Good Morning Digital Neighbors & Friends! More fun words to explore. Where do these weeks go? Just yesterday it was Monday and I am not even among the esteems ranks of the Retired and their Forever Tuesdays.
Quanked - exhausted or fatigued from hard work - kwank’d | Nineteenth century. English.
Love what you do and do what you love. It is a simple recipe for contentment in life. If you are fortunate, you do love your work/vocation. It is rarely all peaches and cream, there are rough days with self, rough days with others and some rough day with not discernable connection to others or experience. If you have a job/vocation you hate - I hope your passion is fed by the cultivation of your gifts as a hobby or side job that bring fulfillment if it cannot bring sustainable income. I often think of artists. Also, if you REALLY hate your job - consider quitting. It is not worth it. Fear prevents more growth than almost anything else in our life. Doubt is probably in contention for ruining paths not chosen in most of decisions.
So, thank you for all the Quankers out there busting it for the good of society. Chat around town is how many small businesses are struggling because they can't find help, even when they are considering offering more compensation than they would have considered a year or two ago. Many who want to remain among the Quanked are now challenged by mandates that violate personal conscience. Many don't want to remain among the Quanked because they seem to be able to get by without a job. Somewhere between mandates and cheeto-lounging is the opportunity for honest employment, meaningful work, or at least a sense that I am contributing to the betterment of society in some way. Quank on you Quankers, we will all be better for it!
Meanwhile in Minnesota - Dunno who took or where it is - but WOW!
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
Happy Friday, Digital Neighbors!! Slept in a little this morning. Woke up at my ordinary time, hit the hour timer, and wandered back into short, incoherent dreamland. It was a good hour to try and get a little more rest after a long day yesterday. We had a good staff team-building day with personal prayer and then looking at the DISC tool as a way to appreciate our gifts as we work together for the good of our parish family.
Had a meeting in the evening to explore using our auditorium for an Emergency Overnight Shelter in the winter for the homeless and unhoused in our local area. Lots of potential, lots of work if that is to come to fruition. As I mentioned last night, this is where the rubber hits the road on personal charity. People feel comfortable giving money to support charities, but the possibility of hosting and staffing one is way out of the comfort zone for most. Prayer and time will tell.
Off to some “ifferisms” for your Friday cup of Joe.
If you get gloomy, just take an ...
The Beautiful
Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”
