and the EU trades one dependency for another - swapping pipeline certainty for expensive LNG and geopolitical vulnerability. This video argues that the real loss isn’t just cheap fuel, but sovereignty - and with it, Europe’s industrial base and global power status."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Happy New Year 2026!

"Default Confirmed: China Rejects U.S. Emergency Deal, COMEX Closed"

Full screen recommended.

Connect Currency, 12/31/25

"Default Confirmed: China Rejects 

U.S. Emergency Deal, COMEX Closed"

"The deadline has passed. The negotiations failed. As of tonight, the COMEX is officially in a state of technical default. In this breaking update, we reveal the leaked details of the "Emergency Swap" proposal that the US Treasury sent to Beijing hours ago - and the document that came back stamped "REJECTED." China has effectively locked its doors. The Shanghai port is closed to silver exports. The price disconnect we warned you about is now reality. We are witnessing the end of the suppression era and the beginning of the Great Reset in precious metals."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Prepper News, 12/31/25

"Alert! Trump Just Started WW3! 

Rips Putin, Russia In Flames!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"New Year 2026 In Moscow Right Now!"

Full screen recommended.

Window To Moscow, 12/31/25

"New Year 2026 In Moscow Right Now!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "The End Is a Beginning"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "The End Is a Beginning"

"A Look to the Heavens

“Is our Milky Way Galaxy this thin? Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp, colorful image reveals the spiral galaxy's boxy, bulging central core cut by obscuring dust lanes that lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane.

An assortment of other background galaxies is included in the pretty field of view. Thought similar in shape to our own Milky Way Galaxy, NGC 4565 lies about 40 million light-years distant and spans some 100,000 light-years. Easily spotted with small telescopes, sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.”

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210517.html

"Don’t Waste Time, That’s All You Have"

"Don’t Waste Time, That’s All You Have"

by John Wilder

"One of Seneca's (Dead Roman Philosopher Dude) most famous quotes is, "It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it." What surprises me is that Seneca wrote this before Twitter® existed. But even back in the time of Rome, there were ways to waste time. I’m thinking Facebook® might be that old.

Regardless, his message is timeless: every moment that we’re breathing here on Earth is precious. We may not always get a choice as to how we spend our time (Ted Kaczynski seems to be booked every day) but the true crime is to waste time. Oh, and blowing people up.

I have been as guilty as anyone of wasting time. And one of the biggest wastes of time is to become consumed by negative thoughts and emotions. In reality, most of the time (most) the things that irritate me are small. How small? So small that if I pack up my emotions, and really assess as to why I’m mad, it just looks silly. When Hillary reflects on why she’s mad, well, she calls the Suicide Hotline and places an order.

But that reflection is crucial. It’s called self-control, and although it appears to be unfashionable in certain locations (Chicago, I’m looking at you) it is the only way to be successful. If I threw a temper tantrum when (spins wheel) I drop a sock on the floor, I think there’s a simple word for that in the English language: Leftist feminist the ATF unstable.

No, when I’m upset I stop. I take a deep breath. I ask myself, “Does it matter?” Most of the time, it doesn’t. At all. Very few of the things that have irritated me matter at all over any rational timeframe. The old two rules apply: 1. Don’t sweat the small stuff. 2. It’s all small stuff.

The second question is, can I control whatever the situation is or influence it? If the answer is no, then that’s like being mad that the Sun is coming up in the morning. Even if it’s my mistake, it’s sillier than being angry over the English coal minimum price subsidy in the 1800s or...anything that happened in 1619.

One concept I’ve come across recently is "amor fati," which is Latin for “put armor on fat people”. Oh, wait, my translator was wrong. It really means, "love your fate." I think I first heard a variation of this when I was a kid: “You get what you get, and you’ll like it, and grease up the fat people so we can put plate mail on them.”

