FP II, Money

I got my parents mini New York license plate magnets that say "#1 Mom" and "#1 Dad". I hope they liked them!

I'm very worried about my financial situation. I had saved pretty hard, but it seems like it might not be enough. I applied for a job abroad, but the visa process is twice as long as I had anticipated. They said one of the documents I got for the visa application, that cost more than $100 to get, might not work, so I have to get another one, which will also be expensive. They also requested I get the medical check before leaving America, rather than in-country, as was done elsewhere. Without insurance, it was very expensive. I got a job in New York City, but because I'm scheduled to leave in two months, I only have part-time work. I also have a student loan payment that I have to make. 

Well, now is not the time to think about it. It's very late, I got up at 4 a.m., and my thinking right now is very unclear and clouded by emotion. I will just pray and go to bed. 

Good night, world! 

Good night

I don't feel like putting my prayer out for everyone to see tonight. I will pray privately after I go to bed.

Good night, world! :)

FP

Helping your sweet mom in her old age, thinking of things to make her smile, with no ego, just agreeableness, humility, and good cheer--all on a sunny spring day with daffodils in bloom... What better gift could life give...

Good Night

Prayer that all people may have a warm & safe place to sleep and a pantry and refrigerator full of delicious and healthy food. 

Sweet dreams, world! :)

Employment and Unemployment

Tomorrow I go to Manhattan to start a temporary job, before I leave to Asia again this summer for a one-year job.

I was technically only unemployed for one month. (The gap between being hired and actually starting work for the one-year job is due to the visa processing time.) But in practice, I was not working for three months. To talk about it, that seems like a short time. To live it, however, was different. Time seemed to pass very slowly, and every dollar I spent felt like being one step closer to the abyss. 

When unemployed everything depends on soldiering on, no matter what, so the key is to find a way not to react to the emotions that are naturally associated with unemployment, such as the doubt that develops regarding the value that you can offer to employers as an employee. 

It's also important, when employed, to prepare for that possible rainy day by (1) saving money; and (2) participating in education or training to increase your employability, hopefully in more than one field!

Broken Window

1. I broke a small window just a little bit ago. I had worked all day on something. There had been dust, and I had opened a little window to let it out. I tried to work very hard, and I wanted everything to look and be perfect. After going to bed, I remembered that I had left the window open, so I got up and went down there to close it. Well, when I closed it, it broke. Everything sure isn't perfect now. 

2. Chastity saved my life. Not as a figure of speech. Not as an overstatement. Not as an exaggeration. Chastity literally saved my life. I came of age as a sexual minority at the height of the HIV epidemic. Something may get me tomorrow, but as of April 26, 2015, I'm still alive. That's partly why my patron deity is so important to me.

3. I was sleepy before, but now I'm wide awake and worrying--about everything. Everything seems awry, amiss, imperfect. This is how it goes. It's the nature of life. I should just remember that, and focus on action, and let go of useless worrying.

4. Christianity is the only game in town, so I went to church today. The people, the service, and the building were completely lovely. I saved the program and brought it home with me, so I could study it--the references, the terms, the calendar, etc., but I didn't have time, because I was doing that project, related to which I broke the window. 

Okay. Now I'm gonna turn off the computer, turn on the classical station at a soft volume, turn off the light, pray, and most importantly of all, stop worrying. 

Good night

Prayer to my patron deity for myself.

Good night.

Christian Reparative Therapy: Before & After

I found these papers.

1991:

1992:

Good night

I'm so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open, but it's too early to go to sleep. I think I'll try to read a little bit and then turn out the light.

It's cold out tonight.

Prayer to Concordia for harmony among all people and among all categories of people. Good night!

Italian heritage II, Meditations

Italian heritage II:

After the DNA test that revealed "Italian-Greek" heritage in our family that we were unaware of, my brother and I offered differing theories on its origin:

1. My theory: There will be DNA of any given population floating around in adjacent populations. If you recombine groups of genes enough times, it's only a matter of statistical probability that some people in the adjacent populations will randomly end up with less than trace amounts of that DNA. I'm still attracted to this theory, but I've always been biased in favor of "systems" explanations.

