Good morning, digital neighbors! Blessed Advent and happy Wednesday! If wisdom is a gift from God, certain postures of the mind and will open us to receive more of it, while other dispositions close us off. Our current culture does not foster a longing for wisdom—in fact, it often does the opposite. That should come as no surprise to any of us here; our suspicion and doubt are well-founded.
Those entrusted with shaping culture and promoting the common good have massively betrayed that trust by sowing constant division, dissatisfaction, and a kind of self-hatred usually seen only in the severely mentally ill. I have to constantly watch and discern what I take in from social media—YouTube, X, and other platforms—lest I unknowingly adopt some of those deeply self-destructive attitudes of the heart. It can be exhausting to remain so vigilant. Often the simplest solution for me is just not going there at all. I don’t need to perch in front of my computer or have my phone glued to my face. (I’m glad you’re here right now, of course—otherwise we wouldn’t be sharing this moment—but I’m talking about hours and hours each day.)
When he wasn’t leading us on voyages in search of lost treasure or warning us about the darkness hidden in our hearts, Robert Louis Stevenson offered some wonderful dispositions of the will that open our lives to greater wisdom. I’m sure I’ve shared these before—at some point in the last five years here on Locals, and definitely back in October 2020 on The Rubin Report. It was a nice trip down memory lane: a morning conversation with Sept, Kathleen, and a few others in the days before ZOOM, TEAMS, or any other real-time video tools. Have a great day, my friends!
1. Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
2. Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with the gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.
3. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortunes that befall others.
4. You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you.
5. Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.
6. Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt.
7. Don’t borrow trouble. Imaginary burdens are harder to bear than real ones.
8. Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities or grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.
9. Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places.
10.Don’t hold post-mortems. Don’t spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things.
11.Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
12.Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.
— Robert Louis Stevenson, “A Pattern for Living”
snow and leaves - Pixabay - unattributed
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.
Good morning, digital neighbors! Happy Friday, my fellow pilgrims across Locals & Substack! The forecast for next week looks downright chilly, with lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s. It will make for some wonderful mornings and make that hot coffee even more enjoyable. We shall see what it does for the long-awaited autumn colors.
One cannot rush the turning of the seasons, and the trees let go of their leaves without any drama at all. Not a bad example for those of us who cling to what we can't keep and fret over what we can't control. I often wonder how much time I have wasted on things I can't affect in the least, except to express frustration and aggravation. It is difficult at times to find the balance when you venture forth on the internet.
I want to be aware, not obsessed. I want to be informed, not consumed. I can strive for self-possession or surrender to groupthink and herd feeling. It can be challenging, because the sense of belonging and the desire for connection are real. Most ...
XIII
The Proud Minister
One day there came into the Garden a man in torn clothes badly bruised and cut, who said to the Lover, “In the name of the Beloved I demand your help.”
So the Lover and the Disciple let him in and dressed his wounds and prepared the best of the vegetables from the Garden for him to eat. When his wounds had been dressed and he had eaten and rested the Lover asked him how he had fallen into this plight, to which the man replied, “I was Minister of the Beloved in a city near this place, where I preached His gospel and expounded His doctrine to the people. I pointed out to them how their sins had made them wholly hateful to the Beloved and how therefore they were utterly beyond the range of His love and He would condemn them to eternal torments, whereon some fell into despair and wept bitterly but many were angry. One day the magistrates called me before them and begged me to leave the city and preach elsewhere for they said I had made many people so angry and desperate that they feared there might be a riot and they might not be able to protect me but that I might suffer some injury. I, however, very zealous for the Beloved and believing that the magistrates only feared that their own sins might be proclaimed, preached the more vehemently, denounced the magistrates and made it abundantly clear that the whole wicked city was foredoomed to eternal punishment by the just provision of the Beloved. Whereon a mob, stirred up no doubt by the corrupt and venal magistrates, fell upon me with sticks and stones, nearly killing me and driving me out of the city in the state in which I came to you.”
“My friend,” said the Lover, “this was not a good deed of yours, for besides denying the unfathomable compassion of the Beloved, you have by your obstinacy caused these people to commit a grievous sin, and this cannot be pleasing to the Beloved, that through you who profess to be His minister the people should become worse. Surely you remember that He Himself said, ‘If they persecute you in one city flee to another.’”
Therefore the man was very angry, and cursing the Lover, said, “I see that I have had a very false report of you and I do not believe that you are a servant of the Beloved at all. When I came to you so injured for the Beloved’s sake you set before me only herbs and fruits although the garden is full of birds which you could have killed to make me a worthy meal. I shall proclaim everywhere that you are no true servant of the Beloved but a mere falterer who dares not suffer in the cause of the Beloved. Be sure that you are foreordained to eternal torments who suffer nothing here.”
For the man was so blinded by his own pride that he could not perceive the scars on the hands and feet and the brows of the Lover nor how the cloth beneath the armpits of his tunic was dyed with a red dye. So he went out of the Garden cursing and shouting.
But the Lover looked sad and said, “A man like this does much harm to the cause of the Beloved, for by thus speaking falsely about the Beloved he may bring men to fear Him but none to love Him, and by love alone can any man approach the Beloved.”
