Saturday, November 2, 2024

 November 1, 2024 a thought for today, Learning is treasure no thief can touch. Chinese Proverb



One of the photo challenges for yesterday was “blue and green”. A while back I played around with some filters and digital algorithms on some of my photos.  This is one of the art pieces I generated from an original photo image.  



The next photo for yesterday was “cemetery”. This another photo from my archives. When I was able to walk farther distances with needing to rest, I went through some of the local cemeteries, visiting family and friends in memory. There are some beautiful sites in the peaceful surroundings of the cemeteries I have visited. 



The last upload for yesterday was the last of this “tree” series. This one is closer to home. It belongs to one of my neighbors. I see it every day from my backyard. 

Life today. This has been a very good day. I wondered around lazily and leisurely checking new articles along with visits to my Facebook friends and my email messages during my every morning virtual visits. Usually I rush through them as quickly as I can so that I can get to other things. 

I made a call to find out some more information about Sweet Peas treatments for her kidney diagnosis. The information was promising.

After that Tami and Andy came by to help Sue and me with some of the on going tasks that all of us have. Tasks that we could have handled on our own before the natural processes of age slowed our capabilities. It’s fun for us to ‘supervise’ their help and be able to bond along with it. Andy put up some more of my photo rails. (I still need at least two more of them for my plans of bringing “life”back into the house through art work and the memories they hold for both Sue and me). I told Tami that Sue and I are going to have make an appointment with them to for a couple of time a month. 

My first photo a day challenge and upload for today and the first day of November is “reflections”. This is one of the many reflections I have gotten in the pond at the city park near my house. 

Another good thing that happened today was that the insurance company called. They are going to help me with the cost of having my car repaired after the fender bender the other day. My biggest worry now is not having transportation for whatever time it takes once I get it to the mechanics. I always say and always have had some one special watching over my problems and solving them in one way or another. Just like now.

The next photo upload for today is “shadow”. For some reason all shadows as well as reflections fascinate me. They are a kind of mystery and each a story of light.

The word today is off.  Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator. Confucius.  Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield.  He who gives away shall have real gain. He who subdues himself shall be free; he shall cease to be a slave of passions. The righteous man casts off evil, and by rooting out lust, bitterness, and illusion do we reach Nirvana. Buddha.  Love takes up where knowledge leaves off. Thomas Aquinas.  Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night. Napoleon Bonaparte.  The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices. Frederick the Great.  Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. Henry David Thoreau. Friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off. Saint Francis de Sales.  

The last photo upload for today is “negative space”. To me it is much like a macro or up close photo of  an image. One difference may be a draw to the space around an object. 

Article: I’m eager to learn how similar human perception and feelings can come about in any period in history. It is interesting to compare the two. The article is about “culture wars” and how they can be very much alike in different time in history. The title is “St. Augustine was no stranger to culture wars – and has something to say about today’s”. This article was written by a university executive director of program for leadership and character.  The author was reminded of a “thinker” from 1,600 years ago when considering the feeling in our country with the upcoming election on our horizon. He related the “Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential thinkers in Western history, holding sway across religious and political divides”. Also according to the article this Catholic saint, was also “foundational to Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin”. The article pointed out that the St. Augustine’s name was mention by some of the members of our political parties, Joe Biden in his inaugural address and JD Vance mention his as his patron saint. I learned in the article that “Augustine’s reputation in his own day might give us pause”. He was born in the fouth century C.E.  In North Africa and was “often seen as a culture warrior”. During his time Christianity was a “persecuted sect”, then became the “official religion of the empire – but not without controversy”. Augustine wrote a book called “City of God” in which he defends this religion  against ““pagan” critics who blamed Christianity for the sack of Rome”.  Because of the violence of the time he “advocated for political and religious unity”. He tried to give advice that offered a “vision of the political community, or “commonwealth,” that emphasizes “peace” and “concord” among diverse citizens”. He tried to speak about peace in efforts to find common ground. The author of this article mention Augustine’s book and mentioned that the writings didn’t “require diverse citizens to share the same faith or ideology”. He wanted people to unite by a common agreement not that need not be religious. The need to be  “citizens with different beliefs to agree on specific common goods without agreeing completely on why”. The article stated that “Harmonizing with other citizens requires careful attunement, attentive listening and sustained practice”. In March of 2024 The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted a poll and found that “most Americans agree that specific rights.....are essential to the country’s identity, as are freedoms of speech, of religion and of the press”. Another poll found that the county is more divided than in the past. The article ended by saying that “differences are real, and conflict is inevitable. But as Augustine believed, identifying common goods and engaging others on their own terms might help diverse citizens find concord”.

I think I will order DoorDash from DingHo. Sue doesn’t ’like Chinese food but they have some American style also. 

Joy 

the end of October brings collages of for of my photo group’s photos of the day






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