2. My brother's theory: Two lines of my family lived in New York City (Brooklyn, to be precise) for decades around the turn of the twentieth century. This was the era in which New York City was the destination of a large number of immigrants from Italy. That must be, my brother says, where the Italian ancestry enters our family. His theory has a lot of merit, in that the amount (nine percent, on average) looks roughly like what a great-grandparent would bequeath you (100/8). This is also supported by the fact that my father never knew two of his grandparents: One died giving birth to my grandmother; the other died in the influenza epidemic of 1918 (in Brooklyn). So all the information that might have passed between grandparent and grandchild never had a chance to do so, twice over. 

It seems unlikely to me that we'll ever find out. 

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Meditations, Book IV, Section 17:

If so be that the souls remain after death (say they that will not
believe it); how is the air from all eternity able to contain them? How is the earth (say I) ever from that time able to Contain the bodies of them that are buried? For as here the change and resolution of dead bodies into another kind of subsistence (whatsoever it be;) makes place for other dead bodies: so the souls after death transferred into the air, after they have conversed there a while, are either by way of transmutation, or transfusion, or conflagration, received again into that original rational substance, from which all others do proceed: and so give way to those souls, who before coupled and associated unto bodies, now begin to subsist single. This, upon a supposition that the souls after death do for a while subsist single, may be answered. And here, (besides the number of bodies, so buried and contained by the earth), we may further consider the number of several beasts, eaten by us men, and by other creatures. For notwithstanding that such a multitude of them is daily consumed, and as it were buried in the bodies of the eaters, yet is the same place and body able to contain them, by reason of their conversion, partly into blood, partly into air and fire. What in these things is the speculation of truth? to divide things into that which is passive and material; and that which is active and formal.

Bedtime Prayer

I finally finished my work for the day. 

I've got an old radio plugged in (radio is my favorite media), and I'm going to listen to the classical station for a little bit, then go to sleep. 

Prayer to Concordia that harmony may prevail among all people and among all categories of people in this world. 

Prayer to Clementia that everyone I encountered today, whether formally, informally, or passers-by on the street, may experience mercy for whatever trouble they are facing.

Prayer to Iupiter Optimus Maximus to protect my family and friends. May no harm come to them. 

Prayer of personal thanksgiving to Vesta. 

Iupiter et Vesta Me Conservant

I went for a job interview in Manhattan, and it seemed to go pretty well. Unfortunately, I forgot to smile! 

The city is so lovely! I walked along the sidewalk among people who don't know I admire them. There was a storm coming, and the clouds were a gray swirled with black. A wind had picked up in advance of the storm. All the features of dense urban life looked so much more the more beautiful in the odd light. 

This is nothing profound or original, but it needs to be re-stated often:

A good rule of thumb, or two good rules of thumb, I think, are, whatever happens, be kind & work hard. If you don't succeed, work hard anyway. If jobs aren't forthcoming, work hard anyway. If your accomplishments aren't recognized, work hard anyway. If people don't like you, be kind anyway. If people spread rumors about you, be kind anyway. If people treat you badly in other ways, be kind anyway. 

Don't work hard or be kind as mere tactics or strategies. Do them as matters of principle. Good results may flow from them. However, it's quite possible they may not. But whatever happens, you'll have kept your precious pure heart and your precious beautiful effort. 

Meditations, Book IV, Sections 15 & 16

I got up and was intending to post some Elizabethan sonnets or fourteenth century English poetry on my blog, but then duty called and I got off track. I do intend to steal some time for impractical things today, maybe before I go to bed! 

Meditations, Book IV, sections 15 & 16:

XV. Now much time and leisure doth he gain, who is not curious to know

what his neighbour hath said, or hath done, or hath attempted, but only what he doth himself, that it may be just and holy? or to express it in Agathos' words, Not to look about upon the evil conditions of others, but to run on straight in the line, without any loose and extravagant agitation.

