September 26, 2026 a thought for today, In calm water every ship has a good captain. Swedish Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “in my bathroom”. Well, it what it is, a tub, a bowl, another accessory. This one is a standard for this neck of the woods. 

The next assignment was “my choice” and one of my series of an “in camera
filter”. This was a pink rose with babies breath that I shot some time ago. I was able to pull it up and use a filter on it  to get this effect. 

The last upload was “peace in nature” . This is part of a scene in the metro park near my home. 

Life today. Yesterday was the day for finishing the newsletter. I have a pardner who helps with that. Dorothy was my partner for years but has recently moved to another city. Now I have a new helper. She missed coming yesterday so I went ahead and finished on my own. It took longer and I didn’t have the chance for a “bonding” chat. I think she may have forgotten. 

Today was grocery pick-up day. The weather today is better than last week when I had to move the groceries from the car to the house between rain drops. They are all put away now. 

Before I left for the groceries I got the dish washer loaded and started after I cleared out the frig. I also got a bit of plant watering done on the indoor house plants. 

Since I got all the groceries up, I was able to get some work done on the Christmas calendar, the placards and my book. 

All that is left to do before I make some potato soup is finishing this letter and uploading the photos that I got filed and ready. 

This is a perfect autumn day. Yesterday was nearly as nice for the OSU football game. 

The word to ponder today is distress. If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is Godlike. Horace Mann. The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress. Confucius. The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. Thomas Paine. Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. Let him who expects one class of society to prosper into highest degree, while the other is in distress, try whether one side of his face can smile while the other is pinched. Thomas Fuller. The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. Thomas Paine. Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse. George Washington. Beauty in distress is much the most affecting beauty. Edmund Burke. Fortitude is a great help in distress. Plautus. In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength. Robert E. Lee. There is no distress so complete but that even in the most critical moments the inexplicable sunrise of hope is seen in its depths. Victor Hugo. A mere trifle consoles us, for a mere trifle distresses us. Blaise Pascal. The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor. Thomas Malthus. When people fall in deep distress, their native sense departs. Sophocles.

Article summary. This was a quick pick. I saw the words happiness and the meaning of life and wanted to examine more closely. The title is Happiness and meaning in life: The sweet spot where they meet. Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg. At theconversation.com. It began by telling how doing things that make us happy don’t always make it more meaningful. The author mentioned that some philosophers call it “hypothetical” thought experiments, imagining a life spent in a virtual reality machine”, thinking about doing pleasant or interesting things but it turns out it’s more a life of “rolling a rock up hill”. On the other had when we do something “meaningful” it doesn’t necessarily make us “happier”. Then the author mentions people like Nelson Mandela who was in prison for 27 years trying in his way to make a point about apartheid and other “heros” who have giving up comfort and safety for others. These instances “are cases of happy meaninglessness and unhappy meaningfulness, respectively”. The author says to think of happiness as a series of pleasant experiences that add meaningfulness.  He mentions that many of the world’s religions believe there are ways to make these go together. According to the article these ways include the idea of “a spiritual realm that includes a soul.” He thinks we should be working toward “both happiness and meaningfulness” in our actions. One way would be to do something in a day that is meaningful then in another part of the day something that is happiness alone. However he suggests we try to combine the two sensations at the same time, one being a reaction of “esteem and admiration” the other “by nature” tends to be pleasant. He suggests gardening as one way of doing that. Other ways he suggests are writing, taking care of a pet, or conversing with children about their world, or encouraging a group of people to work together. All of those leading to a ways to “spend a good amount of time living in the “sweet spot” where they (meaningfulness and happiness) meet.”

Photos in my life today

The first upload for today is “a corner of my room”. This is one of the corners I am closest to for most of the day. It is right behind my desk chair. 

The next assignment is “fall leaves”. The leaves haven’t been changing so much yet but I found a couple whose leaves were beginning to turn color. 

The last challenge was “childhood”. This is an image from many years ago.  It
is my first born. She was enjoying a walk with tennis shoes. 

Potato soup sounds good for dinner. 

Joy

this bonus image is another of the in camera filter images I uploaded to Fine Art America

ant to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)