The Unclad Soul

Cultural critic and novelist, Daniel Quinn, has written, “There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with the world…they will live at odds with the world. Given a story to enact in which they are the lords of the world, they will act like lords of the world. And, given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now.“ Some of us grew up in a time when the church, the school, the government, and society at large, gave us a story to believe that asked us to live in accord with the world. There were always pockets of cynics, bullies, bigots and screwballs who rebelled and remained trouble makers attempting to divide people and communities. But for the most part, people tried to get al...

“Laughter’s the nearest we ever get, or should get, to sainthood. It’s the state of grace that saves most of us from contempt.” ~ John Osborne, Playwright

"The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast,   and you miss all you are traveling for."  ~ Louis L’Amour, Novelist

The firing of former FBI Director, James Comey, by president Trump has turned into some kind of alternative universe. The political arena, the media and much of the nation have lost their minds over this. Comey was not fired because president Trump is trying to cover up any ties to him and the Russians and the last election. It’s not about Hilary, either, and her ubiquitous emails. It’s not because Attorney General Jeff Beauregard Sessions told him to do it. What the firing of Comey was about is psychology 101. It’s about Mr. Trump’s gaping insecurity, his paranoia, and his not just demand but neurotic need, for total and unequivocal loyalty. When James Comey refused to comply with that, he was removed. What we are seeing is The Apprentice being played out in the White House by celebrity tycoon Donald Trump. There is no governing going on. There are no polices to legislate. Hundreds of important positions in government have not been filled. Chaos monopolizes everything. Wh...

Historian Will Durant wrote in one of his books about “the few” who he said delight in thinking and understanding, “who yearn not for goods, nor for victory, but for knowledge; who leave both market and battlefield to lose themselves in the quiet clarity of secluded thought; whose will is a light rather than a fire, whose haven is not power but truth.” “These are the   people” he wrote, “who stand aside unused by the world.” How perplexing that so often it is thinking people, gentle souls,   soft spoken   individuals, people of spiritual depth, unprofaned, compassionate to a fault, who “stand aside unused by the world.” I know these people. I have met them over the years. I have worked with them. They have been neighbors. They have been amazing friends. They live in quiet, modest homes, warm with welcome, blanketed with love. They are not famous. They have no massive assets. They do not run big companies. Their impact is not in power, or financial resources...

“Life does not give you big, simple answers. It demands patience, focus, and an open, intelligent mind to gather the pieces of a puzzle and fit them together into a coherent whole. Nothing worth knowing is ever easily learned.”  ~ Lisa Cach, Writer/Novelist

“Half of me is filled with bursting words and half of me is painfully shy. I crave solitude yet I also crave people. I want to pour life and love into everything yet also nurture my self-care and go gently. I want to live within the rush of primal, intuitive decision, yet also wish to sit and contemplate. This is the messiness of life—that we all carry multitudes, so we must sit with the shifts. We are complicated creatures, and ultimately, the balance comes from this understanding. Be water. Flowing, flexible and soft. Subtly powerful and open. Wild and serene. Able to accept all changes, yet still led by the pull of steady tides. It is enough.” ~ Victoria Erickson, Writer/Columnist/Author