Good morning, digital neighbors! Happy Tuesday! Well, yesterday was a bit of a rant, but I stand by it. Every now and again, a good venting is necessary for the soul and mind. There is much to be concerned about in our culture. Concern is good, preoccupation is dangerous and obsession is toxic.
I hope you find community in real life and/or online that enriches your life, causes you to laugh, invites you to think, inspires growth, and reassures you of the potential goodness in humanity. No community is perfect; everyone has their own cocktail of bad judgments and selfish justifications. If those judgments and justifications are never examined, questioned, or challenged, we run the risk of personal stagnation and all the ill it brings to our lives. Boredom will be the least of your problems but the most persistent of experiences. Worse will be the spiritual poisons that work to separate you from others and even yourself.
No one needs to be a prisoner to such things. There are more self-made prisons in our lives than most of us realize. Yeah, there are jerks that get scripted into our lives knowingly and unknowingly by bad judgment and happenstance, and they receive more of their power/authority from our willingness than we realize. The behaviors you accept are the behaviors you will receive. Rare are those souls that strive to be better than they were yesterday. If you are one of them, thank you. If your life is blessed with one or some, occasionally thank them. Most only learn the meaning of things, persons, or experiences once they are gone. Superficial and presumptuous living does that. Presumptuous living works for children sheltered in loving homes; it is ruinous for adults trying to face reality.
Good neighbors in community encourage us to be our better selves. Good neighbors in community can help us know our strengths and work on overcoming our weaknesses. Good neighbors in community celebrate the goodness of life. Good neighbors in community overcome the temptation to endlessly complain about life, culture, or the world. The simplest things are often the best. Happy Birthday!!! It sure is good to celebrate life, even better to celebrate the life of a good neighbor. It is the icing on the cake to do that in community. On to the quote and photo! Happy Tuesday, digital neighbors!
The true test of civilization is, not the census nor the size of cities, nor the crops—no, but the kind of man the country turns out. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
In a living civilization there is always an element of unrest, for sensitiveness to ideas means curiosity, adventure, change. Civilized order survives on its merits and is transformed by its power of recognizing its imperfections. - Alfred North Whitehead
Autumn path - Ales-Krivec - 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.
