Moonpies, Fireflies, Some Twisted Dreams, Some Truth, and Some Lies: Book One of Two: A compilation of quotes with my added perspectives, deep thoughts, philosophy, my observations and reality, some short stories, and vignettes.

By James (Jim) Linn

About the Book
In this memoir and bibliography, combined with philosophy and short stories, James (Jim) Linn has collected twelve years of quotes from others and how they spoke to him, his deep thoughts, some poetry, and thought-provoking memes. Linn also shares his observations about life and human nature.

About the Author
James (Jim) Linn played and managed softball teams, both men’s and co-ed, for forty-seven years. He now enjoys playing pickleball five days a week. In his free time, Linn likes to spend time with his family and friends, travel to Europe and different cities in the US, and learn new things.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Aug 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888125052

Book preview

Dedication

It was always my goal to be the kind of father to my daughter that I’d wished I’d had but never did. Dedicated to all those who have helped me, through sharing perspectives, providing motivation, or encouragement, knowingly or unknowingly, write this tome.  

Thank you to: Steve Huilung Liu, without whose technical expertise, this likely would still be wallowing in a ditch. Also, deep thanks to Gail and Bob whose encouragement and unbounded support made this dream come true; to my beloved Ruth, Liz, Karen, Alex, Julie and Travis, Connor, Caden, Nolan, and the newest grandchild, beautiful Mckenna, and many others.

Preface

Dear Reader,

With this book, I attempt to offer a window into my world before my window closes forever. But no matter how hard I try, I can only show you a glimpse, for you and I are all too complex to ever really know any other person. The greatest intimacy we can share with others is a peek into our soul. That is my intention. Am I so special? No. But what makes this book different than the stories all of us carry within us is that I have committed to the arduous task of putting thoughts into words, and words to print, and that is like nearly bleeding out. Many will not because they fear criticism from others and thus will remain forever stifled. I am willing to endure the death by a thousand cuts because for me, writing is a catharsis. For what good are our thoughts, perceptions, and awareness if we fail to bring them into the light of day and share them with others? This is how mankind has progressed, down through the ages…by offering the perspectives and lessons their ideas and experiences have rendered and hope that others can benefit and build on them. Of course there is no better teacher than personal experience, like touching the hot stove you were warned about but did anyway. We can open a door and bid others enter, and they make the choice whether or not to do so. I don’t pretend to have a lot of answers, but I always have many questions. I hope you will enjoy making this journey with me for a time and see where its path leads you…

Foreword

This work was originally intended to be printed into a limited edition for family and friends, to contain an accumulation of decades of thoughts, observations, experiences, perspectives, and creative efforts. There may even be some wisdom lurking about, but it’s up to the reader to find that, hidden among the detritus. Should my beloved grandskids, or other family members ever find they are curious about this old grandpa’s (their Pop-Pop) life, especially knowing how often we all may forget to sit down with one another and have deep, meaningful conversations and regret not having done so while we were together (I, too, wish I had spent more time listening to my grandfather, and my mother), this book was intended to assuage any regrets. Sharing this information is a way to pass along some measure of inspiration, amusement, and possibly plant seeds of thought for a reader to nurture, or cast aside, as they deem appropriate. I hope you will find it worthy of your time.

And so it begins…

Within these pages, you will find a microcosm of observations and perceptions from my life, written as honestly as I know how, and yet they are not the totality of my reality. For we each have a universe waiting to be discovered within our minds and I, for one, have only begun to explore my solar system, knowing that galaxies and the infinite cosmos still lay beyond.

The human brain is by far the most complex physical object known to us in the entire cosmos.

Owen Gingerich, God’s Universe

It seems to me that we are all on a metaphysical continuum of awareness and consciousness, and some have, metaphorically, never left the local bus station while others have far surpassed where I have travelled. I was once asked for some insight by a customer in the store I worked in. I tried to offer a deeper answer than they were prepared to receive and was met with a blank look in response. I began to understand that not everyone is on the same wavelength.  

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.

–Chinese Proverb

In truth it is an arduous, often painful task to plumb our own depths; as to do so, we must dredge up the ravages of feelings long ago compartmentalized and safely stored away to prevent re-awakening the pain they harbor. But it is that suffering that has created an ability to be compassionate towards the sorrows of others and grants us a sensitivity that enriches our humanity.

I make it a point to remember, as I relate my recollections herein: There are always three sides to every memory ... yours, theirs, and the truth, which lies somewhere in between the two.

Sherrilyn Kenyon

And also: You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. ―

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

I have often found great wisdom in the often-succinct quotes of many others and discovered that they may have found the right words to share an epiphany or perspective. In fact there are quotes from many great people of vision who, in some cases, made great sacrifices to further the development of future generations. We must always remember to judge them, their words, and their actions in their time, not ours. They were not gods but men and women…mortals. They were not without the human flaws we all have. But somehow they looked inside themselves and found a calling. They not only had great thoughts and dreams but shared them, and more importantly, acted on them. This is why we still remember them to this day.

