I Think Therefore I Am and I am therefore I Think?

 I Am Therefore I Think?

Okay…It’s the birthday of one of my philosophical/mathematics hero’s Mr. Rene Descartes.   Oh so you say he said “I think therefore I am.”  Yes he did and perhaps if you read further  it might become known that this was the beginning part….a starting point in the argument of awareness.  Mr. D. Was shooting for using logic to prove consciousness or “beingness.”   Well let’s look at my version for a second.   If you are  you may as well think….right?  Oh and while we are at that why don’t we feel and my goodness imagine that others think and feel too?  

Now Descartes also gave us the notion of linear  coordinates—it is an algebra  and geometry concept (don’t start shaking your head).  These coordinates when applied to a map allow GPS to make sure you can find a bakery near you or find the nearest liquor store in relation to your  mother-in-law.   So this concept he championed  is something you use today or will soon.  You can use these  concepts to figure out the slope of a line which is the key multiplier in the equation y=Mx+b and this in turn permits you to solve for any number of variables in  nearly any two dimensional function.  In short, my affinity  for the beauty of numbers comes pretty much from Descartes to sister Gregory to me…. Where it goes from there… well if it’s a linear path you can figure it out using Descartes….lOL

Anyway so a shout out to Descartes who linked existence to thinking and allowed us to figure out  what in a line  might come next.   so using that idea …

The best time to plant a tree?   20 Years ago!  The second best time to plant a tree?  Today of course.   However…if you didn’t plant a tree 20 years ago is it worth while to regret not doing so?  Well  the next two or three blog entries will explore the idea of regrets (borrowing  from Daniel Pink”s book THE POWER OF REGRETS.  Until then here’s a free bonus bit of philosophy  brought to you by another of my favorite philosophers who reminded us. All we need is love etc….  

Don’t measure  you life in years…. Measure it in friendships…. In which case  I’m an incredibly Rich Hombre 

 Oh and as a little bonus here’s a little rhyme  I’d like to offer from a couple years back ….just replanting a seed for a tree I hope will grow a little more.

Peace

 

ONCE UPON A TIME

Once upon a time not that very long ago

I believed  in Santa Claus because all the elders told me so

I understood that life’s not fair yet thought that we might find that neighborhood

Now instead of helping  others move ahead we just insist  on  sorting bad from good

And once bad once one shall always  be and never be someone like me

And once Judged  once then that’s enough

No need to  hear the facts on stuff

We’ve learned  some things on building tribes but some are really building cults

And acting more like  the school  yard bully than 

thoughtful fully grown adults

I think  inside “what  can  I do? as this challenge just expands?”

What is it that’s expected?  I only have two  hands?

I could scream out from the mountain top—or pray  standing idly by

Or  I could  just  surrender —for is this worth a try? 

Then I use my soul for a tiny little  mirror

And the confusion  seems to melt away the path ahead  gets clearer

As long as I have hands to write and words still leave my tongue

My joy will battle every fear and I’ll stay forever young

I’ll gather all the joy I can and  give what I can away

When shall this start you ponder?  It starts right  now today!

Find some Peace  and Joy  Come What May

It’s tax season time for reforms

  

 The Call for Real (World) Tax Reform

It’s getting on to late March and in these United States….all of them it’s tax season.  Yep, some states don’t have Individual Income  Taxes and some localities don’t have them, however each year we have the feds who claim the common person has representation and thus well we can’t dress up  and pour tea into the harbor and shout down with taxation with out representation.  

Now some comments about who represents you and how well could be offered  but we have those arguments enough—they are called elections.  Oh and goodness we don’t want to look too closely at what these representatives  do or decide to spend  our tax dollars on, however maybe we could take a Seeking Peace and Joy Universe look at what get taxed, what might be useful deductions and credits etc.  

What is being proposed here  are “big” and “little”  reforms and of course it depends upon your perspective  which are which.  A

One final caveat…. 

As you read through this it is altogether  possible  to say—these things are impossible—well have you ever spied the actual laws that spell out the tax code or the law surrounding their interpretation?  If human beings are capable and take some pride in creating this load of language…then it might be argued the claims of impossibilities… well just don’t really hold  water.  

