Don’t Turn Around

Don’t Turn Around

June: On Conflict and Courage GoFundMe for my wife's cancer fund: https://gofund.me/3682c6720 [https://gofund.me/3682c6720] June 11 It’s the child who hears the banging outside their window at night, burying themselves beneath the covers, hiding from the monster trying to get in, but if they’d just look, they’d see it’s nothing more than a loose shutter in the wind.  If you stand your ground and face your fear—all of those other possibilities fall away. You’ll never even be able to remember them all. You will see what you’re up against, and you will be empowered to think and choose your best course of action. Simply, facing your fears with courage puts you in control of how you handle the situation, and even better, it puts you in control of your own mind and reasoning. So, take a page from the young fictional soldier Henry Fleming’s book and know that it is better to view the appalling than to be merely within hearing. * Reflection title: Don’t Turn Around * Creative inspiration: Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage * Reflection Question: What appalling thing in my life am I turning my back on? What small things can I face head on with courage now, leading up to larger challenges?

Dare To Know!

June: On Conflict and Courage GoFundMe for my wife's cancer fund: https://gofund.me/3682c6720 [https://gofund.me/3682c6720] June 10 The shopping, social media, exercise and health, and AI apps are meant to make our lives “easier” or “better,” but they often only complicate things further at the cost of our own accountability and autonomy. It takes discipline and time to slow down and think for yourself. And it’s not a perfect world—and it’s not always easy. Sometimes the cards are stacked against you. Remember—thought is the greatest threat to those in power. Ever think of the possibility that they want to make it as easy as possible for you not to think? So slow down, sift through the noise and take your rational and reasoned tools and get to work on your understanding of the matter. It takes courage to dare to know, but you have what it takes.  * Reflection title: Dare To Know!  * Creative inspiration: Immanuel Kant, An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment? * Reflection Question: Do I dare to do the work? To get my hands dirty to really know something? Where am I taking the easy way out?

Tear Those Castles Down

June: On Conflict and Courage GoFundMe for my wife's cancer fund: https://gofund.me/3682c6720 [https://gofund.me/3682c6720] June 9 Blossoms of honesty on the branches between the leaves. With kindness, you turn to those crawling upon the blighted sands toward your feet, you crouch low, and let them eat of the fruit of the tree of thought.  Returning to form, they stand.  Shrieks of pain and wrath from the castle. It is what those rulers fear most: this unflinching thought, spreading like a cure for the plague, anarchic and lawless—merciless to their privilege, indifferent to their authority. A thought that looks upon the pit of hell they have created and is not afraid. And together with your people, you march upon this castle built on sand, your thought, swift and free like the wind, blows upon the feeble foundation, and down it falls. It is what they fear most. It all starts with a thought. Your thought. * Reflection title: Tear Those Castles Down * Creative inspiration: Bertrand Russell, Why Men Fight * Reflection Question: What is my thought being controlled by? Do I fear critical thought as it challenges the foundations of my beliefs and the status quo?

Never Say Never

June: On Conflict and Courage GoFundMe for my wife's cancer fund: https://gofund.me/3682c6720 [https://gofund.me/3682c6720] June 8 “Never regret your mistakes” Not entirely true Like life, and being human— It’s nuanced and gray Some mistakes? Those mistakes made That irrevocably changed everything? For the worse? Those from which there is no return? Feel free to regret those But only if you have the mind to see them as mistakes And if you do, from that awareness And courage to see the truth You will grow, and shed your old skin Irrevocably changing for the better All because of realization  And regret * Reflection title: Never Say Never * Creative inspiration: Yogi Tea * Reflection Question: What mistakes am I clear-eyed enough to regret? How can I learn and grow from these, irrevocably changing for the better?

Rise Like the Wind

June: On Conflict and Courage I mention again in this episode that wife has recently been diagnosed with cancer. We have a GoFundMe campaign live now to help ease the financial burden of medical expenses. If you are able to contribute or share, we would be eternally grateful. You can find the link here:  https://gofund.me/3682c6720 [https://gofund.me/3682c6720] June 7 From the top, away from the flood and the flames, that’s where you’ll find your solution and your path forward. And you might be tempted, along the way, to try and restore the balance and harmony that once was before the disaster struck, but that’s not an option. We know that by now. What’s done is done. The past cannot be changed. These events we face forever change us. So you must fight that temptation with everything you’ve got, knowing instead you’ll create something new that transcends the past. When these monsters of life come your way (and they will), you must slow down, have faith in yourself and in others and maybe in something higher—you must choose courage and rise above. * Reflection title: Rise Like the Wind * Creative inspiration: Angie Branham Mullins, The Psychology of Zelda * Reflection Question: Am I choosing the easy reactions to obstacles? Or am I rising above with courage to see a new way forward?