Just as I don’t always agree with the author of a quote I chose to comment on, this does not diminish or demean those quotes, it simply means I have not experienced the subject they whispered of or can appreciate their significance now, yet I may later. And I don’t expect anyone who reads my comments to necessarily agree with me. Many won’t. And that’s a good thing because it means they’re thinking and discerning. I try to put the author’s quote in the context of their time, not mine, so as to recognize the validity of their reality, the path they walked, and the life they had to live. But at the same time, my comment may reflect my time, my life, and my path. So if someone down the road has a criticism, that’s fine, but to prove that they are a real thinker, they might show more wisdom if they put it into perspective. Also, if you don’t like or agree with something you read herein, you can choose to bypass it, as one would on Facebook, and go on to the next passage as I rarely belabor one theme ad nauseum and change course frequently. However, you might read it simply to gain a different perspective, and often this is how real thinking originates, rather than relying on stale, confirmation-biased information that stultifies.

We would be wise to also remember that these men and women quoted herein knew change would come, albeit at a glacial pace. Generations may have to pass on and make way for progressive thinking, gradually eliminating ignorance and prejudice. Unfortunately prejudice is a basic human flaw as is the tendency to judge, and many feel a need to believe they are superior. There is a resistance to change, and there will always be those people who fight it to the bitter end. But when we refuse to change or evolve, we begin to die. We need to learn to evaluate people by the quality of their hearts. I always told my daughter, We are all just grains of sand on the beach of life, many different shapes, sizes, and colors, yet all the same.

Please remember, since every quote does not resonate with every soul, pick and choose the ones you can internalize, but know that everything you read will, even minimally, become a part of you and change you, often seemingly imperceptibly. And those words that don’t speak to you today may whisper their wisdom to you later as you evolve. So I must remember that each day I live is a blank page that I may fill as I am capable and receptive. It is incumbent on me to grow to reject being dismissive of that which I don’t understand until I am able to learn more. Being disrespectful or dismissive doesn’t reflect badly on the lesson, only on the student.

I originally intended this book to be more like a memoir to make my perspectives available to my grandkids, if they were ever interested in what observations Pop-Pop had made about navigating the intricacies of life. I then came to hope that some others might find some interest here from an adopted Pop-Pop.

So now I view this as a fireside chat with soul-searching friends, or a large gathering of thoughtful souls in an auditorium where we can share any topics that interest us. As with any good, deep conversation, it should stimulate, vex, amuse, annoy, and awaken new perspectives:

Interspersed with the following quotes, many of which were stated long ago, I have added how they have spoken to me. The author may have meant something completely different in their time and reality, but they have offered up a timeless thought that still echoes down through the ages, and each reader can add their value for subsequent readers through time. Thus a book becomes a form of time machine or conversation that carries its messages down through the river of humanity. In turn give voice to your thoughts and make them sing.

So again learning, contemplating, and sharing quotes is a dynamic process…much like a seed. Not every quote will yield a beautiful flower, for some will appear to be weeds to you today, but tomorrow, with your new experiences, may garner meaning. But to bear fruit in your life, a quote must connect with something within you. This is where contemplation begins. The same quote will not connect with each person, so don’t be disappointed if a quote you love doesn’t speak to a friend as it did to you.

A note to any attribution-nazis:

Since this book is quotation-heavy, I feel the need to say this: honest attempts to attribute quotes correctly is an effort to give credit where it is due, but by no means can anyone be absolutely certain about anything. The problem is whether a quote is found in an author’s writings or not does not guarantee that they were the original words in the exact order or that the author credited was the first to have ever said it. I remember things told to me by family members when I was a child…life lessons in memorable words and phrases, as well as adages from long ago, and still say them when I feel it’s appropriate. I don’t try to take credit for their origination, but others may assume those are my original words. But those who obsess about finding fault with others when those others unintentionally, and for no self-gain, mis-attribute is just an example of an over-zealous ego-frenzy. As Einstein has been mis-attributed in a quote, Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods [Preface to Brissot’s Address to His Constituents (1794)]" ― Edmund Burke, On Empire, Liberty, and Reform: Speeches and Letters…it’s more about the message, not the originator so much. And who knows if he was the originator, or did he over-hear that on some street-corner?

Please bear in mind that unless one is there to actually hear someone quote anything, one can never be totally certain of the correct attribution of any quote. Even in writing, letters and signatures have been forged by unscrupulous individuals for their nefarious purposes, so that is not always absolute. Usually the message, with an honest attempt to give credit, is more important than a guaranteed correct attribution, and looking to diminish the message could be viewed much as how a grammar-nazi is seen when they are more concerned with perfect grammar than with learning from a person’s perspective. To expound a bit more: how do any of us ever know what an ancient person actually said when there must be interpretations from one language to another, one culture to another, one intention or meaning to another, or when the current reader applies his own agenda or interpretation to a statement? Because we can’t be certain of the absolute correctness of the origin or exact words, does that mean we shouldn’t share ancient wisdom from brilliant minds? Or do we have to state, in the attributions of all quotes, author unknown?

Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but there was a time when the written word was not as common before the printing press was invented, people couldn’t all read, and it was more common that information, knowledge, and wisdom were all passed down, generation to generation, by way of stories and parables through the oral tradition. This kind of communication also had an inherent power because it was shared by elders who’d experienced more of life and were, generally, respected and revered.