So here are  Five Overdue Tax Reforms, Credits, and Deductions.  

The bipartisan Legislation Deduction

Since we have worked so hard lately. On making sure people know how. Much some people are not like other people in our politics and our communities, it is time to work deliberately to find common goals and  to work on on common needs.  Therefore, I propose  a bipartisan  deduction  of 7%  of everyone’s  tax bill in a congressional district get applied for every bill your representative  authors and  passes  width any two members of the opposition party.  Now they have to write it, submit it to both houses of congress and get it signed by the president… it has to become law.  If your house rep or Senator  gets 7 of these done in a year… holy cow what tax cut that would be.   It would also demonstrate that legislators are representing all their constituents  rather  than just their base.   

The “New Blood” Deducton

Let’s assume that we vote for new people to represent us because we want our elected officials to improve.  However, as Newton’s laws  (who voted on these?)  indicate  inertia  exists….. Hence let’s provide a 10% tax reduction for every  district or state that votes in a new House Rep. or senator.  Given the life expectancy of folks when our federal government was designed there counldn’t have been an anticipation of politicians spending decades in either the house or senate chamber.  

That’s Two…. You see taxes need to be linked with who represents us and how not  just on spending.  

Health Care  Tax Reform

We have already tied health insurance  with taxes so don’t start whining now…. Let’s  get some real muscle  behind this.  This is a two pronged proposal.  All citizens should be able to claim a tax credit of  $11.00  per day that they  have to wait for any regular  doctor’s visit and $50.00 for any days waiting for urgent care.  In addition a claim can be made of $2.00  per minute spent in doctor’s office or clinic waiting areas and a special $5.00 claim can be made for every magazine  found over one month old or for any television tuned to a cooking or home and gardening channel for more than 30 minutes.  

Now you are thinking  the tax chests would be empty?   Not so fast.  These tax funds would be collected  from the pharmaceutical  industry as they would be taxed $100.00 for every  add  that urged us to “ask our doctor about” and not just for the add but for every time it is shown.  Also a $50.00 charge can be made to every lawyer who prompts  us to call them after an accident and claims  they will make insurance companies pay.  They can reduce that payment by 10% if they repeat three times in their commercial that  “of course all insured  drivers pay the insurance companies extra every time the insurance companies get sued.  

The Utility Monopoly Relief  Credit

Do you ever look at those bills like your cable bill, phone bill, electric bill, and gas bill?  If you do and read the fine print you will understand  this credit.  First in most areas there are no choices  that are reasonable  when it comes to cable/internet and if you don’t see that as a needed utility these days you live in a country without  taxes called dreamland…..   anyway these companies who are for all practical purposes local and regional monopolies almost always collect a fanchise fee that they are supposed to pay to a government  entity  i some cases.  They always charge the fee no matter where the cash goes.  Most of these  entities advertise their services and there generous guarantees for faster and more reliable on television and the radio.  Who pays for that… we doWat say you that we get five bucks for every one of these adds we see and can document?    Oh  and if you still get a print bill from these people…. How about we tax them. Per page of extra filler they put in their envelopes?  Seriously…. Leave out the filler  and maybe burn it to produce some of the energy you are charging me for and then  slash my charges.

Finally….

The Your Call is important … we’re experiencing. A higher call volume than normal deduction…

Social Security, the IRS, Amtrak, the airlines and all the utilities  mentioned above….. they all have automated  answering of calls and let’s see how important our calls really are shall we?  Let’s tax them for every minute they put a caller on hold…lets say a nickel. A minute for starters.  Now the entities  that are governmental  will get the tax collected from their personnel salaries and the campaign funds of all politicians elected .  Now the callers are eligible for three cents of that Michelle and the other two cents can be used to hire actual human beings to answer calls and provide service.  Oh and let’s add an in the “I’ve heard this announcement  already” fee of $4.00  to be collected for every recorded  announcement that tells us we can do this online or advertised any other thing…. That we have to listen to more than once while  on hold.  

Why are these “seeking peace and joy” tax reforms?

