Apparently Brad Pitt and I share the same view on divorce...

"The thing I don't understand is looking at this as a failure. It's talked about like it failed, I guess because it wasn't flawless. Me, I embrace the messiness of life. I find it so beautiful, actually".

Notes from The Art of Conversation by Milton Wright:

The ability to talk well can be cultivated.

Interest can lie primarily in the subject or person, the latter being by far the surer ingredient for success.

To chatter is easy; to talk resultfully with the hostile, suspicious, indifferent or even friendly is an art.

To really become a good conversationalist over the long term it is necessary to acquire the habit of conscientiously stocking your mind with facts and information and then forming opinions on the basis of that knowledge.

The secret of giving advice successfully is to mix it up with something that implies a real consciousness of the adviser's own defects, and as much as possible of an acknowledgment of the other party's merits.

A monologue is not a conversation.

Silence plays an important part in effective conversation just as it does in music.

Fathers

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. ~Ruth E. Renkel

Remember...

Inherent in the nature of humans is the desire to improve and better ourselves. This process of going beyond our current limitations is often referred to as “self transcendence.” Self Transcendence can apply to any aspect of our being; the physical self transcendence of running faster; the mental self transcendence of going beyond our purely egoistic thinking.
However at the heart of self transcendence is a spiritual concept that we are growing into a more illumining nature and gaining a wider perspective of our true self.
Self transcendence is not competing with others. Self transcendence is a personal journey of self discovery. To practise self transcendence we need personal effort, willingness to change. However self transcendence needs to involve an awareness that our success doesn’t just involve our “little I”, but also the universal self (or bigger “I”).
Spiritual seekers have experienced self transcendence as the grace that allows them to be aware of the infinite consciousness of inner delight. In this spiritual self transcendence the different religions and spiritual practises converge on the common teaching of going beyond the limitations of the ego and being aware of our higher Source. This Higher Self is called by many different names, but ultimately is beyond any metaphysical concept.
The practise of Self transcendence is not limited to those who are overtly religious. Any human being who strives for greater perfection and a higher perspective is practising a form of self transcendence, and it is this self transcendence that gives us joy.

Today

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life. and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

2 Week Hemiplegic Episode

Superman's not brave. You can't be brave if you're indestructible. It's every day people, like you and me, that are brave knowing we could easily be defeated but still continue forward.

I only WISH this were an April Fool's joke

I was planning to take the world by storm, but I have spent the past 3 days partically paralized on my right side. I guess the world will have to wait...