The biggest problem with this is understood by those who’ve played the party game of Telephones, whereby the lead person draws a sentence typed on a piece of paper, reads it, and puts it in their pocket. Then without showing it to any of the other participants seated close to each other in a circle, whispers (not reading it but trying to tell exactly what the sentence said) to the person on their right. That person then whispers the words they’d heard to the person on their right, and this continues all the way around the circle until everyone has had the message whispered to them. The last person, just before the lead person, then stands and announces the message they’d received. After that the lead person takes the actual sentence that was originally said and reads it verbatim. Then everyone laughs to see how it morphed. The same problem is likely with stories and parables shared in the oral tradition. That is where books have been such a blessing, for having saved knowledge to pass down as they were written.

Truth be told, it’s quite possible everything anyone says has already been said at some time in the past by someone...even if there was no one there to hear it. So maybe there is nothing original, but how can we know? So maybe no one should ever share any thoughts with anyone for fear of being called out for grammar, or mis-attribution, no matter how precious the message was. And I’ll close this section out with a supposed Thornton Wilder quote: "My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate." But who knows…he may have been parroting a thought from a dairy-maid named Amagonna Pullateet he’d heard her say twenty-five years before.

The beginning of learning quotes emanates from the foundation, which are words. I know that sounds obvious, but like a seed, this statement may make you begin to think about how words impact every aspect of our lives. In fact our thoughts are bounded on all sides by our ability with words. If we can’t formulate a coherent sentence or spell (with or without Spellcheck), we lose the ability to communicate higher, deeper thoughts. We become more simplistic and a shallower species.

The quotation may be just a catalyst, or inspiration, to a deeper thought which, in turn, brings creativity and discovery. It can be a seed that the reader may water and nurture, or it may wither and die from neglect. Once read the reader will decide. Some quotes look like this: nugget. And some quotes look like this: "Blah blah blah blah blah blah nugget blah blah blah." Each of us must pick and choose what we can take away and gain something from...

If you begin acquiring a collection of great quotes to share with friends and family, peers or co-workers, you begin to inculcate within yourself and demonstrate to those you converse with a more sophisticated thought-process that will impress others that you are, indeed, a thinker, not just a primitive beast. This is called Erudition…defined as: extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books: profound, recondite, or bookish learning.

Now that may sound boring and stuffy to some, but you must learn to not just see yourself as a solitary creature but one of a society, where others will see you quite differently. Of course those who haven’t developed their knowledge base may be jealous, but jealousy can be a motivator, too. It may make them work to become more aware, or even encourage them to nurture the seed you planted by demonstrating the respect you earn through your ability to think, and express deeper thoughts.

A Chinese proverb that fits in here is: I fell asleep and dreamed a thousand new paths. Then I awoke and walked the same one. Invest some moments to walk a new path. I understand some may read this introduction, yawn, and not yet see the value in these concepts. But others will. And what you may not value today because you are not ready, you may awaken to the value of tomorrow. And that is as it should be. Like most anything worthwhile, you cannot be given wisdom. You can be given knowledge, but without internalization and contemplation, it will never become wisdom, for that is achieved through thoughtful reflection. Knowledge is the seed, contemplation is the watering, internalization is the nurturing, and wisdom is the fruit of your labor. That is the dynamic process, and the important work we put into ourselves, to become the grander version today than we were yesterday, yet not as grand as we are likely to become tomorrow.

This is not a race. Don’t read these over when you are in a hurry. The benefit of new ideas, or those revisited, can be far greater when we can focus on them, and introspect, to see if we can personally relate these thoughts to our own lives. Just as not every quote will be an inspiration at a particular moment in time, we must remember that as time passes, we are not the same person as a moment before...for we are forever thinking. So a moment ago, a particular quote didn’t reach you, now it might reach the new you. It’s fascinating how one quote may speak to or inspire us while another passes straight through, not even pausing. The subjects are varied since at any moment in time, based on your recent thoughts or experiences, some may have more pertinence. The more we are open to new ideas, the more we learn and grow...

I know I’m OCD (I’ve been collecting this material in files on my ‘puter since 2010 and have over 12,000 pages of valued thoughts saved), but organization is not easy, nor even genuine because these thoughts happen when they happen and in no particular order. Perhaps more focus is in order…I’m like Hey, I want to talk with you about a health issue…hey, look at that airplane overhead…what was that smell? And that’s how this book may appear…scattered and fragmented. But there can be a charm for, rather than focusing on one subject, and beating it to death with page after page on one subject, so I’m like, I hear a…is the cake in the oven? I like the color red, how about you?  

Moonpies represent, for me, the times of childhood innocence, when an earthly reward was a treasure for the honest, unpretentious treat it was (much like an ice-cold Tru-Ade on a hot summer day). Those were times of not-yet-knowing, yet seeking and absorbing knowledge and unknowingly hoping it would evolve into some wisdom. Quotes are like that…offered as a down-to-earth entreaty for others to ponder, and take what they will, after applying those quotes to their reality. On the surface, they may appear benign, capricious, or even inscrutable at first. If proper rumination and meditation is applied, they may reveal some hidden truth about life, or our reality, we hadn’t fully grasped, and an epiphany may result from that quote’s inherent wisdom. I offered perspectives on how they spoke to me.

Fireflies represent some of those more ethereal, yet often fleeting thoughts that may not fully coalesce before they fade forever. Sometimes, in a fortuitous moment, we may have a way to write them down or may retain them long enough to document them before they disappear. How many amazing thoughts never were captured and saved for posterity? Like the firefly in the darkness, it offers its light momentarily, and if not savored, may be forever lost to the ages.

