Creating Things That Are Very Imperfect

What concepts might help someone be more creative? Do you wish you were more creative? Creating things for others is important – even when you know what you will create will be imperfect… Read More →

For Writers: There Is No “One Best” Writing Checklist

I write on days when I don’t feel like writing.  This is because I write primarily to please others.  In this modern age of a “30 second news cycle,” where the “biggest” stories seem to come in… Read More →

If I Knew How To Do More Good, I Would

Have you ever wondered?:  What goes on in the mind of someone who regularly thinks:  It would be a good idea to write posts about sexuality and love in the arts. Sounds pretty… Read More →

There Would Be No Batman If He Was Not First The Billionaire Bruce Wayne

  I don’t know how to advise an artist how to do their work or how to prioritize their work. I do know how expensive life tends to be. To artists who can… Read More →

1000 Helpful Votes

As the image below shows, I recently received my 1000th “Helpful” vote on my Amazon reviews.  Most days in my life, one of the things I aspire to be is helpful.  So, this silly,… Read More →

To Love Or To Be Loved? Is That The Question?

One of my chronic weaknesses is:  I am a poster child for “not letting go.” The last woman who left me used to criticize me for the unending love I still had for… Read More →

Favorites

Click on any image if you wish to view it individually or larger.  I have often written here:  “A person’s art is often their heart on their sleeve.” Tonight, I spent time mining… Read More →

Thank You

Thank you to the regular readers and visitors of this blog.  Life is often shaped by the connections we make, how we make them, how we define them, how we adapt them, and how… Read More →

Theaters Of Kindness

Tonight, I saw in our area’s weekly newspaper that a local 32-year old small theater was having a fund-raising Mardi-Gras “casino night” event.  I have several soft places in my heart for live… Read More →

Trying To Understand Why She Left You

“That’s the crazy thing about it is:  Breaking up with someone is literally the most common thing.  Like everyone you know broke up with everyone they ever dated . . . until maybe… Read More →

Understanding Wealth – A Letter To My Father’s Grandchildren

This is a letter I wrote to my father’s grandchildren today: As you may know, my father left my mother and me when I was about 3.  That’s when the physical separation occurred.  Other kinds… Read More →

People Who Are Consistently Kind Tend To Attract Kind & Giving People

Building off of yesterday’s post about considering the needs of the many rather than just the needs of a few or just one, and a post series that began with a post about a… Read More →

The Many, The Few, And The One

“The needs of the many outweigh . . . the needs of the few . . . or the one”  ~ Star Trek II. Building on ideas from yesterday’s post, when I encounter someone… Read More →

You Get To Choose Your Instruments

And you get to choose how your instruments are played. If you want your life’s work to be an instrument of enduring love, you will likely receive enduring love in return. If you… Read More →

400 Songs That Shape My World: #396 “Red Rain” by Peter Gabriel

This is a list of 400 songs that continue to shape my world, the soundtrack of my life.  I encourage you to click on the above video, to hear the song as you… Read More →

An Argument With My Teenage Son

It is probably never a good idea for one person to try to paraphrase the nature of an argument, without allowing the other person to tell their side.  But there may be something… Read More →

What Is The Greatest Role You Can Ever Be Cast In?

Weak And Scared Today was a tough day.  My youngest boy came to me tonight, saying he was “weak and scared.”  At first, I thought he was angling toward convincing me to allow him… Read More →

Your Success May Not Depend On You As Much As It May Depend On The Crews You Choose

Your crew is not you. You are not your crew. You will probably be a member of different crews for different pursuits. Often, you will not lead the crew you are in.  More… Read More →

The Ones Whose Stories You Want To Tell To The World

The photographs above are of Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address in March 1865.  John Wilkes Booth is in attendance, above Lincoln.  Booth assassinated Lincoln in the next month, April 1865.  Click on the images… Read More →

The Parable Of The Talents. What Offers Should You Accept? What Should You Do With The Gifts You’ve Been Given?

What do you think of this quote? “When seeking guidance, don’t ever listen to the tiny-hearted.  Be kind to them, heap them with blessing, cajole them, but do not follow their advice.”  … Read More →

A Common Missing Character Trait In Modern Protagonists

What is a characteristic missing in many modern protagonists? I am reading a fantasy novel currently.  I am up to Chapter 65 in “The Name Of The Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss.  It is well written… Read More →

The Movement You Need Is On Your Shoulder

We cannot avoid watching thousands of commercials that suggest we would be happier by doing less and receiving more.  Most days that message comes to us in thousands of images, songs, billboards, infomercials,… Read More →

For Writers And Readers: Why Write?

When do you write something for public consideration?  I often write shortly after I’ve realized or learned something personally, a new realization to me, something I perceive to be uncommonly known, yet uncommonly… Read More →

What Can You Learn That Will Profit You? #2 – How Are You Doing?

Which is a better concern: a)  How well have I created benefits for myself? or b)  How well have I created benefits for my community? My father attended a homecoming reunion for his university a… Read More →