Never feel self-pity, the most destructive emotion there is. How awful to be caught up in the terrible squirrel cage of self. - Millicent Fenwick
He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood. He who faces no calamity will need no courage. Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles. - Harry Emerson Fosdick
Good Morning Digital Neighbors and Friends! Happy Thursday to all! It was as warm in New Melle as it was in Maui yesterday. More of the same today - winter is coming, but not today!🌞🌞🌞
Regarding the first quote from Millicent Fenwick, Momma Peg always said that if you sit on the pity pot, you sit alone. Self-pity robs us of so much. Not giving into its pull in dark moments is so difficult, but necessary if we want to maintain the balance that allows us to stage engaged with life. The squirrel cage of self - if you have ever seem one cornered in a garage or box, her description of the panic and racing back & forth is spot on. Sadly it also contributed to the high number of them squashed on the roadside, only possums rack up more treats for the crows. buzzards & coyotes.
Regarding the second - enough challenges or troubles to keep the edge somewhat sharp and not too many to break the proverbial blade as it were. The challenge for myself is always trying to keep perspective and not letting fears; real, imagined or exaggerated overwhelm me. Good friends offer the best grounding, good communities foster similar opportunities where there is healthy conversation, and finally the cultivation of a practice of reflection, meditation or prayer that takes us beyond self & self-interest. Reflection, meditation or prayer that becomes wrapped up in self invites the caged squirrel back into the box. Happy Thursday my friends!
Meanwhile somewhere in Iowa someone took this photo.
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.
Quite apart from the fact that I utterly admire, even love, her, this is the best possible response to an idiot, who, in his defense, asked a pretty good question.
https://x.com/TBifford/status/2087992591279407133/video/1?s=61
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.”
