Random Notes And Thoughts
Glen Brunke, March 8, 2023Last updated, October 5, 2024
At one point in my life, I lived in Florida. One of my favorite activities while living there was to sling a hammock between two trees in order to read and write in my journal under the shade of palms, live oaks, and mahogany. Somehow that environment was stimulating and helped clear my mind at the same time.
This blog post serves as my digital hammock, housing a collection of random thoughts, quotes, and reflections dumped haphazardly into a single post.
"I also have in my mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver fetters." - Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Why should death be scary? Once it happens, it's all over, right? I think what we fear about death is the fear of what we might experience right before it happens. Why else would so many want to die in their sleep? We fear the panic that would set in if we were trapped underwater, or hurling toward the ground as we fall. We fear the terror of seeing our bodies destoryed in ways that can't be put back together. We fear losing control of ourselves, being dragged away from our conscience experience. We don't know what it's going to be like, and that is the scariest thing of all.
How much is a long time? Some people say 10 minutes, some say 10 years. A long time is when you're not enjoying yourself.
Religion and science are very similar in that they both seek to explain the mysteries of the world and universe that we live in. They are like family, maybe like distant cousins, which might explain all of the bickering and fighting between them. However, differences exist, with the principle difference being that science continues to question and evolve its idea on what it thinks the truth to be, whereas religion sticks to the same story, ignoring all evidence to the contrary.
"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." - E.L. Doctorow
"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." - Jim Rohn
Progress is happiness and decline feels like struggle, focus on progress not perfection.
"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way." - Christopher Morley
So simple is life,
Yet we try to complicate it.
After our bellies are full,
Do we care how much was paid?
When we close our eyes to sleep,
does the grandeur of the room matter?
The more we have, the more we want,
A heavy burden compounded.
Life is too short,
Walk and enjoy the Earth's wonders.
Don't waste your time,
Capturing and dragging them along your path.
The truest treasures are free,
And they reside safely locked away in your mind's vault.
"There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more." - Lord Byron
"...standing alone on the mountain-top it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make - leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone - we all dwell in a house of one room - the world with the firmament for its roof - and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track." - John Muir
"Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods." - John Muir
"This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls." - John Muir
The three rates to manage to build wealth: rate of investment, rate of return, rate of burn.
"Promptness is a sign of respect." - Kevin Kelly
"Following your bliss is a recipe for paralysis if you don't know what you are passionate about. A better path for most youth is 'master something'. Through mastery of one thing, you'll command a viewpoint to steadily find where your bliss is." - Kevin Kelly
In life, we must choose our regrets. It is the curse of this modern world so full of possibility that we can do or be nearly ANYTHING we want. BUT! We can't do or be EVERYTHING we want. We must choose. The more choices, the more potential regrets. Let us not lament our regrets, but instead celebrate that we had so much choice in the first place.
True wealth is control over your own time. Imagine the billionaire that has to rush off from vacation to attend to important business. Is he wealthy? I would say no. And yet, isn't this how it is so often, too much money is a problem to deal with just as too little. They are differnet problems of course. Wealth is not only how much money you have, but how free you are to enjoy it. One could have a moderate amount of money and little responsibility and be wealthy. Yet, some of the great joys in life also become our responsibilities and require our resources. The trick of it all is land on "just enough" and resolve to want what you already have.