Some Twisted Dreams represent those inexplicable sleep-fantasies that we may not ever understand or may wish to forget for the ill-winds they harbor. Some suggest the nightmares are born of guilt feelings and are a kind of karmic retribution we suffer for perpetrating some evil on another. Sometimes they’re not nightmares per se, but like an Escher picture, have twists and turns and incongruous images that confound our expectations that things should make sense. We’ve all had them, and maybe it’s just best to accept that there are not always satisfactory answers to cosmic questions.

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Taken on Rhodes, Greece

Moonpies

(Quotes with my add-on thoughts)

Quotes with my comments or observations added, randomly presented. Remember, this was never expected to be read and digested in one sitting…read some, pause and ruminate, put the book down and take a break (or read a short story under Some Lies in Book Two) and come back here later.

"The teachings of elegant sayings should be collected when one can. For the supreme gift of words of wisdom, any price will be paid." —Siddha Nagarjuna

By words we learn thoughts, and by thoughts, we learn life. —Jean Baptiste Girard

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity. —George Bernard Shaw, The Devil’s Disciple (1901), act II

But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. —George Gordon, Lord Byron  

My task which I am trying to achieve is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel—it is, before all, to make you see. That—and no more, and it is everything. —Joseph Conrad

All of us encounter, at least once in our life, some individual who utters words that make us think forever. There are men whose phrases are oracles; who can condense in one sentence the secrets of life; who blurt out an aphorism that forms a character, or illustrates an existence. ~Benjamin Disraeli

Death is for many of us the gate of hell; but we are inside on the way out, not outside on the way in. -George Bernard Shaw

Never think that what you have to offer is insignificant. There will always be someone out there who needs what you have to give. -Unknown

"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." – Voltaire

There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience. - French Proverb

Do not believe that he who seeks to comfort you lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life has much difficulty... Were it otherwise he would never have been able to find those words. -Rainer Maria Rilke

"When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth." —George Bernard Shaw

One step forward, two steps back. ... It happens in the lives of individuals, and it happens in the history of nations… -Vladimir Lenin  

(Things rarely go forward unimpeded in anyone’s life, for there are always obstacles and challenges, some external when resistance steps in front of us, and others are internal, as in when our own self-doubt, anxiety, or lack of self-confidence rears its ugly head. As Thomas Edison said, I have not made ten thousand mistakes…only ten thousand ways something will not work. Perseverance will often overcome the external, but only trial and error and then confidence gained as we succeed in baby steps can grow in mentally tough and determined individuals. Incessant pushing, like ocean waves on a shoreline of any limits or walls thrown up, will gradually erode those walls, and the will of those trying to stop us. This is called progress. –Jim Linn)

In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better. —Edward de Bono (Unless we re-incarnate them by breathing new life into old words and thoughts with some new insights that they may have inspired. And that is what this first section, and possibly other sections may do…offer seeds for the reader to nurture, if they so desire. –Jim Linn)

I seem to have been like a child playing on the seashore, finding new and then a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me. - Isaac Newton (Sometimes the most amazing truth, which has always been hidden from you in plain sight, appears...and though you’ve looked at it a hundred times previously, you’ve never seen it before...you might just not have been in the right frame of mind to recognize it for what it is...as time passes, try re-visiting not only places but also books and thoughts, for they haven’t changed as much as you, most likely, have. –Jim Linn)

The idea hovered and shimmered delicately, like a soap bubble, and she dared not even look at it directly in case it burst. But she was familiar with the way of ideas, and she let it shimmer, looking away, thinking about something else. ― Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass (Because sometimes if you get too close to that fragile idea, it may evaporate in a sparkly burst, into nothingness, and take its inspiration with it. –Jim Linn)

Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead. ― Jonathan Swift (This is akin to a tactic used in a courtroom by clever lawyers. Introduce a lie that resonates with the jury on some level, and even though the judge may order it stricken, the judge can’t cleanse the jurors’ minds as easily. And if the lie fits within the framework of even one determined juror’s confirmation bias, it may prove to create enough doubt to win the acquittal the attorney desired.) If the gloves don’t fit, you got to acquit, –O.J. Simpson’s attorney, Johnnie Cochran. (Jim Linn)

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It is well known that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds. ― Viktor Emil Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (To imbue any writing, or conversation for that matter, with some humor makes any statement more poignant and memorable, as it speaks to human nature, and we can relate to the point of the subject. Humor breaks down barriers and resistance and makes us more receptive, as we may involuntarily smile and relax. –Jim Linn)

"You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say. ― Truman Capote (Just as the writer is who he/she is," the characters are who they are, for better or worse. But real people are totally fluid and capable of anything. If they are static, they are not real. –Jim Linn)

We cannot, after all, judge a biography by its length, by the number of pages in it; we must judge by the richness of the contents...Sometimes the ‘unfinisheds’ are among the most beautiful symphonies. ― Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul (Every writer’s work, whether it be fact, fiction, or biography, reflects his thoughts and therefore tells something about who the writer is. Just as every actor brings themselves into any role, no matter how adroitly they emulate the screen-writer’s chosen character, the author places pieces of themselves in the way they choose their words and actions of their characters. This makes every story more interesting and makes the subject more relatable to an audience. –Jim Linn)

