On ideas

 First, ideas are a fundamental part of community creation, stasis, recreation. A lack of ideas or ideas of a type that limit other ideas can be fundamental to a community too.  Ideas are processes. Processes have outcomes. Processes are not places, but periods of time.

 In some cases:Ideas lead to actions that support those ideas - ideas about the importance of teaching and learning lead to acts of teaching and learning.  In other cases: Ideas lead to actions that discount the importance of other ideas - ideas about the importance of teaching and learning do not support the idea that stupidity is a survival strategy worth pursing.

Some ideas can be self-reinforcing: the idea of learning begets the eternal light of ideas.

What, who, why, when, how and is it?

On new furniture

 First, I am still getting use to the new furniture.  It does take time. 

Sitting feels different.  The seat cushion is firm. It does give in time to gravity. The depth of the seat requires a pillow at the back, perhaps out of habit.  The pillows are plump, perhaps too.

The lines are modern, and reminds me of a couch from a time when I was younger. The arms are boxy.

 The cushions might do best with a regular rotation. The larger couch will tend to a middle cushion that doesn’t have the same use, thus the rotation. 

On being meek

 First, there are moments I am struck by the reality of my existence. I hope you are too.  It is your existence and you deserve the right to be moved by the reality of it.  And if so moved by that experience to express yourself, then please feel no hesitation. 

And if moved by that experience to keep very quiet, well, you may very will be meek.

And they say that meek will keep the kingdom to come.  

On freedom of speech

 First, the spoken mind is not a dangerous thing. It may not be your joy, it may be jarring to your mind,  It is not a dangerous thing. 

A dangerous thing is tearing down a walk between points because to take that walk would leave you at a  disadvantage.

The silent mind is not a dangerous thing, unless a spoke less mind supports a blind advantage.  Beware especially if a silent mind supports a known disadvantage.  

On summer birds

 First, what a sound of birds in the air.  Both the jet and the trill from the bird’s bill.  What a sound on the railroad tracks, then the gull’s arc-arc.

A soft rebuilding of whistles made from long lasting notes, then the helicopter raises the pitch even higher  to keep the pulse alive.

The crow’s craw is close, then echoed further from.

A message you are headed home.

On schismogenesis

 First, it is the pulse between poles that signals some movement, perhaps toward stability.  Without the pulse, there is only a single signal. Is the single signal the manifest of one pole still existing, or neither?  How can you tell?  And if it is one or the other, what then?

The pulse a wave tumbling toward a natural history.

The pole a point in time, labeled.

On hill climbing

 First, we do climb hills as a species.  There is a striving to climbing the obstacle. Be careful in the obstacle you pick.  And don’t pick your obstacle based on the tool you have.

Lacking obstacles? Obstacles can find you on the way to other hills.  You might not pick them.  Your situation might pick them for you.

Lacking tools?  An advisor told me ,”The tool will come to you when the obstacle is being climbed.”

If I take the tool and look for an obstacle for the tool then I have promoted tools over hill climbing.  Some do.  Boundaries are important.  So yes, speak about the tool’s purpose.

Tools have there place, indeed. Pilgrims progress on the use of them. Today’s life progresses on the use of them.  

But instead of spreadsheets, the hymn of the republic rings across the hills in my mind.