Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.
- Warren Buffett -
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Put On The New Man
The people who think they know say that given a second chance a man will make the same mess of his life he did the first time. Playwrights and novelists over the years have never given us hope that reliving our lives would have any different result the second time around. Our scientists and psychologists seem to agree. Even such disparate thinkers as Bucky Fuller and B.F. Skinner are together on this. ""We shouldn't try to change people," wrote Skinner. "We should change the world in which people live." It is a thought Fuller often expressed.
Some, of course, take an opposing view. The people who deal in Faith, Hope, and Charity seem to think that one day is as good as another for changing your personal history. Philosophers since recorded time have recommended it. From Pindar to Emerson they have told us to become the thing we are, to fulfill our design, to choose our own reality, our own way of being a person. What they didn't tell us was how to do it, or how difficult it would be. When Paul said to put on the New Man, he reminded us of the unlimited potential of man, but the lives we lead constantly remind us of the obvious limits to this potential.
Clearly the Good Life is not as accessible as the books say. And yet it is not from want of trying that we have failed. We start our new lives with almost as much frequency as Mark Twain gave up smoking (thousands of times) and with about the same success.
Can tomorrow be the first day of the rest of our life? And can that life be completely different from the mess it is today? The answer, of course, has to be yes, or all those great men wouldn't have said so. But how do you go about it?
The first thing to do, it seems to me, is to retrace your steps. To go back to that period of your life when you were operating as a successful human being (although you most likely weren't aware of it). To go back to those times when your soul, your self, was not what you possessed or your social standing or other people's opinion but a totality of body, mind, and spirit. And that totality interacted freely with your total environment.
Somewhere past childhood that integration of self and that response to the universe began to dissolve. We came more and more to associate who we were with what we owned, to judge ourselves by other people's opinions, to make our decisions by other people's rules, to live by other people's values. Coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, our physical condition began to decline. We had reached the fork in the road. We took the well-traveled path.
One who took the path overgrown with weeds and rarely used was Henry David Thoreau. The world knows Thoreau as a man of intellect, a shrewd observer, a rebel against conventional values. What has not been emphasized was that he was an athlete, and a fine one. He was, of course, a great walker. This kept him in prime physical condition. "I inhabit my body, " he wrote, "with inexpressible satisfaction: both its weariness and its refreshments." It would not be too much to say that Thoreau's other activities derived their vitality from the vitality of his body. That the self that was Thoreau depended on being as physical as he could be. And that no life can be completely lived without being lived completely on a physical level.
If Thoreau was right, the way to find who we are is through our bodies. The way to relive our life is to go back to the physical self we were before we lost our way. That tuned-in self that could listen with the third ear, was aware of the fourth dimension, and had a sixth sense about the forces around it. That tuned-in self that was sensitive and intuitive, and perceived what is no longer evident to our degenerating bodies.
This may come as a surprise even to physical fitness leaders. Physical fitness programs have long been based on the desire to lead a long life, to forestall heart attacks, to feel better generally or to improve your figure. No one ever told us that the body determined our mental and spiritual energies. That with the new body we can put on the new person and build a new life, the life we were always designed to lead but lost with the body we enjoyed in our youth.
Now, common sense will tell you that you'll never see twenty-eight again, but the facts on fitness show that almost anyone can reach levels of vigor and strength and endurance equal to most of the twenty-eight-year-olds in this country. Given the good fortune to find an athletic activity that fits him, a man can recapture his youth and a second chance to listen to what his total self held important at that time.
If you think that life has passed you by, or even worse, that you are living someone else's life, you still can prove the expert's wrong. Tomorrow can be the first day of the rest of your life. All you have to do is to follow Thoreau. Inhabit your body with delight, with inexpressible satisfaction; both its weariness and its refreshments.
And you can do it if you'll just go back to that fork in the road.
- George Sheehan -
Some, of course, take an opposing view. The people who deal in Faith, Hope, and Charity seem to think that one day is as good as another for changing your personal history. Philosophers since recorded time have recommended it. From Pindar to Emerson they have told us to become the thing we are, to fulfill our design, to choose our own reality, our own way of being a person. What they didn't tell us was how to do it, or how difficult it would be. When Paul said to put on the New Man, he reminded us of the unlimited potential of man, but the lives we lead constantly remind us of the obvious limits to this potential.
Clearly the Good Life is not as accessible as the books say. And yet it is not from want of trying that we have failed. We start our new lives with almost as much frequency as Mark Twain gave up smoking (thousands of times) and with about the same success.
Can tomorrow be the first day of the rest of our life? And can that life be completely different from the mess it is today? The answer, of course, has to be yes, or all those great men wouldn't have said so. But how do you go about it?