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! ― Patrick Henry (But in truth, we are all slaves to something, and we will see that when we choose to be honest. For some it may be a job or career, for others it may be patriotism or peer pressure, and for others it may be a sense of responsibility, material possessions, or even a spouse. Some slavery we accept, and these are our chains. But almost no honest person can claim to be truly free because there is that ultimate slavery, mortality. –Jim Linn)

The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the thirty second sound bites (now down to ten seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance. ― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (And this is what progressivism has bequeathed to America…a dumbing down of our educational system to the lowest common denominator, reviling exceptionalism as racist (or some other pejorative -ism) to avoid making those who refuse to do the work of life feel inferior. Enabling those too lazy or too interested in living in victimhood to be productive, thoughtful, and contributing members of society has led us here. Tolerating a support system of corruption in media and politics, along with demonizing patriotism and law enforcement, have all played a part in our destruction, despite warnings about this from conservative voices who’ve suffered censorship by those controlling media access. –Jim Linn)

There is this question of otherness….So just as it is blood alone that binds people to defend one another in the face of danger, on the spiritual plane one person will struggle to help another only if this person is not ‘different’, and if, quite aside from opinions and convictions, they share similar natures at the deepest level. ― Sándor Márai, Embers (And yet we may come to learn over time that the person we think is more like us may be a serial killer and nothing like us. Thus we need to not be quick to judge but wise enough to look deeper and really get to know another before we form our alliances or assumptions. –Jim Linn)

Smiley face icons cannot hope to replace words thought out carefully in order to put a smile on the other person’s face, the pressure of the pen, the sharpness or the laxity of the handwriting telling stories about the frame of mind of the writer, the smudges on the sheets of paper telling their own stories, blotches where tears might have fallen, hastily scratched out words where another would have been more appropriate, stories that the writer of the letter might not have intended to communicate. I have letters wrapped up in a soft muslin cloth, letters that are unsigned, tied up with a ribbon which I had once used to hold my soft, brown hair in place, and which had been gently untied by the writer of those letters. ― Kiran Manral, The Face at the Window (We can’t know the health of the writer, if they don’t mention it, or that this might be the last time you ever hear from them. We don’t know the trials and tribulations they may be suffering as they hid them while writing this message to you. Think beyond the words on the page and appreciate that they thought enough about you to send it. Then pick up a phone and call them! -Jim Linn)

Everyone is the creator of their own perceived illusion of reality. ― Steven Redhead, Life Is Simply A Game (Have you ever openly shared your honest perceptions of your friend’s character/personality? How they appear to you can be a window to what image they project to you, recognizing that they mainly show a facet that you bring out and rarely show a facet that another may bring out. They may not be being disingenuous but responding to the vibe you share with them. –Jim Linn)

I’m now ferociously healthy in body and mind. You couldn’t pay me to go near a psychiatrist again. -Margot Kidder (If you see a psychiatrist, you are paying them, handsomely, to find something wrong with you. Some evidence of neurosis, or other schema, is always present in every human, waiting to be named by a clever clinician. This conflict of interest is much like paying a housing inspector…he earns his money to find various faults and deficiencies, and as with humans, there are always enough of those to make a career out of. This is a real problem for society, and everyone has some issues an unscrupulous professional can identify rather than allowing for some measure of imperfection for simply being a normal flawed human. Integrity is discerning a relatively normal subject from a seriously mentally ill one. –Jim Linn)

There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. [ . . . ] There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain, the mind must leave reality behind. ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind (And there are times when doctors put a victim of extreme trauma into an induced coma to give them time to heal. Perhaps when that treatment is not available, the brain attempts to effect much the same result. –Jim Linn)

I couldn’t help but remember the one at my parents’ place after they had passed. I’d gone through their things and hadn’t kept much, but when it came time for the auction, I’d had a strong impulse to bid on everything like some museum curator attempting to keep the collection whole. ― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse (Be circumspect…you are not buying things, you are buying memories and irreplaceable moments…think deeper to avoid regrets. –Jim Linn)

"The man stopped talking and was looking at the sunset.

But what does someone who hates and loves want with a sunset?" ― Alberto Caeiro, The Keeper of Sheep (Maybe we need to ask: What does a sunset want with us? -Jim Linn)

One does not love if one does not accept from others. - Nigerian Proverb (In graciously receiving, paradoxically, we are giving in that we allow others to show one facet of their love for us. If we deny them that opportunity, we are selfish. –Jim Linn)

Terrorist’, noun: 1. Someone my government tells me is a terrorist; 2. Someone my President decides to kill. ― Glenn Greenwald (Or someone who threatens my belief-systems about those or that which I love. –Jim Linn)

We all do dream of becoming great and leaving distinctive footprints but, when we get that dream, we must get a clear understanding of what it takes to be great. [ . . . ] We need to understand the real reasons why we must pursue to the end notwithstanding how arduous the journey to greatness may be and the tangible and intangible costs we may have to pay. ― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah (The law of humility, while not designed to crush us, reminds us that not everyone is destined to greatness, for then everyone would be great, and there would be nothing ever special. We only hear of those who rose to the pinnacle of greatness but rarely of those who tried and failed. For every person who wanted to be a Major League baseball player, there have been thousands who tried, lived a relatively poverty-stricken life, may have sacrificed the chance for a family and happy home and relationships and failed. The same can be said for actors…millions have tried and failed, and the ones whom we see are the few who’ve succeeded. Striving to go beyond normal, which in reality is simply average, is the goal. To share something worthy, even if it merely emanates from common-sense, can still be justifiable since many have lost the ability to think rationally and critically, preferring the illusory comfort of the nanny-state’s offerings to doing the hard work of self-reliance and thinking independently. So produce your art, and let the recipients decide what is worthy. They will judge…even those without the ability to discern. If your work survives, it may be deemed a treasure of sorts and inspire new artists who may build on it, and the foundation it created may become immortal, whether you get credit or not. –Jim Linn)

