EricR

"What is a gentleman? He is gentle, big, noble; he is independent of opinion. A man cannot have happiness until he has certain qualities of mind. When he has these qualities, nothing can overthrow him."
- Swami Paramananda

The Ending of The Incredible Shrinking Man A profound narrative that closed this 1957 classic

I've seen The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) several times. The narration at the end has always impressed me.
open.substack.com/pub/lonepilg...

One of the ways I've been able to step away from political disagreements is to focus on principles, not labels, or personalities.

If a particular politician takes action in the direction of my principles, I support it. If not, I don't.

It's not complicated.

I recently updated my profile to read, "Interested in ideas, creativity, virtue ethics, and the practice of living well."

The idea of living well as a practice may take some explanation. Stay tuned.

While Postmodernists Embrace Fervour, This Painter Finds ‘Meditation’ in Every Precise Stroke ‘For two hours, everything else goes away, you just are so focused ... It is so good it’s almost a meditation,’ says watercolourist Anne Maree O'Brien.

It’s gratifying to see self-improvement being promoted. It is a salve for the grievance culture in which we are embedded. This artist seems to have a deep inner life.

www.theepochtimes.com/world/as-pos...

I recall back when I was in martial arts that I realized what I called the continuum of skill. There was always someone better than me, and I was always better than someone else. There was no arrival point of ultimate skill.

For those who know...

This was posted without attribution. But it speaks to many people who often remain silent and unheard.

If this speaks to you, dear reader, let me know in a comment and I'll follow you.

I love this...I don't know why!🤪

This is irresistible fun for people of a certain age, especially classic monster movie fans! 😜

The amazing Nicholas Brothers. To me, unsurpassed in brilliant athleticism and the expression of pure joy.

I try to remember that each of us has our allotment of intelligence. Some more, some less. It's a gift that elevates us above animals. We can use it well, or not.

Critical thinking is a double-edged sword. It reveals my errors, which can be ego-deflating. But I prefer deflation to living in error.

All one has to do to defeat AI, social media, media manipulation, digital control, bots, spyware, etc., etc...

....is turn it off!

For a more lasting victory, close your account.

This is so lovely. May it offer you a moment to pause and place the cacophony of the world on hold.

Fishing on a Sunny Afternoon by Henri Biva

We are both weakened and strengthened by our thoughts. So it makes sense to guard them, privately and publicly.

We can aim them high or low.

Surely, aiming high can lead us to our Ideal.

That is rising above. 👍

I was not always sure what actions to take, or not to take, when dealing with problems. But merely reacting emotionally was not the way. To me, rising above an issue meant to pause, reflect, and consider.

In my profile, I highlight my father's timeless advice. "Rise above it, Eric", he would say when I was confronted with a conflict.

These days, politics is the most challenging conflict, and my Dad's words echo even more loudly for me.

Camera Movement of Wings' (1927) Party Scene In today; it is not a scene that hard to shoot but in 1927 it was a very unique piece of cinematography i think. At the end of the video you can see a "Behind…

Here's how it was done. vimeo.com/146632948

This is the scene (from Wings, 1927) that got me started on my retirement hobby of writing new music for silent films.

The artistry and the technical brilliance of those early filmmakers are, to me, unsurpassed.

In 1965, I developed a love for instrumental music. I was all of 9 and the mid-60s rock and roll thing was raging.

But when I heard “A Taste of Honey” with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, I was hooked on this sound.

And the album cover I’ve put in the comments had nothing to do with it! 😁

I used to have a sign posted over a door at home that said, “This too will change”. It reminded me to have patience in bad times and caution in good times. It was always a helpful perspective.

Perspective is an art. Let’s be smart, help each other out, and we will get through all of this. In the history of the world, there has never been a storm that lasted. And in each storm, “the good”, however you conceive it, has prevailed.

Yet those grandparents (and now great-grandparents) survived through everything listed above.

As you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends. Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. How do you survive all of that? A kid in 1985 didn’t think their 85-year-old grandparent understood how hard school was.

At 64, the Vietnam War comes to the USA, and it doesn’t end for many years. Four million people die in that conflict. Approaching your 62nd birthday, you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War. Life on our planet, as we know it, could well have ended.

When you’re 41, the United States is fully pulled into WWII. Between your 39th and 45th birthdays, 75 million people perish in the war, and the Holocaust kills six million. At 52, the Korean War starts, and five million perish.

When you’re 29, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25%, global GDP drops 27%. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy. When you turn 39, World War II starts. You aren’t even over the hill yet.

Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until you are 20. Fifty million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million!

One of the best tools for dealing with the endless stream of horrors known as “news” is a broader perspective. Imagine you were born in 1900 in the USA. When you are 14, World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday with 22 million people killed.