What is Love?

The following is an excerpt from a story by the 19th century French writer, Guy de Maupaasant. This is one of the best descriptions I've ever encountered on being in love.

I had been madly in love with her. Why do people fall in love? How strange it is that in the whole world you can see only one creature, have in your mind only one thought, in your heart only one desire, and on your lips only one name -- a name which you say over and over again, which you constantly murmur wherever you go, just as though it were the words of a prayer.

I will not tell you our story. Love has only one story -- and it is always the same. I had met her and loved her. That is all. And I had lived for a year in her tenderness, in her arms, in her caresses, in her gaze, in everything she wore, in everything she said, so utterly wrapped up and imprisoned in everything that was hers that I no longer knew whether it was day or night, whether I was dead or alive, whether I was on earth or in heaven.

Guy de Maupassant

Desiderata

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what
peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without
surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to
others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their
story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations
to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may
become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and
lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep
interested in your own career, however humble, it's a real
possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world
is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what
virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and
everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither
be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and
disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering
the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you
in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark
imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and
the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not
it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him
to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the
noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still
a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."


"Desiderata" was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945).

The Fisherman and The Investment Banker

The Fisherman and The Investment Banker

Author Unknown

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, only a little while.

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions.. Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Thoughts on Peace

I recently had an exchange with legendary underground musician, Helios Creed. He posted a bulletin expressing his frustration and exasperation with the state of world affairs, and I responded with some ideas on peace. I will quote his bulletin and my response will follow:

From: Helios Creed
Date: Aug 21, 2006 11:30 AM
"A THOUGHT"
you know i wish all us like minded people could get together and get away from all the crazy war greedy mutha fuckers i have a bad feeling about whats going down? but us peace loving peeps are not orginized or even have a place to go to get away from the madness it seems that its going to cover the whole planet. do you have any thoughts on the matter. are we going to get screwed over and watch mankind make this place hell and just do nothing and go along with all this bullshit . i hope that the great spirit gives us an out because frankly i'm fed up with mankind i've fuckin had anuff of the fucking bullshit and this is only the beggining. i feel like we are going to get fucked over real bad and i'm not afraid to talk about it. let me know your thoughts on the matter... sorry if i seem a little harsh but i'm not one to just do nothing and watch the haters keep fucking things over..

And now my response:

"Peace begins within ourselves and in our own relationships. We must meditate on peace and teach others to do the same. We must radiate peace and love to everyone we come in contact with. Let it show in our every word and every action. We must not judge and condemn others just because they are different from us. We mustn't try to force others to fit into our mold. Instead, we should marvel at and celebrate the differences in others. We should encourage and cultivate diversity and individuality instead of conformity. Understanding and acceptance is the basis of peace. If we cannot do these things in our own lives, how can we ever expect to see peace in the world?"

Ok, so maybe these ideas aren't entirely original, maybe they're too lofty, impractical, and idealistic, and they don't offer an immediate solution to existing problems, but still.... What else can we do on an individual basis to promote peace in the world? We certainly can't expect our so-called "leaders" to bail us out and fix everything. Just look at the fine mess they've gotten us into already.

I'd like to hear feedback from others on this. I'm looking for positive ideas and constructive solutions. I don't want to hear negativity and griping about everything that's wrong with the world. There's already enough of that and it doesn't help anything. I'm looking for practical answers that can be applied on an individual basis. Any thoughts?

The Cure for Depression

I have suffered from depression for most of my adult life. I've been on a variety of anti-depressants over the years, but none of them were ever able to completely lift the dark cloud hanging over my life. They enabled me to function in daily life, but there was still the occasional bout of severe depression and the suicidal thoughts.

Now I'm pleased to say that I've found a natural cure that works even better than anti-depressants, without the side effects. I've been completely anti-depressant free for the last six months, and I feel as good or better than I ever did on anti-depressants.

What is this miraculous cure, you ask? It's none other than Vitamin D. Where do you get it? The best source is the sun, but it's also found in cod liver oil and synthetic forms. I started taking cod liver oil supplements around the beginning of this year. Within a couple of weeks, my mood had improved so dramatically that I was able to taper off of my anti-depressants. By the middle of February, I was completely off of the pills and feeling great.

I started by taking cod liver oil softgels (not to be confused with fish oil) four times a day. Later in the year, I also started getting some sun exposure which helped even more. Many experts are now recommending 15-20 minutes of sun exposure 3-4 times a week without sunscreen. This may sound a bit controversial considering all the hype about skin cancer, but as long as you limit your exposure and don't burn, it's perfectly safe. You can also minimize your risk by eating a healthy diet high in omega 3s and antioxidants (which I do).

Do you suppose there's a connection between the fact that so many goths are depressed, and the way they avoid the sun so they can look all pale and deathly? I definitely think there is. I've been there myself and I've seen it too many times.

Some of you may think this sounds a bit far-fetched, but there's plenty of scientific research to support it. Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in a variety of diseases including depression, diabetes, obesity, certain forms of cancer, and osteoporosis. The fact is that most Americans are deficient in vitamin D. The medical community doesn't want people to know any of this because they can't make any money selling vitamin D.

For more info, visit mercola.com and do a search on vitamin D.

Update - 8/16/2006

Regarding the vitamin D in milk: While it's true that vitamin D is added to all of the commercially-produced milk sold in the US, it's such a small amount that I wouldn't consider it a good source. Besides, there are so many other problems associated with drinking pasteurized milk, but I won't go into that here. (That's an entire topic on it's own)

The US RDA for vitamin D is 400iu, but most experts agree that that's way too low. Optimally, you should get between 1000-2000iu a day when taking vitamin D orally. You'd have to drink 10-20 glasses of milk to get that much vitamin D. Or you could sit out in the sun for 15 minutes and your skin will produce 20,000iu, the equivalent of 200 glasses of milk. Note that it's possible to OD on vitamin D when taking it orally (don't exceed the 1000-2000iu range, depending on your body), but you can't OD on vitamin D from the sun. Your skin will simply stop producing it when you have enough.

The Tao of War

Tao te Ching, Chapter 31
translated by Stephen Mitchell

Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.

Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?

He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow and great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral.

---

an alternate translation, by Brian Walker

Weapons are tools of evil, shunned and
avoided by everything in nature.
Because people of Tao follow nature,
they want nothing to do with weapons.

Unevolved people are eager to act out of strength,
but a person of Tao values peace and quiet.
He knows that every being is born of the womb of Tao.
This means that his enemies are his enemies
second, his own brothers and sisters first.
Thus he resorts to weapons only in the direst necessity,
and then uses them with utmost restraint.
He takes no pleasure in victory, because
to rejoice in victory is to delight in killing.
Whoever delights in killing will not find
success in this world.

Observe victories as you observe a
death in the family: with sorrow and mourning.
Every victory is a funeral for kin.