XVI. He who is greedy of credit and reputation after his death, doth
not consider, that they themselves by whom he is remembered, shall soon after every one of them be dead; and they likewise that succeed those; until at last all memory, which hitherto by the succession of men admiring and soon after dying hath had its course, be quite extinct. 

But suppose that both they that shall remember thee, and thy memory with them should be immortal, what is that to thee? I will not say to thee after thou art dead; but even to thee living, what is thy praise? But only for a secret and politic consideration, which we call oikonomian or dispensation. For as for that, that it is the gift of nature, whatsoever is commended in thee, what might be objected from thence, let that now that we are upon another consideration be omitted as unseasonable. That which is fair and goodly, whatsoever it be, and in what respect soever it be, that it is fair and goodly, it is so of itself, and terminates in itself, not admitting praise as a part or member: that therefore which is praised, is not thereby made either better or worse. This I understand even of those things, that are commonly called fair and good, as those which are commended either for the matter itself, or for curious workmanship. As for that which is truly good, what can it stand in need of more than either justice or truth; or more than either kindness and modesty? Which of all those, either becomes good or fair, because commended; or dispraised suffers any damage? Doth the emerald become worse in itself, or more vile if it be not commended? Doth gold, or ivory, or purple? Is there anything that doth though never so common, as a knife, a flower, or a tree?

The meaning of section XVI is not so clear to me. Here's an alternative translation from the Internet Classics Archive, at MIT:

He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon; then again also they who have succeeded them, until the whole remembrance shall have been extinguished as it is transmitted through men who foolishly admire and perish. But suppose that those who will remember are even immortal, and that the remembrance will be immortal, what then is this to thee? And I say not what is it to the dead, but what is it to the living? What is praise except indeed so far as it has a certain utility? For thou now rejectest unseasonably the gift of nature, clinging to something else...  

Everything which is in any way beautiful is beautiful in itself, and terminates in itself, not having praise as part of itself. Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised. I affirm this also of the things which are called beautiful by the vulgar, for example, material things and works of art. That which is really beautiful has no need of anything; not more than law, not more than truth, not more than benevolence or modesty. Which of these things is beautiful because it is praised, or spoiled by being blamed? Is such a thing as an emerald made worse than it was, if it is not praised? Or gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a little knife, a flower, a shrub?

Meditations, Book IV, Sections 10 to 14

Meditations, Book IV, Sections 10 to 14, from Project Gutenberg. This is really good stuff:

X. These two rules, thou must have always in a readiness. First, do nothing at all, but what reason proceeding from that regal and supreme part, shall for the good and benefit of men, suggest unto thee. And secondly, if any man that is present shall be able to rectify thee or to turn thee from some erroneous persuasion, that thou be always ready to change thy mind, and this change to proceed, not from any respect of any pleasure or credit thereon depending, but always from some probable apparent ground of justice, or of some public good thereby to be furthered; or from some other such inducement. 

XI. Hast thou reason? I have. Why then makest thou not use of it? For if thy reason do her part, what more canst thou require? 

XII. As a part hitherto thou hast had a particular subsistence: and now shalt thou vanish away into the common substance of Him, who first begot thee, or rather thou shalt be resumed again into that original rational substance, out of which all others have issued, and are propagated. Many small pieces of frankincense are set upon the same altar, one drops first and is consumed, another after; and it comes all to one. 

XIII. Within ten days, if so happen, thou shalt be esteemed a god of them, who now if thou shalt return to the dogmata and to the honouring of reason, will esteem of thee no better than of a mere brute, and of an ape. 

XIV. Not as though thou hadst thousands of years to live. Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good.

An alternative translation, from the Internet Classics Archive at MIT. Looking at the alternative translation side by side is really important. It clears up a lot of misunderstanding:

A man should always have these two rules in readiness; the one, to do only whatever the reason of the ruling and legislating faculty may suggest for the use of men; the other, to change thy opinion, if there is any one at hand who sets thee right and moves thee from any opinion. But this change of opinion must proceed only from a certain persuasion, as of what is just or of common advantage, and the like, not because it appears pleasant or brings reputation. 

