October 2, 2026 a thought for today, One does not ring a bell for the deaf. Welsh  Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “a is for...”. I used an old photo I have in the archives of my sisters car after an accident, a is for accident. No one was injured. 

The next assignment was “my choice” and one of my “in camera filters”. It is not quite as pronounced as I was trying for but passable. 

The last upload was “work”. This was taken a few years ago before I was retired. It was taken on my way to work. It could have been taken most any time with road work a constant thing. 

Life today. I made a bit of a change to my “regular” routine for most Fridays, I changed my curbside grocery pick up from Saturday to today. There is a memorial service at church tomorrow at a time I am normally tied up. A thing I did not know when I made the change was that we were supposed to have some strong rains today. I have a little problem getting the groceries into the house by myself when it is pouring down rain. As it turned out the rain had taken a break during the time of pick up and of getting from the car to the house. 

I had the letter started and part of todays photos picked when I left for the store. Usually Fridays are a relaxed kind of productive day, the change made it a little more “scheduled”. 

I left the groceries to be put away for a little while so that I could get back to my back burner/downsizing list sooner. Some of the things on the list are “fun”. It helps break up the “must be done now” things. 

One of the things on my back burner/downsizing list is shredding old paper work including receipt and tax papers from five or more years ago. My point in bringing this up is that I am using some of the shredded slips of paper in my Christmas paper quilling project for this year. I am trying to have a bit of a jump on getting ready. I work slowly so that I can enjoy what I am doing as I get them finished without that “deadline” feeling. I do the paper quilling in the evening while I am in the lounge chair. 

The word to ponder today is down. How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. David Thoreau. It is a mistake to regard age as a downhill grade toward dissolution. The reverse is true. As one grows older, one climbs with surprising strides. George Sand. Worries go down better with soup than without. Jewish Proverb. Be courteous, be obliging, but don't give yourself over to be melted down for the benefit of the tallow trade. George Eliot. Cease to ask what the morrow will bring forth. And set down as gain each day that Fortune grants. Horace. Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion... or you shall learn nothing. Thomas H. Huxley. We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning. Henry Ward Beecher. A true philosopher is like an elephant; he never puts the second foot down until the first one is solidly in place. Fontenelle. The road up and the road down is one and the same. Heraclitus. Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. Aristotle. Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Love is like a tree, it grows of its own accord, it puts down deep roots into our whole being. Victor Hugo. Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined. Patrick Henry.  The way by which you may get money almost without exception leads downward. Henry David Thoreau.  The surest method against scandal is to live it down by perseverance in well doing. Boerhaave.  The brave workman... must replace the grace or elegance forfeited, by the merit of the work done. Ralph Waldo Emerson.    

Article summary. I am one of those people who don’t deal with change easily so making choices is important. I also would like to consider the act of making a choice with another person, thereby having one more point of view. I am alone so making choices is a big sticking point in my life even ones that are not “messy”. The title is Making good choices when life gets messy – practical wisdom relies on human judgment, not rules, Tim Hulsey, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Tennessee. At theconversation.com. I realized once I really paid attention that I may have summarized this article before, if so maybe a second time will ingrain it for my own use more strongly. I will finish it maybe with new insight. It opens with the author telling about having a student who had started a “cheating ring” and got caught. With tears he related that his mother was raising him alone and he didn’t’ want to “crush” her by being “dismissed from the university”. She called his mother with him in the office, she gave him the phone, apparently his mother “chewed him out”. The teacher felt that was more punishment than she could have given herself. She further said that calling his mother ended being “practical wisdom” thereby making a good decision with no “clear rules” on how to do it. So she went on to mention some “rules” about making those decisions, taking the right action at the right time. Apparently there is a name for this kind of thinking, phronesis.  This is Greek meaning something that is practical action, beyond a rule book and a link to ethics. I gather that using this technique helps make better decisions. My problem is I am a “this moment in time” kind of person and one who “reacts to an action” at the time of the “action”. Maybe my answer should be just don’t “react”. That is what I would have to learn. I did some research on this point “react to an action” and found that that is an instinct and a trigger. It should be “responding” to the action with deliberation and being proactive. In other words practice not “reacting” to things, think first. This would be relying on past experience, quick reflection, and developing a habit of recall, which would be knowing when to hold back. I am learning with age and experience that many times it is best to keep my mouth shut and let what will be ...be. After the fact and in an effort to build on wisdom in many occasions it might be worth revisiting what ever the situation and discussing a different way of having seen it.

Photos in my life today 

The first assignment for today is “b is for....”. I was unloading groceries and found these bananas. I felt they would make a good choice for this upload.

The next challenge is another of the “my choice” and another of the “in camera filters”. I’m not sure I like this filter, it is a bit strong. 

The last upload is “fold”. It was an easy on to set up but took a while looking
for something folded, clothing, papers, origami????

DoorDash and pizza sounds good for dinner. 

Joy 

it is another image from the gallery wall, Pink Flowers on Faded Background-soft pink blossoms of delicate petals capturing gentle, warmth of light, a softly faded, minimalist background focuses the flowers, distractions of the world fade away, visual reminder of God's design and tender care,  they reflect a quiet sanctuary of faith, a sense of renewal and hope

want 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)