The reality of amor fati is this, though: I am where I am, and I have a choice. I can get up every morning and be mad, or I can be happy where I am. Does that mean I’m content? No. Does that mean I’m not going to fight like hell? No. Does that mean I’m not going to try to change certain things with the fire of a thousand suns? No.

It does mean that if life sucks, I can still find meaning, still find purpose, and still try to create the change that I seek to create. It’s not complacency. Heck, Seneca himself was one of the richest dudes in all of Rome. That didn’t just happen. He didn’t just wake up one morning, and say, “Holy crap, I have an amazing amount of money. How did that happen?” Seneca embraced what he had, and tried to better himself, and change himself. He did okay.

Our choices are our choices, but even more than that, we always have the choice how we feel, even Ted Kaczynski. We may have lost everything else, but we always retain that. We should not be overcome by fear or despair. To be clear – those are just about the most negative things we can let into our lives, unless you know one of the women on 'The View.'

The only proper way to deal with tough times is to face into them. Our obstacles make us stronger. Each obstacle we face with virtue and excellence improves us. Except for bullets. Those sound like they really suck.

Regardless of all of that, the first point is still the most important: our lives aren’t too short – our lives are exactly as long as they are. Deal with it. Love it. Use your time – every minute. Every second you waste? It’s wasting your life. Now, go make something happen."

- https://wilderwealthywise.com/

○

The Alan Parsons Project, "Time" 

"The Trouble Is..."

 

Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet: On Good and Evil "

"The Prophet: On Good and Evil"

 "Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.

For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?

Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves,

and when it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters.

You are good when you are one with yourself.

Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.

For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.

And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among

perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.

You are good when you strive to give of yourself.

Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.

For when you strive for gain you are but a root

that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.

Surely the fruit cannot say to the root,

 Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance.

For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.

You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,

Yet you are not evil when you sleep

while your tongue staggers without purpose.

And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.

You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.

Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.

Even those who limp go not backward.

But you who are strong and swift,

see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.

You are good in countless ways,

and you are not evil when you are not good,

You are only loitering and sluggard.

Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.

In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness:

and that longing is in all of you.

But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea,

carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.

And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and

bends and lingers before it reaches the shore.

But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little,

 Wherefore are you slow and halting?

For the truly good ask not the naked,

 Where is your garment?

nor the houseless, What has befallen your house?"

- Kahlil Gibran

○

Freely download a PDF version of  "The Prophet" here:

- https://www.kahlilgibran.com/

“5 Painfully Obvious Truths We Tend to Forget in Hard Times”

“5 Painfully Obvious Truths

We Tend to Forget in Hard Times”

by Angel Chernoff

“This is going to have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

We are going to get through this, I promise,

and we’re going to get through it together. “

- Dr. Jon LaPook

“You know how you can read or hear something dozens of times in dozens of different ways before it finally sinks in? The little truths listed below fall firmly into that category – timeless life lessons that many of us likely learned years ago, and have been reminded of ever since, yet for whatever reason we tend to forget in the heat of the moment. This, my friends, is my attempt at helping all of us, myself included, “get it” and “remember it” once and for all, especially as we collectively cope with the evolving reality of economic collapse and the drastic social and life circumstances caused by COVID-19…

1. Life is short, and nothing is guaranteed. We know deep down that life is short, and that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know. It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step. You expected there to be one more stair than there is, and so you find yourself off balance for a moment, before your mind shifts back to the present moment and how the world really is.

LIVE your life TODAY! Don’t ignore death – or the imminent dangers now becoming obvious – but don’t be afraid of life either. Be afraid of a life you never lived because you were too afraid to take positive action today. Death is not the greatest loss in life, neither is illness. The greatest loss is what dies inside you while you’re still alive and well. Even in these difficult times, be bold, be courageous, be a scared to death, and then take the next step anyway. Just change the way you do it.

Invest your heart and soul into whatever you have right in front of you. Bring passion into otherwise ordinary moments. You don’t have to be surrounded by lots of people. You don’t have to be going anyplace new. You can distance yourself and still passionately engage in each moment.

