wisdom

Building Character

I’m all about building character.

Not THIS kind…

Largely because of errors-in-judgement I’ve made in my own life, I find myself drawn to other’s opinions with regard to how one should live.  And I sometimes even try to apply them to my standards, and see how (or if) they fit.

I’ve occasionally referred to The Art of Manliness in this blog.  While much of what is written there is a how-to, some of it is a paradigm-breaking thing.  Thinking outside the box, as it were.

This recent essay challenges the mold of modern parenting.  The one wherein a parent tells the child they can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it.  Now my parents tried their own version of this which was I wasn’t living up to my potential.  Not exactly a positive message.  I tried to encourage my own daughter, but let her figure out her own limits for herself.  She wasn’t necessarily supposed to live my dreams.  She was to live hers.

“You can do anything you put your mind to!”

“The sky’s the limit!”

“You’re the best!”

“Follow your dreams!”

Did you hear these kinds of things growing up? Your parents sure meant well. They really felt like you were the most special creature to arrive on planet earth – a beautiful boy full of limitless possibilities. You could do anything in the world!

But now that that boy is grown up and in his twenties, you might find that such encouragement has become more paralyzing than motivating. If your possibilities really are endless, how will you ever decide which path to take and what to do with your life? (TAOM)

I would encourage you to visit the link above and also read the other essays.  I often learn things there – and I’m old!

Better than thinking I can blow up the Earth because it blocks my view of Venus!

IDIOCY ON PARADE!

Sipsey Street Irregulars recounts for us idiocy in it’s highest form.

Those who know better.

Gunfire and moments of fear as a rural Oregon school tests its readiness.

Two masked men wearing hoodies and wielding handguns burst into the Pine Eagle Charter School in this tiny rural community on Friday. Students were at home for an in-service day, so the gunmen headed into a meeting room full of teachers and opened fire.

Someone figured out in a few seconds that the bullets were not drawing blood because they were blanks and the exercise was a drill, designed to test Pine Eagle’s preparation for an assault by “active shooters” who were, in reality, members of the school staff. But those few seconds left everybody plenty scared.

I’m with Dutchman6.  If I’d been present (and legally armed) I’d have shot the bastards!

Reminiscent of my security guard days, walking into a cafeteria right after an ‘armed robber’ put a gun in the cashier’s face.  It was Halloween and it was a friend of hers in costume.  I arrived five minutes later.

He would have been shot – right there.

The Wisdom of Will Rogers

Will Rogers was a comedian and actor from the early part of the Twentieth Century.  Before becoming a stage personality, he had actually been a cowboy – some of his act involved lasso tricks!

And,
finally ~ If you don’t learn
to laugh at trouble, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you’re old.

h/t my dear sister, Ellie

JOY

I recently had a conversation with a friend which sparked a bittersweet memory.

One of the things many of us miss as adults is the wonder, the surprise, the simple serendipity of joy.  In childhood we experience it often, probably because most things and experiences are new to us, and we’ve yet to become jaded.

One of my favorite memories of my daughter Molly was when I gave her a gift.  She was turning twelve, and I knew just as the Sun rose in the morning that soon she would be developing into a teenager, full of doubt and promise.  One who no longer trusted her parents to be all-knowing and truthful.  Because, of course, we weren’t and could never be.

But here we were, proud father giving his daughter a present.  She opened it, her eyes widened, and there was that sudden exhalation of breath.  Excitement, happiness, joy.  Innocence and appreciation in one second, one breath.  Followed by the big hug.

I don’t even remember what I had given her.  But what she gave me was so much more.  An everlasting memory of a happy young woman, unspoiled by the adolescent hormones of parental treachery.  Not yet jump-started into that distrust generated simply by being parents and adults.

Zen masters tell us to be in the now.  Live life as if each moment was your last.  This is what Molly showed me that day.

I’ve had many difficult times of year.  The holidays and my birthday comprise one such time.  Not because of those specific events, but rather because of who’s not there.

But, I’ve already received my present this year.  As I get every year – when I remember it.

Live in the now, with joy, and never be disappointed.

Thank you, Molly.

Back In The Saddle, Again

One of my favorites from childhood (WAY back in the 1950s) was Gene Autry.  Along with Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers, he embodied much of the Western mythos that was presented to we children.  In later life, he contributed heavily to charity, and even owned a baseball team.  Obviously, Capitalism was good to him.

But, Mr. Autry wasn’t just a capitalist, film, radio and TV star.  He set forth in his radio show a set of rules to live by.  The Cowboy Code.  Granted, they may seem trite by today’s standards, but in their simplicity and directness really aren’t a bad way to conduct oneself.

A Cowboy Must:

1. Never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage;
2. Never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him;
3. Always tell the truth;
4. Be gentle with children, the elderly and animals;
5. Not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas;
6. Help people in distress;
7. Be a good worker;
8. Keep himself clean in thought, speech, action and personal habits;
9. Respect women, parents and his nation’s laws;
10. Be a patriot.

I don’t recall having any toys attributed to him (I still have my Hopalong Cassidy watch, somewhere!) but finding these rules in my Internet travels is a better remembrance.

My question is this – what values are being presented to today’s children steeped in popular culture?  From the Kardashians to the Octomom…what are their rules to live by?

Oleg, the Wise

example - photo rights-content art, courtesy Oleg Volk

Oleg Volk
Photographer extraordinaire, civil rights advocate, gunnie, and all around good guy, usually posts photographs of guns, and pretty women with guns, and more guns.  And more pretty women.
Sometimes, his rights advocacy is shuffled aside – except in his photo rights-content art – at least by me.
Today, no photo.  Just truth regarding how we get used to the ursurpations of  American bureaucracy.
As he eloquently states:

The greater the amount of effort required to live unmolested by the authorities, the less free a society is. United States does not look good in that respect…unfortunately, neither does the rest of the world.

Go and read at the above link.  Before it’s prohibited to do so.

Citizen, Heal Thyself

The Adaptive Curmudgeon (link) addresses the current crisis(es), and the American reaction to it.
“America has an ace in the hole called “gumption”. We do the impossible with impressive regularity! America is the land where poor people are fat. Where you can have just about anything you can afford.  Where you can do whatever seems like a good idea…regardless of what the neighbors (or Europe) thinks.  We had Rosie the Riveter in 1945 and we’re competing with societies that still keep their women in glad bags. Regardless of Obamacare, when a billionaire or foreign president gets mortally ill they hustle for the Mayo clinic. Our kids run lemonade stands because they want to. We invented monster trucks, microwaves, the blues, pop-rocks, and cowboys. American gun nuts bitch because cannons and machine guns are expensive. American motorheads build muscle cars that’ll peel the paint off a Chevy Volt. Here it’s legal and common to tell your boss to stuff it and seek a better job…”
Go.  Read.  Gain wisdom. 

h/t  Adaptive Curmudgeon

Yet, another Quote!

Tommy Lee Jones’ Harvard roommate

“In law, if there is no defence, it’s a sham.
In business, if there is no competition, it’s a monopoly.
In science, if there is no debate, it’s propaganda.” – Jo Nova

BabyTrollBlog brought this quote to my attention.  Ms. Nova lives in Australia, recently buried in the mire that is global warming, anthropogenic climate change, leftist green propaganda.  
Go and read her article, while the Australian government still permits it.  We Need a Free Market in Climate Science.

h/t Mark Philip Alger