Good morning, Digital Neighbors! Thursday rolling your way, shout outs to all you fine souls that take refuge at the Rubin Report, putter around on Phetasy and plant your feet at Padre’s. You all know who you are, some I know dearly, some only through your post and many only through various likes or random comments. However I know you, I am glad you found your way to one of these communities and I pray they are a positive experience in your life. Four for four on this fourth day of the workweek.
Nature is the best antidote for many things in life, especially over engagement with our toxic culture and technology. Not every aspect of culture or technology is toxic, but much of it is. I think all one has to do is gauge their level of stress, their state of agitation or aggravation with whatever issues preoccupy their thoughts and how that makes them feel on a regular basis. I am not saying close your minds to the challenges or trials around us, but I prefer not to make them the only source of meaning in my life. Being passionate is good, being obsessive is usually self-destructive. If you don’t have a Higher Power, nature is the next best thing to look beyond the horizon of self. If you do believe in a Higher Power, nature is one of the clearest ways to see and sense His presence. I don’t know how much access you have to nature where you live, but more time there is a good healing antidote to too much time roaming about these areas, good as they are. I hope you can spend some time with trees, discover the beauty that is around us and that you can hear the whispers of nature and her secrets.
Time spent amongst trees is never wasted time. –Katrina Mayer
Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere. – Laura Ingalls Wilder
Fresh air is as good for the mind as for the body. Nature always seems trying to talk to us as if she had some great secret to tell. And so she has. – John Lubbock
New Hampshire - Andrew Spencer - Unsplash
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.