2. Everything will change again soon. Embrace change and realize in many ways it’s necessary. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end most forms of change are worthwhile because they force us to grow. So keep yourself in check right now.

What you have today may become what you had by tomorrow. You never know. Things change, often spontaneously. People and circumstances come and go. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. It moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day. It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.

Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives. A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth. Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event. And these events are always happening – as they are right now.

So just remember, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. Accept it. Breathe. Be where you are. You’re where you need to be right now. There’s a time and place for everything, and every hard step is necessary. Just keep doing your best, and don’t force what’s not yet supposed to fit into your life. When it’s meant to be, it will be.

3. Changing your response is what puts you back in control. Have patience with everything that remains unresolved in your head and heart. And realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard to stay true to your intuition and values. This is your life, and it is governed by your choices. May your actions speak louder than your words. May your daily choices preach louder than your lips. May your inner sense of satisfaction be your noise in the end.

And if your present life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it. Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land – even when there are so many unknowns – be brave enough to stand up and listen to your heart. Remember that the most powerful moments in life happen when you find the courage to let go of what can’t be changed. Because when you are no longer able to change a situation, you are challenged to change yourself – to grow beyond the unchangeable. And that changes everything! (Marc and I discuss this in more detail in the “Passion and Growth” chapter of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.“)

4. Life’s storms can be a great source of strength. Hard times are like strong storms that blow against you. And it’s not just that these storms hold you back from places you might otherwise go. They also tear away from you all but the essential parts of your ego that cannot be torn, so that afterward you see yourself as you really are, and not merely as you might like to be.

Ultimately, you realize you are here to endure these storms, to sacrifice your time and risk your heart. You are here to be bruised by life. And when it happens that you are hurt, or betrayed, or rejected, let yourself sit quietly with your eyes closed and remember all the good times you had, and all the sweetness you tasted, and everything you learned. Tell yourself how amazing it was to live, and then open your eyes and live some more.

Because to never struggle would be to never grow. You must let go of who you were so you can become who you are. Again, it is within the depths of the strongest and darkest storms that you discover within you an inextinguishable light, and it is this light that illuminates the path forward.

5. You don’t need all the answers right now. Accept the feeling of not knowing exactly where you are going, and train yourself to love and appreciate this sensation of freedom. Because it is only when you are suspended in the air, with no destination in sight, that you force your wings to open fully so you can fly. And as you soar around you still may not know where you’re traveling to. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is the opening of your wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as your wings are spread, the winds will carry you forward.

Truth be told, some of the greatest outcomes that transpire in your life will be the ones you never even knew you wanted. As long as you keep your mind open to new perspectives and yourself moving forward, there really are no wrong turns in life, only paths you didn’t know you were meant to travel. And you never can be certain what’s around the corner. It could be everything, or it could be nothing. You keep gliding steadily forward, and then one day you realize you’ve come a long way from where you started.

All details aside, someday all the pieces will come together. Unimaginably good outcomes will likely transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated. And you will look back at the hard times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself… “How in the world did I get through all of that?”

- https://www.marcandangel.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Burnley, Lancashire, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by!

The Poet: William Stafford, "The Gift"

"The Gift"

"Time wants to show you a different country. It's the one

that your life conceals, the one waiting outside

when curtains are drawn, the one Grandmother hinted at

in her crochet design, the one almost found

over at the edge of the music, after the sermon.

It's the way life is, and you have it, a few years given.

You get killed now and then, violated

in various ways. (And sometimes it's turn about.)

You get tired of that. Long-suffering, you wait

and pray, and maybe good things come - maybe

the hurt slackens and you hardly feel it any more.

You have a breath without pain. It is called happiness.

It's a balance, the taking and passing along,

the composting of where you've been and how people

and weather treated you. It's a country where

you already are, bringing where you have been.

Time offers this gift in its millions of ways,

turning the world, moving the air, calling,

every morning, "Here, take it, it's yours."

- William Stafford