Revealed

I’ve been reading this book called 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace. It’s not a long book as there are only 10 secrets but I’ve been pacing myself. I don’t want to quickly burn through all the secrets and then find out that I’m not totally successful and internally full of peace after learning all ten rules.

I think the problem is that the book has a table of contents and each secret represents a chapter. All the table of contents is is a list of the ten secrets for success and inner peace. It’s really hindered my desire to delve into the actual meat of the book. I already have the 10 secrets that are the keys to my success and zen-like calm so why should I waste any time having them explained to me when I could be spending my time and energy taking action based on the secrets and achieve the success I so clearly desire, as is illustrated by the fact that I have this book.

I guess that a secret isn’t necessarily something that fits into a sentence so the ten secrets listed in the table of contents maybe just opening lines to some super powerful life clarifying insights contained within secrets that take upwards of four paragraphs to explain. At the very least, each chapter starts with a quote or two from someone awesome and unique like Shakespeare or Ogdon Nash. I’m five secrets in and so far the quotes have provided the most insight. But, maybe the tenth secret unlocks the true message of the previous nine secrets.

LW

Garbled provisions

The best advice anyone ever gave me was not to take advice from anyone. Every time someone offers me advice now I ignore it and then feel bad for simultaneously ignoring and following the best advice I’ve ever been given. My advice, directly based on this good advice I received, is not to give advice that impales one on the horns of a dilemma. My other advice would be don’t use phrases like “impales on the horns of a dilemma.” That’ll get annoying fast.

There’s an old Scottish saying:
I can’t remember it at the moment, but I seem to recall it really resonating.

Have you ever made a wish and had it not come true?
If so, maybe you just suck at wishing.

I made a hat out of milk cartons yesterday and declared myself king of homemade hats. It wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds.

LW

Perspective

The lamppost outside of my house had moved when I stepped out the front door this morning. It’s usually right in front of my yard but it wasn’t there so I looked down the street and saw it three houses down. I walked down to the lamppost and asked it what was going on. Why the move?

And the lamppost said I left a light on in the living room all night long so the lamppost couldn’t fall asleep. So it moved down the street where things were darker. I think that’s a strange complaint for a lamppost to make. The lamppost didn’t agree.

LW

This is without metaphor

There’s a family of ducks that lives near my house. I noticed them last spring roosting at the base of a pine tree. I live near several lakes but this pine tree is five or six blocks away from the nearest lake or stream. This seems like an odd choice as a home base for a duck. Especially for a duck with little ducklings to look after.

My understanding is that ducks are much more competent in water. They aren’t particularly good fliers and they don’t walk quickly. But, in water they can really haul tail feather (is that a saying in the bird world?). Before seeing this family of ducks I don’t think I’ve ever seen a duck that wasn’t either in water or on its way to water. So I noticed them and I’ve been keeping an eye on them.

I feel like these are my ducks. Like they’re mascots for the neighborhood where I live. Initially I thought it was sort of a bad sign that our mascot ducks don’t have the sense to stay near water. They nestle in the uncomfortable and dry pine. I think, though, that these are some ducks who are bucking the system. I’ve got a family of ducks with a maverick leader duck who have decided to go their own way rather than work within the normal duck system of doing things.

Sure, the ducks may not fit in with other ducks. And they have to walk farther and work harder for food and their way of approaching life doesn’t really make sense for ducks. In fact they make their ducklings’ lives less safe and more stressful and likely shorter. But, these ducks do it their own way. And that’s as good as having an interesting personality. Isn’t that really all we can ask of a duck?

LW

Apiculture

How Bees Dance When They Find Food