Thoughts for the Thoughtful

An Elderly Skeptic Looks Back

Often in thought did I question and doubt,

    But always, when stricken by grief,  

Did I find on my tongue a questing prayer

    To the God of my disbelief.

***

We all have conversations with God, the churchgoer weekly and in public, the skeptic daily and in private.

Life is an ongoing battle, the ultimate triumph finding someone to surrender to.

"You can accept a falling out that changes your plans, but it's hard to accept a betrayal that changes your memories."

As much a part of friendship as offering help when needed is accepting help when offered.

A Lone Wolf Laments

Those times I pridefully said, "No, thanks." 

Oh, how I've come to regret them.

Oh, why, when people offered to help

Did I not just smile and let them.

Speaking For Myself

All I have ever asked of a teacher is this:  "Teach me not what you have been taught but what you have learned."

What makes evil so hard to uproot is that it can usually cite tradition.

If everyone would know their own best interest, and act upon it, the world would have no need for altruism.

The difference between instruction and education?  Parents instruct their children; children educate their parents.

It varies from person to person,

One multiple doesn't suffice --

The number of times you must do it

To learn not to do it twice.

How's That Again?

You get to a time in life when you would consent to be ignored just for the attention.

There was never an awkward silence that could not be turned into a regrettable conversation.

Before there can be a theory that explains everything, one must define everything.

It is hard to have a political debate with a person whose brain has been redistricted.

There is in most religions a patriarchal strain that believes it was actually Eve who tempted the serpent.

It is rare that the circumstances that give you an advantage in life cannot configure themselves into a set or principles.

Always An Easy Way

 "There is always an easy way out, and it often comes disguised as some kind of noble act, as when you decide that someone who deserves better from you would be better off without you." 

No Need For Words

In the end a loving relationship consists largely of silences, trust having no need for words. 

 

Mental Droppings

 Where do I get my ideas?  I have a microwave with a HALF BAKE setting.

You'll know that AI has completely replicated human intelligence when there are robots who believe they were made in the image of God.

You can be happy for a reason, or you can be inexplicably happy, the latter supplying more occasions. 

The words, "winning is everything" are most often used when there is no other discernible purpose for the activity.

The truly charitable heart does not give some and hold some back but rather gives all it has and trusts that some will be given back.

You will never disprove by evidence what has always been believed despite the evidence.

You'll know that time is traveling backwards when annoying becomes cute.

Afterthoughts #2

You don't know loneliness until the person in this world you most confided in dies, and you run to tell them who died.

Whether you believe in God or you don't, it's very hard to prove the contrary.

There are few earned rewards in life that a person will not sacrifice to preserve an unfair advantage.

It is often wise to reserve judgment -- and wiser still to recognize the moment  you've been reserving it for. 

Most people have a hidden agenda, hidden mainly from their own awareness, known pretty much to everybody else.

The words, "If I had it all to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing" would make even experience want to leave teaching.