Hast thou reason? I have.- Why then dost not thou use it? For if this does its own work, what else dost thou wish? 

Thou hast existed as a part. Thou shalt disappear in that which produced thee; but rather thou shalt be received back into its seminal principle by transmutation. Many grains of frankincense on the same altar: one falls before, another falls after; but it makes no difference. 

Within ten days thou wilt seem a god to those to whom thou art now a beast and an ape, if thou wilt return to thy principles and the worship of reason.  

Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.

The Pot of Gold

Project Gutenberg has the play by Plautus called, The Pot of Gold.  It's a really fun read, and the pace, plot, and characterization are very smooth and well done. 

There is also a lot of religious information in it. The prologue is a monologue by the household god of one of the main characters. There's also mention that one of the characters is a devotee of Vulcan. 

Unfortunately, the ending of the play is lost. 

*    *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Prayer to Concordia for harmony among all people and among all categories of people. 

Good night, world. 

Meditations, Book IV, Section 9

Meditations, Book IV, Section 9, from Project Gutenberg:

Conceit no such things, as he that wrongeth thee conceiveth, or would have thee to conceive, but look into the matter itself, and see what it is in very truth.

An alternative translation from the MIT Internet Classics Archive:

Do not have such an opinion of things as he has who does thee wrong, or such as he wishes thee to have, but look at them as they are in truth.

Prayer to Concordia

Noble Concordia, embodiment of harmony and mutual goodwill, bring a spirit of cooperation to all human conflicts, large or small, interpersonal or international, over all the earth. 

Good night world. 

Meditations, Book IV, Section 8

Meditations, Book IV, Section 8, from Project Gutenberg:

Whatsoever doth happen in the world, doth happen justly, and so if thou dost well take heed, thou shalt find it. I say not only in right order by a series of inevitable consequences, but according to justice and as it were by way of equal distribution, according to the true worth of everything. Continue then to take notice of it, as thou hast begun, and whatsoever thou dost, do it not without this proviso, that it be a thing of that nature that a good man (as the word good is properly taken) may do it. This observe carefully in every action.

Church

I went to an Episcopal Church service this morning. It was just great. It was an old stone church with a high ceiling, stained glass windows, and an enormous pipe organ. This was where my grandparents and two aunts on my father's side were married. 

I don't belong to any exclusive religions. "Belong" even carries the wrong connotations.

In a few months, I am scheduled to go to another country, a country with a long non-Christian history. I will be doing something else entirely then.

There were a lot of people there, they were all dressed sharp, and they looked great!

My favorite thing from this morning was a sign on the wall that said, "Quell gossip." Hear hear! 

Christians are lovely. I should avoid the jerks. 

If anyone asks about my beliefs, in order not to create a spectacle or be the center of attention, I will say something like, "It's complicated." If someone asks again, perhaps I will make an allusion to my beliefs. If they press me, I will tell them plainly and simply. 

Veggie Burgers, Jazz, and the Stars

Tonight was the perfectest: veggie burgers, potato chips, and salad, with big band. Afterwards, after dusk, I saw Venus shining steadily in the western sky and Jupiter overhead. 

I tried to work 14 hours today. Taking into account my breaks, of course it was less than that. I did finish a project, though, and I got a good start on another one. 

I want to write more, but my eyes won't stay open. 

Prayer to Jupiter Optimus Maximus for this world and all the people in it. Good night!

Nonplus

On my post about the red fox, I used the word nonplus incorrectly. I used it as if it meant not bothered or disturbed. It actually means perplexed--so perplexed you can't speak or react. 

