Good Morning Digital Neighbors! I hope all of you who celebrated the 4th had a great time and all of those watching us do it enjoyed the show. Tuesday-Monday is upon us and the rest of the week will feel a little out of sorts for me, but I am ok with that. How about diving into some William James this week, look at a few quotes and maybe offer some prattle for your morning consumption.

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.

Good intentions and a buck of crap are worth a bucket of crap. The doing (of whatever it is, choose wisely) causes the unfolding of your person. It is not the sole method of revelation of self, but experience is a big revealer. I think one of the questions that we ought to ask from time to time, is why did I chose A and how did it change me? Do I see it as a step in the right direction, or was it a step off the path? Cultivating an interior life, be it prayer, mediation or reflection, is one of the best ways to integrate your experience into your present moment and come to greater self-awareness. That should be a given and not a big insight, but I see more and more people sadly unmoored from themselves and oblivious to their own actual story and trapped in some interior fiction that gets labeled with some flavor-of-the-month cause that is celebrated rather than questioned and understood. Indulging fringe movement/attitudes is not the same as being patient with them, it is elevating them to far greater status than they deserve and often letting what is fringe be considered normative and acceptable.

The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.

Since we just celebrated Independence Day, one ought to ask what hill will he or she die on, what battles will be chosen and which will be ignored. Overlook the wrong thing and you will regret, waste time on the trivial and you will be too tired for the important when it happens. No wise person is without their scars. Poor choices that we survive are the seedbed to the better choices we make in the future, unless you are stupid. Stupidity comes with its own pain, but perhaps not as much as it should. I think I would be smarter/wiser is some of my stupid choices in the past didn't require multiple lessons and had been more painful.

The "overlooking" is a art. Done well it leads to acceptance and understanding. Done poorly and you may find yourself drowning in a sea of bad choices and poorly understood experiences. Overlooking the evil unfolding in your midst will allow it to grow stronger and unopposed. You will wake up one day and find it on your proverbial borders with intentions on your life and livelihood. Perhaps 2020 pulled back the duct tape that many had unknowingly let become their mummy-wrapped blinders. The removing is sticky business and so painful that many will pass on having it done. Better to live with the herd than being singled out for the slaughter, especially when your former herd-mates are the ones turning on you. Every slaughtered herd-mate is a lesson in accommodation. Learn to overlook what they do and to react to what they do or face the consequences - doxing, cancelation, twitter rage mobs, protests to place of employment, you know the drill.

Overlook the small things, and learn how to recognize the larger ones so you can approach them with wisdom and courage. Never think something is beyond change, only a lack of imagination and courage prompts us to be resigned rather than accepting. No one is a prisoner to their past or even their current chapter of life. Enough prattling, on to something beautiful. Have a great day ADD Irregulars! This little hole is the wall is a real joy and blessing in my life.

Reflections Of July by Christopher Skoglund