You see when we wait online or on the phone it is anxiety provoking which negatively impacts our peace.  When our elected leaders start following the love of power more than the power of love we rarely enjoy the joy of identifying and meeting common needs or goals.  When we worry more about  the business of health than the beauty of being healed and healthy we all lose.  We have chosen the policies, practices, and processes we use now and if you don’t believe me go outside.   Try to find a squirrel who has placed another squirrel on hold or listen closely to see if your puppy asks you to “ask the vet about…”

Oh well give unto Caesar 

What’s Your. Day?

 

Raise  Your Glass and Some Intersting  Questions

So Saints Preserve Us it’s St. Patty’s  Day!

…And having some Irish blood flowing through my veins I’ll be taking a sip or two of the water of life later today or earlier today depending upon when you might be reading.  Due to these obligations I’d better get right to the point (which is not the Irish  way).  If you don’t know  some things already it’s time.

St. Patrick died on St. Patick’s day in 460 A.D.  or C.E. As it is now known.  What most folks would swear to is that he was the most Irish person to ever walk the Earth… well not so.  In fact if you have any Irish blood in you then you are more Irish than he.  

Not even Irish?  Bloody not!  Not  even named Patrick.  

This saint was born  in “England” part of the Roman Empire and to Roman parents.  His given name was Maewyn Succat.  

His Irish  experience started as a slave  taken to the Isle when captured by Irish pirates at the age of 16.  After toiling for sometime in several jobs including. That of Shepherd he was able to stow away  on a ship back to England.  It was only at this point he found. The Lord and started to preach the word—and going back to Erin was his purpose  of faith.  

Okay…not Irish, not originally Christian, not Patrick—what else?????

He was known for wearing blue!  

So one might be on the verge of kissing the Blarney  Stone Good-bye…but wait…

Let’s look at this from the Seeking Peace and Joy perspective.  

The actual “Saint Patrick” life is one thing yet he went forth and created a legendary experience to be interpreted by others and now celebrated by millions.  Can we have experiences that we. Or others can learn from and interpret  in different terms than we can imagine now…. I’d bet so?   Can we go into unfamiliar lands and have less than wonderful experiences and then refresh and reframe. In ways designed to help others and well become local hero’s?   Maybe….

In fact, maybe we could start  by imagining  what our “st. —insert you name’s—Day would look like.  Would there be drinking, a parade and a river filled with  some colored liquid?  Would they close the banks even though  you didn’t really discover  any “new world”—how can it be a new sorld if you didn’t leave  the planet?  

The point is…we can have experiences….change as people…have the grace to reconnect with  some people who treated us poorly and find peace and joy and even create it for others and that’s a pot of gold at the end of any rainbow Danny Boy

time to go celebrate!  

A short salute to the courage of the creators

Finding A Voice

Every now and again the universe sparks someone’s talent and if the right person listens at the right time…well then something unique appears and then….

If we are lucky it leaks out into the light of day and we get the chance to experience it.  There is a music video at the end of the rhyme that might just fit that bill if you have the notion that you want to engage in the listening.  

The artist decided to pick up his guitar and write the song based upon people he heard expressing themselves and describing their lives.  He did this to present his understanding and honor their experiences.  Seeking Peace and Joy is all about engaging in and honoring experiences as they happen.   However first, I must honor my experience of running into a phrase over the weekend and it belongs in a tiny  poetic snippet… This rhyme is a salute to the creative folks out there who step into the glow and share their inspired results.

Like fine wine slightly chilled

With the lamb sweetly grilled

We take in the flavor of the art from the guild

What truths get revealed

As ink will be spilled

Will the hero survive or be betrayed and get killed?

Scenes acted once drilled

Strings strummed plucked and trilled 

Break through the facades

So hearts become filled

So stand and applaud

Throw the artists a bone

They’re inspired by you

Yet mostly work all alone

How they touch your soul?

You may rarely know

But step into the chasm—tap into the glow

Lay waste to your fears and you may begin

Seeing arts everywhere and become the artist within

Here’s that beautiful effort  in a music video…breathe it in and live.

