MRLPJ

This is my response to the following quote by Sengai [see Note at the end of this post]:  When I die, “I will not go with death…” Earlier in life, I thought I was unattached (and that I should strive always to be and remain unattached) to the continuing of my life, but these thoughts were not true. Why? Well, in all honesty, because I’m wholly attached to life (as I should be!). I’m attached to living… to continuing to live… to continuing to be me. Having no attachments is not the aim; rather, living, being wholeheartedly alive, being wholeheartedly attached to living, and being wholeheartedly attached to The Source of All Life—is the aim. These beliefs, these feelings, and these notions were not placed in me by me. No. They were seeded there by another: By The One who made me; by The Author, Pioneer, Perfecter, and Finisher of All Life (and not just of my own). His Name is YHVH … The Eternal One… The Eternal Name of Existence… The Master of Forces… The One Whom C.S. Lewi...

Anthropologically, I am A Human Being . I am also—in this very moment— An Unfolding Event . My life is—and will forever be—an ever-expanding, never-ending (that is, eternal) stream of unfolding events.

The older I get the more “No” I say. These days, I say “No” to a lot of really good things. I do that, so I can say “Yes” to great things. This is the overarching philosophy behind true minimalism. A minimalist is NOT just someone who lives with less. A true minimalist is one who embodies an intentional purpose behind living with less. For me, as a minimalist, I’m constantly looking for opportunities and ways to quell from my life those things and no-things that don’t matter much to me so I can pursue those things and no-things that do matter much. In a way, I’m a maximalist. I’ve minimized engaging in those things and no-things I don’t care about, so I can maximize engaging in those things and no-things I truly love and that make me come alive as a person. Learn to say “No.” It will bring life and meaning not just to your “Yeses” but, ultimately, to your life and personhood. Peace…

We live in an age saturated by hyperbole and verbal imprecision. Sinking ever deeper into the quagmire of group-think, ill-informed labeling, and inanely voiced opinions based in half-truth, egregious polemics, and lack-luster social analysis, our culture has somehow lost its ability to communicate in a way that’s even remotely meaningful. For example, when did the deaths of innocent civilians during drone strikes become “collateral damage”? And when, too, did government “budget cuts” come to mean “a decrease in projected spending increases”? And then there’s one of my all-time favorites: The ever idiomatic “Adult Entertainment Industry.” To my knowledge, “adult” still means “mature, fully-grown, and fully-developed,” and “industry” still means “hard work.” How in heaven did pornography ever come to be associated with such things as “thrift,” “grit,” and “the wisdom of adulthood”? And then there are the many words we use like “evil,” “homophobic,” “liberal,” “low-fat,” “all-natr...