I’ve been described as someone with more drive than they know what to do with, a sort of ambitious overachiever. Why strive for so much? Why seek mastery when it’s already “okay”? Why do and attempt so much, when you could just let life happen, go with the flow, take things as they are, and…
The Terror of Excellence
Excellence and knowledge terrify the cowardly. Having reached a higher standard, what was once unexpected strokes of greatness amidst mediocrity becomes the ground from which others and self judge you. No longer can you claim inability or lack of insight, for you have proven yourself capable and cognizant of more than what you were and…
The Master of Your Soul
We like to think we control ourselves, that we are our own masters, that we are not slaves to another being, an ideology, an object. That’s what we might want. Reality is different. Human beings must serve something greater than themselves–or at least something they think and live as though it is greater than themselves.…
Money, Meet Value
It’s no secret that cash (or numbers in your bank account) isn’t the most precious unit of value humans exchange with each other. You know that truth, tip your hat to it on your way to work, do your best to make sure you die with people and memories around you, and not just be…
Becoming a Warrior-Poet – Part 3
I gave a speech on “Becoming a Warrior-Poet” somewhere in Michigan on August 22, 2023, so thought I’d share it in written form here. Here is Part 1 and Part 2. Enjoy! * * * Warrior poets are lovers of truth and people, and defenders of both. They hold to deep convictions, act from careful…
Becoming a Warrior-Poet – Part 2
I gave a speech on “Becoming a Warrior-Poet” somewhere in Michigan on August 22, 2023, so thought I’d share it in written form here. Find Part 1 here. Enjoy! * * * Today, at Thermopylae, there’s a stone with a simple inscription: “Go tell the Spartans, strangers passing by, that here obedient to their laws…
Becoming a Warrior-Poet – Part 1
I gave a speech on “Becoming a Warrior-Poet” somewhere in Michigan on August 22, 2023, so thought I’d share it in written form here. Enjoy! * * * Come with me to a lonely impasse in Greece called the Hot Gates. It’s 480 B.C. On the one side is a sheer drop off; the other…
“They That Make Them Are Like Unto Them”
Yesterday, I read Psalm 115:4-8 with computers and AI in mind, and it impacted my understanding of both the psalm and humanity’s relationship with the technology we create. See if you could see what I’m getting at by reading the passage: Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths,…
Be a True Poem
I came across the following quote two weeks ago, from John Milton’s Apology for Smectymnuus: “…He who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things, ought himself to be a true poem; that is, a composition and pattern of the best and honourablest things; not presuming to sing high…
Easy Goodbyes
Sam Tompkins’ “Die For Someone” has a beautiful line that made me think: Guided, I’m misguided Wasting my time with easy goodbyes Many relationships make up our everyday interactions with people around us. The cashier or barista you met earlier today. Online customer service agents. The local church congregation. That group of friends you’re going…