Burlington parks: Learning to play lessons that stay

 Why Stop Playing Around?

a shout  Out to the Parks of My Youth

Regular readers of this blog will notice that I often wander down memory lane but don’t live there.  For me  focusing in on the past seems like a sure-fire  method to pick up more baggage than a “Sampson-ite Storeroom” and dragging baggage around  slows down the seeking peace and joy train.  However, if I open up the baggage and take out the lessons and then let the rest spin on the lost luggage carousel at the airport things seem to work out….so let’s risk a little of that shall we?  

There were lots of parks in the greater West Burlington and Burlington Iowa area.  I suppose I spent  some time spinning, sliding, chasing blowing paper plates, sweating, and scraping up my actual and emotional knees in almost all of them.  For now I’m going to feature  only five.  thinking there’s a statute of limitations on some things let’s start with North Hill Park and Mosquito Park.  These are two parks on the North side of town.  North Hill Park is the first place I saw some of my high school classmates experience the ill-effects of underaged drinking.  It was a classic case of Boone’s Farm meets Ant hill.  The lesson learned learned that night was bellbottomed  cuffed pants could hold some liquid but it wasn’t the fashion statement  that stud was looking for.  It was a lesson in peer pressure and comparing how much  one person could consume verses another.  I wish I’d remembered  that more often in the upcoming years.  

Mosquito park was a place a couple of my friends ran to  hide after egging  some cars near the highway.  we eluded Burlington’s finest there, however that park got the “mosquito” name for a reason as we hid in some decorative hedges and the sparrow-sized insects pretended like it was all you can eat and the “Golden/human Coral.”  Oh and it’s a great place to view  the Mighty Mississippi  River from that side of town as well.  

Perkins Park

No not named after the restaurant —the Railroad  persons…. Was  maybe the  best sledding park as you could start at the top of the hill and wind up across  a street quite some distance away.  This park also had the second best curly-Q slide  and this teeter totter. That was level so you floated back and forth as opposed to up and down where one  person could leave you hanging.   Oh and that’s a lesson I learned from teeter-totters you need some balance to make the experience work most the time and it’s generally not a great idea to leave someone. Else hanging…. It doesn’t go in-noticed and you’ll soon get hung out yourself…paybacks are…as they say a  bit(you know the rest )

The other neat thing about Perkins is that it had these two short foot bridges that were fun to run over or ride your bike over or you could hang out under the bridge even long  before the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

Dankwrdt Park

Now it was connected to my favorite  park and probably would have gotten more credit if it didn’t have it be compared  to that offerrng.  Looking back the strangest feature of this park was that it had some really good slides and swings, however its highlight for many was a decommissioned  jet fighter.  Yes… right there in the park there was a sealed up jet that you could climb all over and imagine you were shooting  down enemy fighters, stopping tanks, and of course we were talking every enemy  from World War I on because that’s what our parents and grandparents  taught us.  I sometimes  shake at the fact that I was thrilled to imagine  destroying  other humans and wonder when we will stop teaching our children that military power can be fun.  Evidence suggests we have some distance to travel.

Crapo Park

This park had it all.  Band Shell,-fountain—winding roads—real Native American  trails-the best curly-Q slide—a double slide  with a fast straight and a double hump option.  It had a skating/duck/goldfish pond and a statue of some guy on a horse (I don’t remember who…. 

There were some tennis courts and horseshoe pits.  I’m not sure whether the pool, the little amusement park, and the put-put golf  and roller rink were officially considered. Crapo…but as a kid and as a teen-Ager I did.  Crapo. Was. A place where we went to hang out as teens and did some well teen-age kid stuff and we now thank the good lord there was no internet then.  For a dozen. Years that park was a place to free my imagination at times, however there was one experience  in the park that I valued above all others and it may have been mine alone.  

There is a horseshoe curve. In one of the park streets and a stone wall keeps  vehicles including. Bicycles from launching river-wards.  That same street winds around and hits the main drag though the park.  This banked horseshoe lane is a one-way path so I would gather  just as much speed  down. That road and then pull my limbs tight into my body coasting at a tremendous pace through the turn.  The speed would gthen carry me quite some way  until  if I ignored the stop sign I could roll all the way. To where the World War II Two anti-aircraft guns stood as sentinels.  What? Mor weapons?  Yes…but by the time I was riding  my bike and owned a 10-speed I didn’t have any desire to play army—also… I had developed a skeptical mind and my curiosity led to me to wonder if we were expecting  an invasion from Illinois.  

