creating what i haven’t lived
I have not lived much of my life; for the most part, I have simply been carried along by circumstances. This has not been a good thing. What good has happened has been more by luck, or the compassion of others, than my own agency. I have been far more fortunate than skilled.
And that luck did not hold up. Not with anxiety and depression ever lurking to take me down.
This website represents, or re-presents, my attempt here in 2020 to live my life with intention. One year ago, I began a mindfulness meditation practice, and it has done me a world of good. Today, I have a new understanding about how I want to live my life, of how I intend to create my life. This is an experiment in self-creation through the things I love to do and the things that are meaningful to me.
politics
When do we panic?
Panic feels like it’s the right way to feel at times, especially in this god-awful year of 2020. Panic, however, is never the right choice, unless failure and doom are your goals. Not submitting to panic means finding another way to cope.
politics
Oregon Vote-by-mail: why it works
Oregon pioneered Vote-by-Mail. After a few cycles, it worked so well that we made it the only way for Oregonians to vote. (Well, you can visit your county elections division and cast a ballot; I did that once when I’d move and my ballot didn’t catch up with
politics
ideology, compassion, self
Telling people like trump and Fox News to go to hell is defensible; their actions are inhumane and purposefully so. But their supporters and viewers? Tens of millions of Americans who have nothing to gain and so much to lose – they can go to hell? This is a difficult question.
politics
normal は、さよなら
We’ve lived with a toxic “normal” for centuries. It hasn’t done us a lot of good. Now we face multiple threats to our existence. Thanks, normal.
carpe bucko
the moon
John Green, on discovering the moon: I suppose I’d known moonlight existed, but somehow I had made it to adulthood without ever having a personal experience of it. And there was the world, lit by something that cannot shine light but still finds a way to share light. I
politics
compassion: as simple as life itself
What we are seeing in the current Black Lives Matter movement is a shift towards compassion, individually and collectively.
politics
Failures of liberalism: humans
Liberalism, as a political philosophy, is one of the best of human inventions. The problem has always been that it has had to be implemented by humans, and that means its imperfections will eventually surface and, unless sufficient steps are taken to address the resultant problems, the programs – and the
carpe bucko
despite that….
Life is hard, then you die. So what? Man up & deal with it.
If only it were that easy.
carpe bucko
willingness and perseverance
Running away and hiding is, of course, the exact opposite of willingness and perseverance.
carpe bucko
value adding
It’s not that I don’t have any values; I am simply unable to define them. Which means, for all practical purposes, I don’t have any functional values. This is a problem. Because I have been able to get consistent long-term mental health care through the VA, meeting
japanese
the fun of katakana
I love the Japanese language for many reasons. Part of it no doubt stems from the weird way my brain works, while some is an appreciation for the way they’ve resolved certain language issues. Japanese does not have an alphabet in the way English does; no vowels (a, e,
politics
enough of the fear
Fearing a bad outcome is a terrible way to move forward in politics. Even with bad outcomes possible, I refuse to let fear control me; I’m committed to believing in my beliefs all the way.
sports
back at it
I used to run a lot. I also used to not run a lot. I have had a sporadic history with running, but, thanks to my mental health issues over the years, I have not maintained a consistent running practice. To add to the difficulties, I have had little fitness
sports
2020 baseball is here at last
I have never paid attention to off-season baseball the way I have done this year. Spring Training has never held my attention as does right now in its first few days. The reason for this unprecedented attention is simple: The Houston Astros getting away with cheating and stealing the 2017 World
politics
capital vs wealth
We call the United States a capitalist economy, but we’ve become a wealth-hoarding oligarchy. This is a failure of capitalism and a danger to our future.