rajafacesbothways

Flashes of Insight #20

"Talent is like the marksman who hits a target which other cannot reach;
genius is like the marksman who hits a target, as far as which others cannot even see."

Arthur Schopenhauer
German Philosopher
( hmm--going through life as a moving target, neither talent or genius have hit my mark)

The Ultimate Distraction

"Writing is the process of finding something to distract you from writing, and of all of the helpful distractions--adultery, alcohol, acedia, all of which aided our writing fathers--none can equal the Internet."

Adam Gopnik, author, New Yorker columnist

(I'll drink to that. After I check my e-mails, answer my e-mails, read the Washington Post cartoons, Google some facts, check out several blogs, read the New York Times, add to Netflixs, check financials, I'm going to begin writing that book.)

Flashes of Insight #18

"Development does not proceed from the bottom up like building a house,
 but from the
top down, as consciousness calls us forward into being.
We grow upside down as it were.
A person's growth is directed by his future."

Swami Ajaya--author and psychologist.

Hmm. I have to think about that one.

Fllashes of Insight #17

"A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."
      Thomas Mann--German novelist (1875-1955)

Flashes of Insight Run Amuck

I have included Flashes of Insight by some great thinkers. Going through old scraps of notes and writing, I came across one of my own flashes of insight. This certainly explains why I'll never be known as one of the greats of my generation.

Five Types of Bras:
1. Catholic bras. Created to support the masses.
2. Salvation Army bras. Made to lift the fallen.
3. Lutheran bras.  Must project an unworthy presence.
4. Presbyterian bras:  Keeps 'em standing and upright.
5. Baptist Bras.  Makes mountains out of molehills.

I DO remember writing and giggling over this. I DON'T remember if I was drinking wine at the time.

Flashes of Insight--#16

"It's important that when one part of your life comes to an end that you reinvent yourself, even it it's upsetting, so that the rest of your life is filled with more possibilities---so that you're not walking through a night with no stars."
                              Nick Casavetes--film actor

"Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum."
                             Olver Wendell Holmes--physician and writer

(Just passing on bits of philosophy that I've found to be true)

Excuses, Excuses

"If you would not be forgotten
as soon as you're dead and rotten,
Either write things worth reading, or
do things worth writing."

    

   Benjamin Franklin, Statesman, Inventor, Writer

Forget me. Haven't done anything worth doing or writing about today.

Political Candidate Guideline

"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing moving at different speeds.
A sense of humor is just common sense dancing."
   Henry James, American author(1843-1916)

Good guidelines for selecting friends and political candidates. I don't trust anyone who lacks a sense of humor.

Boxing Day

Went to a Boxing Day party this afternoon, held by an English family in their beautiful home on a lake. My  broad cultural exposures here amaze me sometimes.

Boxing Day is a traditional celebration on December 26th in England, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. It dates back to the Middle Ages where the lord of the estate would hand out a box or annual stipend to the serfs. (like a company bonus?) It has since become England's busiest shopping day.

Times have changed, but among several of the guests there, I probably would have fallen in the category of the serfs!  It was a fun party that rounded out 3 days of excellent food and drink for me, totally making all my exercise endeavors irrelevant.

Flashes of Insight #14

"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks."

  (Daniel Boone, Kentucky explorer and pioneer)

(Maybe not a flash of insight, but something that relates to life)