The internet also has something really interesting about foxes! Apparently, where there are foxes, the rates of Lyme disease are lower, because foxes eat rodents, which they say are actually a main vector. However, where coyotes have displaced foxes, the Lyme disease rates have gone up, because coyotes do not prey on rodents. (Then what do they eat?)

Bookmark

This is a bookmark for a Project Gutenberg book, A History of Roman Literature: From the Earliest Period to the Death of Marcus Aurelius, by Charles Cruttwell.

Meditations, Book IV, Section 7

Meditations, Book IV, Section 7, from Project Gutenberg:

Let opinion be taken away, and no man will think himself wronged. If no man shall think himself wronged, then is there no more any such thing as wrong. That which makes not man himself the worse, cannot make his life the worse, neither can it hurt him either inwardly or outwardly. It was expedient in nature that it should be so, and therefore necessary.

Alternative translation, from MIT:

Take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the complaint, "I have been harmed." Take away the complaint, "I have been harmed," and the harm is taken away. That which does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor does it harm him either from without or from within. The nature of that which is universally useful has been compelled to do this.

Work

I did it--sort of! I worked for twelve hours. But not nonstop from the starting time to the finishing time. I took breaks for meals, and for a short walk. I also dozed off for a short time. 

Well, there's room for improvement, but it was roughly twelve hours! 

Right now it's the stage of the evening when I have no useful thoughts or feelings, just a mess of worries, memories, and irritations, which means it's time to go to bed. 

Good night! 

Things to Do

I made the picture of Concordia from a previous post the background picture on my computer. It looks cool! 

I have a lot of things to do today. My goal is to work twelve hours--a real twelve hours, not a half-baked kinda sorta 12 hours. 

My biggest impediment to hard work is songs on YouTube. If there ever was a music addict, it's me. Sometimes I can't stop listening to the same song for weeks on end. 

I want to learn things, too, not just work! I also want to go hiking. There are parks and trails all around where I currently live. If I work hard today, maybe I can steal some time to go hiking this weekend. I could write out a Wordsworth poem on piece of paper, take it with me, and memorize it on the trail! That would be fun!

When a line from a poem comes back to you years later, you can kind of take it out and unfold it and lovingly turn it over in your mind once more, like opening an old letter from a friend.  

A Red Fox

It's not time for me to go to bed, but I can barely keep my eyes open. If I don't write this now, I probably will fall asleep.

I went for a walk today and saw a fox. He was the picture of contentment. He was sitting in a patch of green grass, in the sun. He watched me go by, completely nonplussed, about fifty yards off. He was peaceful; seeing him made me feel peaceful. It was as if the universe were giving me a gentle, friendly, 'hello'. 

Later, I walked along a rushing brook that follows the crease where two steep hills come together, not quite a valley, and not quite a gorge. Pine boughs form a hollow above the water. A trio of birds flew along it.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Prayer to Vesta this evening, that all may have a happy home, and for those in this world who do not, for those who find themselves refugees, for those who find themselves homeless, may the spirit of home reach them in some form, some measure and some fashion.

Good night!

Prayer to Concordia for Harmony

Statue of Concordia in Stuttgart, Germany.

O Concordia, lover of harmony, help us bring concord, agreement, cooperation, and mutual understanding into our world! Let a spirit of partnership and unity prevail in all human relationships: in our families, at work, in politics, among countries; in traffic, between customers and salespeople, between businesses, and between police and civilians. 

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

"Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend!" "We can work it out!"

Prayer to Jupiter

My prayer tonight is personal and private, so I will not write it down. 

Much love to the world. I hope in the future that I can keep the flame of all people in all places. 

Good night. 

Old Schoolwork

I've been having to go through old schoolwork from when I was in elementary school. Here are a couple of them. One is dated 1981. I don't know the date of the other one.

The Georgia one was part of a group of reports and maps that were bound together with construction paper. The title for the whole thing was, "The Southeastern States". 

Of course, it's the ones with good scores or those that were special in some way that were saved. 

