So, here we are, mammoths up to our elbows in self-doubt and societal tar. Where do we find the strength to actually free ourselves from despondency? Whence fortitude? We may have some inkling of what we’re fighting against, but to what end? Just wanting to be free obviously isn’t enough. What are we persevering [...]
Archive for the ‘self-improvement’ Category
Rooting Out the Crabgrass (Fortitude IV)
Posted in culture, life, self-improvement, society, virtue, writing, tagged "living to work", "purpose in life", "working to live", courage, despondency, Don Quixote, fortitude, good deeds, good works, hopelessness, ideals, prime mover, purpose, sacrifice, society, virtue on June 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
How Society Feeds the Crabgrass (Fortitude III)
Posted in culture, life, self-improvement, society, virtue, writing, tagged "living to work", "working to live", despondency, hopelessness, rat race, society on May 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Despondency is the crabgrass of the soul. It chokes out joy, generative activity, hope. If you want to get rid of crabgrass you need to dig down deep enough to tear it up by the roots. The conviction of our own ineptitude is one of despondency’s observable roots. Its basis is internal to the individual [...]
Despondency as Crabgrass (Fortitude II)
Posted in life, self-improvement, society, virtue, writing, tagged childhood, despondency, discovery, fortitude, hope, hypocrisy, life, purpose on May 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Despondency is spiritual crabgrass. It chokes out joy, generative activity, hope. If you want to get rid of crabgrass you need to dig down deep enough to tear it up by the roots. Whence despondency? What are its roots? There’s an old saying about “the straw that breaks the camel’s back”. The despondency that [...]
Fortitude (I)
Posted in culture, life, self-improvement, society, virtue, writing, tagged fortitude, heroes, hopelessness, life, purpose, society, virtue, writing on May 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A friend of mine graduated from college this May. In April I went to his Senior Oral defense on Dante’s Divine Comedy and that afternoon, over a celebratory lunch, talked with another friend who had graduated from the same school (my alma mater) the year before. That conversation, which turned into a three-hour foray, [...]
“Too Little Butter over Too Much Bread” and Sharpening the Saw
Posted in culture, life, self-improvement, society, thought, tagged appreciation, attention, Bilbo, distraction, meditation, priest, refresh, relax, society, video games on May 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I know an old priest; he’s 94, almost 95. His back is bent and he shuffles a bit as he walks. He elevates the Host with difficulty, but insists on complete reverence and does not falter, every day, day after day. Once, over tea, upon hearing what I had planned for the day, he [...]
Loneliness and the Skills of Argument
Posted in culture, life, self-improvement, tagged conversation, lonliness, reason, thinking, thought on May 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Most people seem very lonely.
I think it’s because, in part, they’ve forgotten how to argue, not only with one another, but also with themselves. Here’s an example of where the meaning of words becomes exceedingly important. “Argument” is not the kind of irrational melee in which 6 year olds, jilted lovers, and politicians engage. [...]