If someone speaks badly of you, do not defend yourself against the accusations but reply; ‘you obviously don’t know about my other vices, otherwise you would have mentioned these as well.’ ― Epictetus (And then ask them about their short-comings. –Jim Linn)

What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? [ . . . ] and it’s good-bye. ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road (Is there a word for that feeling? Excitement at the possibilities or nostalgia and melancholy in knowing you can never return to that exact place and time with those exact people? Is there a good word for being aware that the you that you have left behind no longer exists? Is the thrill of potential new adventures enough? And if ten miles down the road, your car blows a tire and careens into a deep ditch, and you are mortally injured and breathing your last breaths, can you still feel it was worth it? Possibly because tomorrow is not promised to any of us, but that in itself should make each moment we are here precious, and that is true no matter whether we seek adventure or sit by a fire reading a good book and sipping our favorite tea. –Jim Linn)

Prayer makes the soul tender. ― Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries (In genuine humility, one should come to offer prayer. Anything else is playing Let’s Make a Deal. (Jim Linn)

We’re so quick to cut away pieces of ourselves to suit a particular relationship, a job, a circle of friends, incessantly editing who we are until we fit in. ― Charles de Lint, Happily Ever After (Even self-described individualists tend to change or evolve as they meet new people and learn new things. It is said if you don’t change, you wither and die, so it is an essential part of survival. To this end, we are affected by every new thought or conversation, and although we may not agree with it, we are moved, albeit imperceptibly, from where we were before. Once our mind has grown through some new awareness or knowledge, we cannot fit our new brain into that smaller one we had before. –Jim Linn)

Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty. —Elie Wiesel ― Ben Sherwood, The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life (Survival of any species is highly dependent on honest communication within that group, from parent to offspring, all the way up to from leader to followers. The sharing of lessons often born of tragedies, so as to not repeat the mistakes that led to them. Development of new tools, usually through trial and error, as well as sharing between cultures, or from nomads (travelers) who bring innovations. This is a key to survival…teaching, learning, and evolving. –Jim Linn)

An infinite question is often destroyed by finite answers. To define everything is to annihilate much that gives us laughter and joy. ― Madeleine L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet (And in our insatiable need to name things to give us a material view of them, we allow our ignorance of our need for mystery, adventure, and discovery to wane. –Jim Linn)

It was always mañana. For the next few weeks, that was all I heard––mañana a lovely word and one that probably means heaven. ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road (Or…never. –Jim Linn)

Please read my diary, look through my things, and figure me out. ― Kurt Cobain, Journals (There is so much more to us, albeit in varying degrees, than any of those who think they know us can imagine. We are a jigsaw puzzle of pieces of every thought, experience, conversation, and moment of the life we’ve lived…and most people never take the time, are too self-absorbed, assume their perception of us is correct, try to make us fit their idea of who we should be into their comfort zone, or are willing to make the effort to explore our depths to know us. We often don’t even really know ourselves, and it is in moments of urgency when our real selves emerge from the shadows, and carefully manufactured images, and we become authentically who we are. Each of us contains the seeds of good and evil and everything in a continuum in between. That is precisely what makes life so interesting. –Jim Linn)  

We can travel anywhere we want, even to other planets. [ . . . ] To sit day after day, declining in morale and hope. ― Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle (And when we get there in our quest for paradise, since that is what people search for [and even that is different for each of us], will we actually find it or come away, shaking our heads in perpetual disappointment. The truth is, I believe, that the paradise we seek is already within us. It is our attitude and our grace that bring it to us. If we choose to care for others, be truly appreciative of all we have, and live our lives with integrity, we are well on our way to the paradise we seek. We can travel millions of miles, even to other worlds, find different cultures, and probably never find perfection anywhere. It might seem better at first than where we’ve come from, but the deeper we look, the more flaws we’d likely find. So hell, too, is within us...that innate construct which yearns for something we humans cannot have...perfection or paradise. But with an awakening and change of expectations, we can make the best of wherever we are and find a piece of a paradise. Remember, no matter how far or how fast you run, you can never escape from you, with all your good and evil. We all have it. So the best approach, I believe, is to accept the imperfections in ourselves, and others, and learn to appreciate the beauty in ourselves and others. -Jim Linn)

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Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. [ . . . ] You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. -Og Mandino (I am a perfectionist…not about others but about how I try my very best with that which I’m working on. It’s a matter of taking pride in my effort because I care and partly out of respect for others who are affected by what I do. I know I am far from perfect and that I never will be perfect, but it is my intent to do things right so that no one has to go behind me to do what I could have or should have done. –Jim Linn)