They evoke a lot of feelings. Nineteen eighty-one is just two years before I entered a 27 year-long depression. I want to reach back somehow, through time, to my happy, young, innocent self, and somehow catch me, before I fall. 

Here is what my kindergarten teacher wrote about me, in 1976 (with changed name and pronouns, but nothing else): 

Jane is a thoroughly delightful little girl and everybody loves her. Indeed, Jane's smile alone, would get her wherever she wanted to go! She has grown a great deal in self-confidence this year and because her speech has improved, she is volunteering to tell the class tid-bits of news about her toys and about what is going on at home.  

Jane's Developmental Profile, which has in it the record of her progress in all skills mastered this year in readiness for first grade, show she is proficient in all areas of auditory and visual concept and perception, language development and visual-meter. Jane has excellent eye-hand coordination and she has been our "best artist". The detail she puts in her pen and ink drawings make them worthy of framing. Jane is persistent, serious about her work, and promises to be a very good student.

Jane has enjoyed the challenge of the "learning stations" and has shown great enthusiasm in completing each series. She is well-liked by the other students and they really appreciate her quiet sense of humor. I have appreciated Jane's sense of organization and her steady cooperation every day this whole year.

Good Night

Prayer to Jupiter Optimus Maximus for this world and everyone in it. Good night.

New York Tribune, April 14, 1915

This is an advertisement by a phone company that appeared in the New York Tribune on April 14, 1915.

Pray for Everyone

Marcus Aurelius, in Section 7 of Book V of Meditations, on praying for everyone:

The form of the Athenians' prayer did run thus: 'O rain, rain, good Jupiter, upon all the grounds and fields that belong to the Athenians.' Either we should not pray at all, or thus absolutely and freely; and not every one for himself in particular alone.

The contrast in this passage is praying for the welfare of oneself versus praying for the benefit of all other farmers in the city. However, when you first read it, not being an Athenian, the mind focuses on that as the controlling category, and it is easy to misinterpret the perspective as praying for the benefit of the political entity to which one belongs to the exclusion of others. A check of other translations shows this latter perspective to be incorrect. 

Prayer to Jupiter Optimus Maximus

Today I had to go into Manhattan to pick something up. The place was in lower Manhattan, so I took the opportunity to go to the 9-11 memorial and Trinity Church. It was a bright, clear, sunny, cool day, perfect weather for walking around the city. I wish I had had more time. 

Prayer to Jupiter Optimus Maximus for this world and all the people in it. Good night. 

Grenville Kleiser for April 13th

In a little bit I'm off to Manhattan to pick something up. I thought I would stop by the Met, but when I found out the admission price, my inner cheapskate balked. Then I thought I would stop by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, but that's up near 110th Street, and I'm going to lower Manhattan, near where the old World Trade Center used to be. I'll have to make a decision here before I leave. I will probably end up just going and coming straight back. I need to focus on working and studying, in any case.

Here's Grenville Kleiser for April 13th. The bold type is in the original:

A profound duty devolves upon you to develop daily and assiduously in your own life the qualities of sympathy, sincerity, and sacrifice. Thus you may contribute your share to the world's improvement and advancement. The world should grow steadily better, wiser, and nobler, and it will do this in the degree that individual men cultivate these virtues in themselves. Do not wait for other men to take the first steps in self-improvement, but look earnestly to your own needs and resolve to set a high personal example which other men will see and wish to emulate. The world grows better because of the men who are consecrated to high thinking and noble deeds. Your rightful place is with such men. 

devolve: to pass responsibility from a person or people with a higher level of authority to a person or people with a lower level of authority.  

Italian Heritage

I recently took a DNA test from Ancestry DNA to determine ethnic background. There were a couple of revelations. 

The first was that no non-European ancestry appeared, despite family stories and apparent photographic evidence to the contrary. This is another story for another day.

The second was that a certain percentage of what Ancestry DNA calls "Italian-Greek" ancestry appeared. It was surprising because our family simply had no knowledge of this prior to the test.

