It’s interesting to hear you describe your daughter’s experience so. If we continue to live in this area we may be up against the same kind of thing. It’s good to hear your daughter is resilient enough to navigate it.

And I’d agree with the meditation insight, you mention. You’re sort of picking that up again? Cool. Probably the only reason I became aware of the subtle stories is from meditation — though in retrospect I think I heard about the concept  first from Timothy Leary. His analogy was “television”, though.

My daughter, from a modest family but attending a school full of insanely wealthy and indulged kids, gets to confront this constantly. I’m not sure I would wish the situation on her (I might), but it’s … inspiring? to watch her struggle between wanting the current must-have luxury item that “everyone” has, and seeing the silliness of it all.

A close friend’s hot button is “they don’t know me/aren’t listening”; this sounds similar to what you’re describing, but from a different vantage point.

Originality is hard work for those who don’t already have a temperament for it, and maybe that makes is all the dearer.

Something I like about my (admittedly erratic) meditation practice is how I seem to detach from my own stories, to observe them without judgement, as clouds passing.

Keep writing, man!

George went to a Christmas Eve gathering with neighbors on 12/24/2011, and was home at 11 PM. He did consume a small quantity of alcohol that night. He had bought his sons a generous number of gifts, which were wrapped and ready to be given to them on Christmas morning.After returning home, George called a couple of his buddies to see if they wanted to visit, but no one took him up on his offer. At 1 AM, he called his youngest brother, and told him he was going to kill himself. His brother called the police, and other family members. George’s father and out of state siblings tried to call him, but no one was able to reach him on the phone. His family members who lived nearby went to his house, but the police had blocked off the street. When the police arrived at his home, they could see him through the windows as he paced back and forth through the rooms. For some reason they did not enter the house until 3AM, but by then he had already hung himself. George was a wonderful guy, a good family man who loved his estranged  wife and four sons with all his heart and soul.  He had split custody of his children, and had them 3-4 days a week. George would never have abandoned them if he were in his right mind. He was a hard working man, a paramedic and PCT who was going through nursing school. He was also a volunteer firefighter and auxiliary police officer. He was a very giving person, had a great sense of humor, and was well liked by many.  I do hope that more people will share their negative experiences with Chantix, which to some is lethal due to the neuro psychiatric effects. It also increases the risk of a heart attack by a whopping 72%, which in itself is reason not play around with this medication.

I’m sure Jim would have disagreed with that last part. He never thought it was ever too late to learn something new, even from someone already departed. Jim always had simple answers that had depth and elegance.

He urged devotion. Even if we have failed we can renew our resolve. He expressed that in his martial art, in his faith, in his compassion, in his indomitability, in his singing and instrumental performances at church, in his work at the sporting goods store where he always found the time to help people to excel at whatever endeavor they were engaged in, in his frank truthfulness, in his unceasing efforts to teach his students to find their strengths and weaknesses and continually improve themselves, and in his constant search for deeper meaning and higher truth.

I knew him in the ’70s since before Dawn began her training with him. He was everything you said he was. He inspired admiration and respect in everyone he knew.

Even Katie, who had her differences with him, admired and respected him as he did her even after their paths diverged.

I visited his Kandan School by Leeper Park many times in the ’70s, and he was always a gracious host.

He sparred with his students day in and day out, taught them how to train, forms, techniques, fighting spirit and martial skill, and self mastery.

His economy of motion made his practice look effortless. His student would attack with a rapid flurryt and he would peacefully and gracefully stop the attacks and respond with counterattacks applied with a gentleness or forcefulness commensurate with the advancement of the student.

Jim was a great inspiration to me in my earlier days of martial art study and practice. It’s been over 40 years since I began and I’ve always remembered how elegantly and committedly he showed us that we can always achieve something more if we persist. I believe this is true in every aspect of our lives.

Thanks for your gracious words about a great and multifaceted man, a great teacher, and a person who truly spent his life into the lives of others.

Regards,

John

Also, on a whim I looked it up on UD and it is apparently a common use: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=as+balls

I’m curious what the general rate of my experiences is. It’s kind of a weird feeling when you find stories from other people with the same or pretty similar psychoses as you.

I’m happy I quit smoking, I just wish it didn’t take going through the dragon’s mouth to do it.

Now, seeing Jimmy Wales’ photo over the term ankyloglossia, that was fun too. 

Some day soon!

Thinking of the emotron, I’m compelled to remind you that blogs can have pictures. Not that that story particularly needs more visuals.