National Review: Class War: Divided we stand.
I’m not sure why this whole class issue has gotten my attention lately, but it has. I live in a college town but it’s not dominated by the two colleges. We have plenty of people working in manufacturing, agricultural, and service sectors, too. But the class divisions here are becoming more apparent to me… and the reaction of people to the events of 9/11 are falling along the lines noted in this article.
People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. – Thomas S. Szasz
I think it’s both. “Finding myself” can imply that I’m here for a reason, that I have a mission, a calling… and therefore, I need to discover it. “Creating myself” implies developing character, values, habits, and a life of balance so that I can do what needs to be done to fulfill my purpose.
Half this game is ninety percent mental. – Yogi Berra
I rode the last motorcycle trials event of the season today, riding in Advanced Class. I’d practiced for a few days in the past week and felt as ready as could be expected for not having ridden much in the past 3 years. I rode an event a few weeks ago and finished 6th or 7th. But I wasn’t very focused or motivated to ride well. This event, though, I wanted to ride as well as I could. And I knew if I did, I could finish near the top.
I took first place, tying on points and cleans but winning on ones. I can only remember one other event in my 26 years of competition where I rode with as much concentration and relaxation as this one. A satisfying, enjoyable day.
New York Times: Not to Worry. Real Men Can Cry.
This piece implies a cultural shift, but I’m not so sure that these guys’ reactions to the unique and horrific events of 9/11 will make it ok for the rest of us to cry over other emotional pains. Is it ok now for a man to weep over a failed marriage? How about over losing custody of his kids? Over the father he never had? Over the guilt of his abusiveness?
Wall St. Journal: EBay Founder Puts Profits to Use To Help ‘Rediscover Community’
Now here’s a guy to admire, assuming that its true. “There is only so much money a family needs and we have that already…” They moved out of Silicon Valley when it became clear that it was not the place they wanted to live and raise children. “The Bay Area got so demented in terms of money, that it was hard to take…” “The Internet needs to re-establish a relevance in people’s lives again after some real damage to the perception of the medium. There are more world-changing applications out there.”
Wall St. Journal: Good Grief: Don’t Get Taken By the Trauma Industry
Right on. It bugs me that my former professional colleagues are so eager to turn every instance of pain and suffering into a clinical problem that needs intervention from a professional.
The human being is a suprisingly resilient organism. We impel toward health, not sickness. Your spirit, as surely as your body, will try to heal. – Kent Nerburn
I guess this is reframing of my mother’s situation for me. She may need therapy, but it’s her spirit that needs to heal in a different way. Maybe I should send her the book “Coming to Life.”
The question you must ask yourself is not if you will heal but how you will heal. – Kent Nerburn
I think of the suffering and trauma that my mother’s gone through in her life and wonder if she’s going to seize the opportunity, especially now that my dad’s dead, to heal differently than she has. I’m not sure what I can do, other than to keep steering her to therapy.
StarTribune: God’s way of getting our attention
The terrorist attacks are “God’s way of getting our attention“? Oy. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson laid this one on us, too. America is another Sodom and Gomorrah and God is the Wizard behind the curtain, pulling strings to dish out punishment when he’s pissed. No wonder people bail on these kinds of preachers when crises pass.
Men’s Journal: The Firefighters
Compelling, personal stories told by firefighters at the WTC site. I wonder if these guys will use the experience to grow stronger. Deeper. Or will it just be a troubling memory?