The first thing to do, it seems to me, is to retrace your steps. To go back to that period of your life when you were operating as a successful human being (although you most likely weren't aware of it). To go back to those times when your soul, your self, was not what you possessed or your social standing or other people's opinion but a totality of body, mind, and spirit. And that totality interacted freely with your total environment.
Somewhere past childhood that integration of self and that response to the universe began to dissolve. We came more and more to associate who we were with what we owned, to judge ourselves by other people's opinions, to make our decisions by other people's rules, to live by other people's values. Coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, our physical condition began to decline. We had reached the fork in the road. We took the well-traveled path.
One who took the path overgrown with weeds and rarely used was Henry David Thoreau. The world knows Thoreau as a man of intellect, a shrewd observer, a rebel against conventional values. What has not been emphasized was that he was an athlete, and a fine one. He was, of course, a great walker. This kept him in prime physical condition. "I inhabit my body, " he wrote, "with inexpressible satisfaction: both its weariness and its refreshments." It would not be too much to say that Thoreau's other activities derived their vitality from the vitality of his body. That the self that was Thoreau depended on being as physical as he could be. And that no life can be completely lived without being lived completely on a physical level.
If Thoreau was right, the way to find who we are is through our bodies. The way to relive our life is to go back to the physical self we were before we lost our way. That tuned-in self that could listen with the third ear, was aware of the fourth dimension, and had a sixth sense about the forces around it. That tuned-in self that was sensitive and intuitive, and perceived what is no longer evident to our degenerating bodies.
This may come as a surprise even to physical fitness leaders. Physical fitness programs have long been based on the desire to lead a long life, to forestall heart attacks, to feel better generally or to improve your figure. No one ever told us that the body determined our mental and spiritual energies. That with the new body we can put on the new person and build a new life, the life we were always designed to lead but lost with the body we enjoyed in our youth.
Now, common sense will tell you that you'll never see twenty-eight again, but the facts on fitness show that almost anyone can reach levels of vigor and strength and endurance equal to most of the twenty-eight-year-olds in this country. Given the good fortune to find an athletic activity that fits him, a man can recapture his youth and a second chance to listen to what his total self held important at that time.
If you think that life has passed you by, or even worse, that you are living someone else's life, you still can prove the expert's wrong. Tomorrow can be the first day of the rest of your life. All you have to do is to follow Thoreau. Inhabit your body with delight, with inexpressible satisfaction; both its weariness and its refreshments.
And you can do it if you'll just go back to that fork in the road.
- George Sheehan -
Thursday, February 26, 2009
J.K. Rowling
"If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."
From the Harvard University commencement speech
given by J.K. Rowling on June 5, 2008
From the Harvard University commencement speech
given by J.K. Rowling on June 5, 2008
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
OFFICIAL College Basketball Rankings
Men's Division I
1. Pittsburgh - Almost as physical as the Pitt football team.
2. Memphis - Run and gun, perfect for March Madness.
3. Louisville - Similar to Memphis, free throws are a problem.
4. Connecticut - Bounced back vs So. Fla. at Marquette Wed.
5. North Carolina - Lost in OT to Maryland, Ga Tech next.
6. Oklahoma - Not the same team without Blake Griffin.
7. Michigan State - Bad loss to Purdue, nice win vs Wisconsin.
8. Arizona State - They make the Washington, Wash St. trip next.
9. Clemson - Needs to bounce back from Duke loss, Va. Tech next.
10. Missouri - Huge game at Kansas on Sunday.
11. Marquette - Beat G'town. UConn, Louisville next, ouch!
12. Villanova - Nice win at Syaracuse. Host Hoyas Saturday.
13. Wake Forest - Struggling, need some quality wins.
14. Butler - Young, talented Bulldogs whipped Davidson.
15. Kansas - Jayhawks are 10th youngest team in the country.
16. Purdue - Great Big Ten win vs Michigan State.
17. Gonzaga - On a roll since Memphis loss.
18. Florida State - Nice wins vs Miami, Va. Tech. At BC next
19. Washington - Led by 5-8 guard Isaiah Thomas. Nice name.
20. UCLA - What's going on here? They need quality wins.
21. Illinois - Lost to Penn St. 38-33. Should they even be ranked?
22. Boston College - Eagles came back down to earth vs Miami.
23. Texas, Arlington - Movin' Mavs have won 5 straight.
24. Providence - Friars bubble might have burst.
25. Massachusetts - Minutemen need to win A-10 Tourney.
Men's Division II
1. Findlay - Undefeated Oilers host arch-rival Ashland Thursday.
2. CW Post - 22-0, Dowling and Adelphi close out reg. season.
3. Bentley - Can lock up NE-10 title Saturday vs Pace.
4. Saint Anselm - 14-12 Hawks host St. Rose tonight.
5. Bridgeport - 18-7 Purple Knights are at Mercy Wednesday.
Men's Division III
1.Saint Thomas - Tommies finish regular season 25-0.