…he saw that all the struggles of life were incessant, laborious, painful, that nothing was done quickly, without labor, that it had to undergo a thousand fondlings, revisings, moldings, addings, removings, graftings, tearings, correctings, smoothings, rebuildings, reconsiderings, nailings, tackings, chippings, hammerings, hoistings, connectings — all the poor fumbling uncertain incompletions of human endeavor. They went on forever and were forever incomplete, far from perfect, refined, or smooth, full of terrible memories of failure and fears of failure, yet, in the way of things, somehow noble, complete, and shining in the end. ― Jack Kerouac (Also Editings. - Jim Linn) 

Ah, it was a fine night, a warm night, a wine-drinking night, a moony night, and a night to hug your girl and talk and spit and be heavengoing. ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road (The night sky was ablaze with distant fireflies, twinkling their long dead lights with us marveling at their celestial, enchanting beauty. The heavens offering up a cacophony of untamed, riotous chaos while, here below, we made love on a blanket to their non-judgmental eye-witness. –Jim Linn)

The world of the happy man is a different one from that of the unhappy man.

― Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (For the happy man, the world has myriad colors but is only dull grey for the unhappy. The world has smiles and laughter for the happy, frowns, and tears for the unhappy. The world has hope for the happy and depression for the unhappy. These are truly different worlds. –Jim Linn)

…when told how to think or what to say or how to behave, we don’t. We disobey the social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. -Charlton Heston (In these times of awesome firepower, any patriot who chooses to stand up to a tyrant and his military will simply become cannon-fodder. Unity of purpose, with knowledgeable leadership and complicity of those in the military who are patriots is a prerequisite. Anything less is foolhardy and a waste of the best of us. –Jim Linn)

...it begins with isolation - demons always inhabit desolate places... ― John Geddes, A Familiar Rain (And are forced to share their solitude with the echoes of their shrieks. –Jim Linn) 

...across the snowy field the barn light gleams - it’s the loneliness of November twilight... ― John Geddes, A Familiar Rain (And my frozen feet refuse to tread, and my frozen fingers cease to bend with my exhausted breath coming in ragged gasps. So near yet far is the barn and warmth. I doubt I can make it… -Jim Linn)

I think that all artists, regardless of degree of talent, are a painful, paradoxical combination of certainty and uncertainty, of arrogance and humility, constantly in need of reassurance, and yet with a stubborn streak of faith in their own validity no matter what. ― Madeleine L’Engle (And not just artists…this reality cuts a swath across most of humanity. But if one lacks the courage to express one’s thoughts, those thoughts are likely to die with that person, and that may prove to be a great loss to humanity. –Jim Linn)

It has seemed so strange to me that the larger culture, with its own absence of spirit and lack of attachment for the land, respects these very things about Indian traditions, without adopting those respected ways themselves. -Linda Hogan (But we can never fully understand another culture we were not raised and steeped in. Those experiences you have had that I have not create a kind of invisible barrier between our worlds. I can respect your culture, but I don’t have hundreds of generations that have gone before living it. Just as none of us can truly know another because we have not seen or felt what the other has, we can only guess what the other is. We can try to emulate, but it is unnatural for us and presumptuous of us to believe we have become another. –Jim Linn)

You know you have a problem in American politics when they’re making ‘House of Cards’ look normal. - Michael Kelly (The Power Couple are the Clintons. No principles or morals…always The end justifies the means and survival of the fittest. –Jim Linn)

There are ways in, journeys to the center of life, through time; through air, matter, dream and thought. [ . . . ] And always, in this search, a person might find that she is already there, at the center of the world. -Linda Hogan (Perhaps when we think we are lost, that is when we are actually found, having reverted back to our most authentic nature. –Jim Linn)

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage. ― Richard Lovelace, To Althea, from Prison (Some of the deepest, darkest, dankest dungeons are nestled between our ears. –Jim Linn)

Imagine leaving Twitter not because you are being restricted or censored but because your political opponents are not. This is the petty authoritarian mindset that now characterizes the Left in this country. -Dinesh D’Souza (I find it difficult to understand how any rational thinkers cannot see the danger in accepting the approach to our society that allows control by the Left. Their demand for total control of peoples’ thoughts and words should not only concern but outrage everyone, but liberals actually agree with it. If I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you, and My way or the highway seem to be their tolerant approach, and that is a form of slavery, too. Their hypocrisy knows no limits, and like communists before them, seek to limit and destroy thinkers who offer alternative perspectives. The first thing communists do is eliminate the intellectuals and control the media when they achieve power…and the only way to remove them from power will never be through honest elections but only through revolution. –Jim Linn)

Neglect is abusive. Ignoring a person and not caring about who they are, what they want, what they need, is like telling them that they are not important, over and over again. – Maria Consiglio (It is my contention that while bad, neglect is not as bad as indifference. Indifference is the ultimate abuse because, unlike neglect, it says you are not worth the time or effort to neglect you. Neglect shows a conscious effort to abandon you while indifference makes you completely invisible and non-existent. –Jim Linn)

Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation. ― Dorothy Parker (Even normally empathetic people eventually tire of listening to the perpetual whiner who refuses to change their way of doing things when having done them a long time the same way has never made their lives better. Einstein was said to have observed: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way, and expecting a different result. Sometimes even a seemingly small change can result in a better outcome. And another motivational quote, this time from Jim Rhone says, If you don’t like where you are, change it, you are not a tree. –Jim Linn)

