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My Summer With Montaigne: “Of solitude”, pt. I
I thought it fitting to start this little project by considering Montaigne’s writings on solitude. I say this because this summer, like the past half dozen summers, I am again out in the woods and in the mountains. Though this existence isn’t solitude in the extreme, it is a degree of solitude. There are far Continue reading
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My Summer With Montaigne
A few years ago I fell into the habit of devoting a summer season to reading a specific writer, or genre. It was not intentional, it just evolved that way. This summer is no different, well, slightly different. Ten years ago I read Proust for the first time. Six of the seven volumes of À Continue reading
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Toward Wisdom #3
Toward Wisdom is a series of thoughts in the age of Covid-19 * * * The last words of the Buddha were recorded to be: “Things fall apart; tread the path with care.” Siddhartha Gautama was born around 480 BCE. He wasn’t called the Buddha until a couple centuries later. It means The Awakened One. Continue reading
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The Most Influential Book
Château de Montaigne where the Essays where written. I was recently asked about the book that has exerted the most influence over me. This is a big question, as I’ve been a reader all of my life. I’m no longer a young man and that means a lot of books have contributed to my reading life. Continue reading
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The action of no action.
We’d been camping in the Laguna Mountains for a few days and had the place to ourselves. We had no internet and no cell coverage. Our days were lazy and we filled them with books, walks, and the occasional nap. Breaking the habit of connectivity is difficult and a thing probably best experienced only when Continue reading
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Waiting for my work to begin.
It is reported that the last words of John Stuart Mill were, “My work is done.” I have a minor obsession regarding last words. Perhaps, if there is to be a summary of one’s life, it is best captured in the last words, assuming the dying is cogent and a degree of ambition still evident. As Continue reading
...the house I live in... 