2. Washington U. - Lost to Rochester 70-69. Chicago next.
3. UMass Dartmouth -22-3, hosts UMass-Boston tonight.
4. Newbury - Opens NECC Tourney vs Daniel Webster.
5. Framingham State - 14-11, close reg. season vs Wor. St. tonight.
Women's Division I
1. Connecticut - 10 point win vs ND was closest game all year.
2. Oklahoma - Tough schedule. Beat Baylor, lost to A&M by 1.
3. Stanford - 9 straight wins, at UCLA Friday.
4. California - 22-3 Lady Bears are at USC & UCLA this week.
5. Boston College - Close out regular season vs MD & NC State.
1. Pittsburgh - Almost as physical as the Pitt football team.
2. Memphis - Run and gun, perfect for March Madness.
3. Louisville - Similar to Memphis, free throws are a problem.
4. Connecticut - Bounced back vs So. Fla. at Marquette Wed.
5. North Carolina - Lost in OT to Maryland, Ga Tech next.
6. Oklahoma - Not the same team without Blake Griffin.
7. Michigan State - Bad loss to Purdue, nice win vs Wisconsin.
8. Arizona State - They make the Washington, Wash St. trip next.
9. Clemson - Needs to bounce back from Duke loss, Va. Tech next.
10. Missouri - Huge game at Kansas on Sunday.
11. Marquette - Beat G'town. UConn, Louisville next, ouch!
12. Villanova - Nice win at Syaracuse. Host Hoyas Saturday.
13. Wake Forest - Struggling, need some quality wins.
14. Butler - Young, talented Bulldogs whipped Davidson.
15. Kansas - Jayhawks are 10th youngest team in the country.
16. Purdue - Great Big Ten win vs Michigan State.
17. Gonzaga - On a roll since Memphis loss.
18. Florida State - Nice wins vs Miami, Va. Tech. At BC next
19. Washington - Led by 5-8 guard Isaiah Thomas. Nice name.
20. UCLA - What's going on here? They need quality wins.
21. Illinois - Lost to Penn St. 38-33. Should they even be ranked?
22. Boston College - Eagles came back down to earth vs Miami.
23. Texas, Arlington - Movin' Mavs have won 5 straight.
24. Providence - Friars bubble might have burst.
25. Massachusetts - Minutemen need to win A-10 Tourney.
Men's Division II
1. Findlay - Undefeated Oilers host arch-rival Ashland Thursday.
2. CW Post - 22-0, Dowling and Adelphi close out reg. season.
3. Bentley - Can lock up NE-10 title Saturday vs Pace.
4. Saint Anselm - 14-12 Hawks host St. Rose tonight.
5. Bridgeport - 18-7 Purple Knights are at Mercy Wednesday.
Men's Division III
1.Saint Thomas - Tommies finish regular season 25-0.
2. Washington U. - Lost to Rochester 70-69. Chicago next.
3. UMass Dartmouth -22-3, hosts UMass-Boston tonight.
4. Newbury - Opens NECC Tourney vs Daniel Webster.
5. Framingham State - 14-11, close reg. season vs Wor. St. tonight.
Women's Division I
1. Connecticut - 10 point win vs ND was closest game all year.
2. Oklahoma - Tough schedule. Beat Baylor, lost to A&M by 1.
3. Stanford - 9 straight wins, at UCLA Friday.
4. California - 22-3 Lady Bears are at USC & UCLA this week.
5. Boston College - Close out regular season vs MD & NC State.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Election That Never Ends
Believe it or not, the election held on November 4, 2008 to choose a U.S. Senator for the state of Minnesota is still not over.
First, the incumbent, Norm Coleman, had the lead, gave a victory speech, and declared himself the winner. Then, Al Franken, the challanger and former Saturday Night Live comedian, asked for a recount. Amazingly, the recount gave Franken a 225 vote lead.
Since then, they have battled in court over every vote. The trial, with a three judge panel, has been going on for five weeks with no end in sight. Franken's lead is still around 200 votes and it looks like he might be declared the winner.
But wait! If he loses the trial, Norm Coleman may take the case to the United States Supreme Court. Obama might be in his second term before Minnesota gets its' second senator.
First, the incumbent, Norm Coleman, had the lead, gave a victory speech, and declared himself the winner. Then, Al Franken, the challanger and former Saturday Night Live comedian, asked for a recount. Amazingly, the recount gave Franken a 225 vote lead.
Since then, they have battled in court over every vote. The trial, with a three judge panel, has been going on for five weeks with no end in sight. Franken's lead is still around 200 votes and it looks like he might be declared the winner.
But wait! If he loses the trial, Norm Coleman may take the case to the United States Supreme Court. Obama might be in his second term before Minnesota gets its' second senator.
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