Ancestry DNA says they test your DNA at forty different locations. They then give you averages and ranges for each regional ethnic group. For example, at one location on your genome your Scandinavian DNA may be five percent, but at a different location it may be fifty percent. If that fifty percent were the highest among the forty locations, then your range would be five to fifty percent.

Among my regional ethnic groups, only three had non-zero lower limits. One of these was the Italian-Greek. 

Here's the summary table of my results:

This gives me a personal connection to things I like, and it means I'm not appropriating someone else's culture with my ancient Roman religious practices. That makes me very happy.

Epictetus on Being a Good Person

"I am superior to you, for my father is a man of consular rank. Another says, I have been tribune, but you have not. If we were horses, would you say, My father was swifter? I have much barley and fodder, or elegant neck ornaments. If then you were saying this, I said, Be it so: let us run then. Well, is there nothing in a man such as running in a horse, by which it will be known which is superior or inferior? Is there not modesty, fidelity, justice? Show yourself superior in these, that you may be superior as a man. If you tell me that you can kick violently, I also will say to you, that you are proud of that which is the act of an ass."

Prayer to Minerva

Praiseworthy Minerva! Please give me wisdom in the conduct of my relationships, wisdom in my speech, calmness to control my reflexive facial expressions, wisdom in the things I write on the internet, concentration and diligence while studying the course which I have to complete by this week, and a good memory to retain Korean, Chinese, and Latin vocabulary. 

Grenville Kleiser for April 11th

I mentioned in a previous post that I have a copy of Inspirations and Ideals, a book by a professor of public speaking at Yale Divinity School, first published in 1910. The book is a set of inspirational thoughts, with one page devoted to each day of the year. 

I can see that Professor Kleiser is more focused on hope, positivity, and personal empowerment than acceptance of one's fate and circumstances. 

Acceptance works better for me personally than positivity (partly because it helps me see better what's possible), but no matter. It may not work for other people.

Here's his entry for April 11th. The bold type is in the original:

It is a great gift to be able to sit still and meditate when all around is noise, bustle, and confusion. The restless spirit in most men is constantly urging them on to some perspiring project, to keep going in the hope of getting at least somewhere, to strain all the energies toward some mighty enterprise. Application and diligence are desirable qualities to possess, nay essential, but a well-planned life demands, too, intervals of silence and quietude for mental and spiritual growth, for the building of airy castles, for tracing out detailed plans, and estimating future prospects and possibilities. The hours you spend in quiet meditation and deliberation are necessary to intelligent planning, living, and working. 

I understand "meditate" to mean here quiet concentration or quiet reflection.

Love and Learn

My first Artie Shaw song was Love and Learn. It's still one of my favorites, though Rosalie and St. James Infirmary would be my top choices. Love and Learn is positively lovely.

Prayer to Concordia

Concordia, help me to be kind, sympathetic, charitable, and compassionate with all the people I meet. Let me be a good listener with everyone whom I speak, a devoted family member, and a loyal friend. Let harmony flow through all human relationships to make a more peaceful world!

Grenville Kleiser

I have a second edition of Inspirations & Ideals, by Grenville Kleiser, a late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century author. The first edition seems to have been published in 1910. The second edition was published in 1917. 

The book is a set of one-page long inspirational thoughts, with one page for each day of the year. My favorite has always been April 10th. As today is April 10th, I'd like to post it on my blog. 

Here it is:

The man you most admire is the type of man you ought to be. He is courteous, adaptable, magnanimous, sympathetic, and tactful. He favors the pleasant aspects of life, and has large common sense. It is well to study this type of man and to emulate his example. The fine qualities of kindliness, tact, sympathy, and courtesy can be cultivated by giving them thoughtful attention. You can also learn what not to be from the unlovely type of man. He is captious, contradicting, unsympathetic, and phlegmatic. You feel you have nothing in common with him. He repels. you. You can develop in yourself the manners, tastes, and habits which you most admire in others. The man you most like to meet is the type of man you ought to be. 

That's quite good.