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. -Galileo Galilei (Common sense has always existed in some...but seeing the answer is not so common. If it was easy, it would have been seen before. Not everyone has the ability to apply common sense principles to real life. Knowledge is not enough...knowing how to use it and benefit from it is what brings about progress. And knowledge and experiences are only the seeds from which wisdom may evolve, if nurtured properly. -Jim Linn)

The gifts that one receives for giving are so immeasurable that it is almost an injustice to accept them. -Rod McKuen (Who truly gets the greatest gift, the giver or the recipient? -Jim Linn)

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. - Oscar Wilde (And everything we do is a portrait of who we are, not what we did, so always do your best at everything you do! -Jim Linn)

In a dream I walked with God through the deep places of creation; past walls that receded and gates that opened through hall after hall of silence, darkness and refreshment—the dwelling place of souls acquainted with light and warmth—until, around me, was an infinity into which we all flowed together and lived anew, like the rings made by raindrops falling upon wide expanses of calm dark waters. ― Dag Hammarskjöld (We should choose to allow for a world beyond our limited knowledge, just as we must accept we are not omnipotent here, or especially in the universe. Humility is man’s just birthright, for he is born to wonder and wander endlessly. Born into vigor, growing in strength, developing skills, demonstrating attributes, hopefully acquiring some wisdom born of experience, thought, empathy, and introspection and then fading from this plane. This is the importance of sharing what we’ve gained with those we leave behind. Compared to what he doesn’t know, what he knows is nothing, and a vast sea of knowledge beckons, inexorably, to his lonely soul. Like his life, his knowledge is finite, but in sharing with others, he and his gift of wisdom can live on and help others. –Jim Linn)

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And some perspectives from a beautiful soul, John O’Donohue:

We do not need to grieve for the dead. They are now in a place where there is no more shadow, darkness, loneliness, isolation, or pain. ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (In reality we are grieving for ourselves…the pain we feel from an irreplaceable loss in our lives. –Jim Linn)

It could be a meeting on the street, or a party or a lecture, or just a simple, banal introduction, then suddenly there is a flash of recognition and the embers of kinship glow. There is an awakening between you, a sense of ancient knowing. ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (This same feeling can come over you when you arrive at a new place. Some might describe it as deja vu, but you feel certain you’ve been there before, albeit not in this life. For me it is Gettysburg, PA. –Jim Linn)

Each thing creeps back into its own nature within the shelter of the dark…The darkness absolves everything; the struggle for identity and impression falls away. ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (Even pretensions may fall away in the night, like the mask which we use in daytime to hide our genuine selves, revealing the person we are willing to show. And, too, the greatest actor would be wise to relinquish control of his false image, sacrificing it at the altar of deception, lest he lose himself forever in the mists of a fantasy world. –Jim Linn)

One of the deepest longings of the human soul is to be seen. ― John O’Donohue (Also, to have our existence on this plane acknowledged and then to be needed. For the cruelest of curses, by one person to another is indifference, which diminishes a soul, casting it into the darkest abyss or oubliette [a dungeon of forgetting]. –Jim Linn)

It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the eyes and find light there. ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (To find that twinkle…that spark of divine energy we call life, is a gift that, in its silence, speaks volumes. It reminds us that within this human, there are experiences and tales which, if given the opportunity, could enlighten or inspire us in some way. If we can’t see it, or don’t choose to look for it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. –Jim Linn)

Nothing puts me so completely out of patience as the utterance of a wretched commonplace When I am talking from my inmost heart. ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (I have limited patience for the superficial conversation. My mortal clock is ever-ticking, and I can already see the clouds myself. I need not discuss the possibility of rain, but I long to discuss the deluge of the soul. –Jim Linn)

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though. ― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (And there have been some characters on TV and movie screens that I’d loved to try to have as friends. Atticus Finch, Mel Monroe, and Jack Sheridan from Virgin River, Anna Riley (Jenna Elfman) in Keeping the Faith, and more. The problem is, as in life, we never really know what our relationship will be like, unlike the one created by Hollywood, and therein lies the rub. Characters in stories can be any way the producers want them to be in films, but in life, people are whom they are. -Jim Linn)

If you try to avoid or remove the awkward quality, it will pursue you. The only effective way to still its unease is to transfigure it, to let it become something creative and positive that contributes to who you are. ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (This often happens when we take ourselves too seriously and expect perfection. We set an unattainable goal and ensure self-disappointment. Setting ourselves up to fail is counter-productive to the human experience. Our failures contain the very seeds to future success by teaching us life-lessons. So rather than letting seeming failures beat us down, we should learn to laugh at ourselves for our humanity, learn the lesson proffered, and move forward with new confidence, born of experience. –Jim Linn)

Many of us have made our world so familiar that we do not see it anymore. An interesting question to ask yourself at night is, What did I really see this day? ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (And knowing that you intend to face that same quiz every night, make it a point to pay more attention during the day when you are right there…seeing… -Jim Linn)

There was an article criticizing Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom as being servile, and it elicited this response from me:

As with any Monday-Morning-Quarterbacking by those not with their feet in the fire, it is easy to criticize a character from the past as being cowardly or servile, but if the critic had lived then, he might have behaved similarly, given all the same conditions. First of all, Uncle Tom was a slave himself and had been molded into a slave-cultured mentality by the powers that be in his life. He was older and broken