What did Ilearn at Crapo?  There were. A lot of experiencing out in the world and some of them. You had. To approach on your own.  Some experiences you shared with others and some…well you will forget about or laugh about later in life.  Oh and that if Peoria decided to attack you should always be locked and loaded.  

So in these parks I learned how to play.  I learned how to explore.  I learned what my body could, could not, should, and should not do….or at least  not do often.  Looking back I might have learned that its okay to run real fast and enjoy the coasting parts too.  I might have figured out from the roller rink that sometimes going around in circles in life  can be fun as long as you are with the right. People.  I learned how to fall down- wipe the dirt off—and try again—but there were times in life I forget  that too…. Mostly I learned that  there are times and places in life that you can approach with curious enthusiasm and regardless of what happened that day there would be other days and maybe that is the lesson that has helped the most in seeking peace and joy.  

Now tomorrow is a short day so the blog will be short but meaningful… I’m sharing an 8-line  rhyme and two song links….one features  a “high-school and park” theme and the other is a recent release from a very talented creative soul who I’ve met just monthsago…. Just like the parks were a place that captured my emotions…this song does that as well… so stay tuned and tonight…. Spring forward in spirit and on the space-time  continuum … Peace-out 

Time to spring ahead and appreciate the park?

 Park Season is “nearly’ Upon Us

This weekend marks the “Spring Forward” point in our time calendar.  Now this blog has had several references to this whole time shifting concept so we’ll only touch upon it “quickly” so that like an hour  on the weekend it doesn’t get skipped altogether.  Some folks continue to think of this skipping  forward  as the loss of an hour of sleep, however, pray tell...let’s flip the script a bit.  You are an hour closer to payday.... you get an hour older without aging  a bit...and best of all since you’ve entered daylight savings time you can take some extra minutes down to the Rolex Chronological credit union and make a deposit  of daylight everyday  until we go back to standard time.  By the way are we at all certain time has standards?  Have you seen your toes lately?  Do you think the time they are experiencing has any standards...if so it certainly has no empathy and probably no morals.  

Anyway enough time used there.... if in fact  we have more usable daylight. It means more time to be spent outdoors and every March 8th, just prior to the change in time,  marks the founding of one of the most remarkable places to spend outdoors—Yellowstone National park.  Now for me  there are some spectacular  parks in the town(s) I gre up so before we go visit ol’faithful a salute to North Hill park and Mosquito Park on  the North side and Perkins, Dankwardt, and of course, Crapo Park on the southside.  Oh and as state parks  go Lake Geode has had some glory days.  

As I plow through here and get ready for park season...maybe this Burlington, Iowa parks need a post of their own and not just a nod....so look for that next... On to Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was our first National  Park and if you are a believer in “go big or go home” this fits the bill at 3400+ square miles.  Oh and speaking of big.... Yellowstone sits  right on top of a huge volcano-like geological feature and thus Old Faitful and it’s pals put on  a boiling liquid show regularly.  So starting  150 years ago Yellowstone became the world’s first.National Park...so the next time  the U. S. Gets called out for not being aware of the planet we can say “we started this.”

Yellowstone  is home to a healthy Grizzly bear population and an abundance of Jerry Lee Lewis  Geologists  who tell us there’s a whole lot of shakin/ goin”  on due to the 1,000 to 3,000 annual earthquakes rumbling through Yellowstone.  Now we’re not talking  Yellowstone being  like the park at your schoolground—you know the one that used to have “monkey bars” anchored in asphalt because  you wanted to maximize the potential for injury made possible by kids  crawling. On metal  bars with bolts to catch scarves on, crossmembers to hit teeth and heads on, and a landing. When you fell that guaranteed you fell on someone else or a non-give surface.  No, while you can run  through and around a lot of parks, Yellowstone would meanrunning around or through someplace the size of Delaware and Rhode Island  combined and it will remain  a better place to visit...unless we can put a fence around  those two states which has been suggested on occasion.  

Yellowstone  calls three different  states home...mostly  in Wyoming but stopping for a cup of coffee. In Montana and a shot of potato vodka in Idaho?  Yellowstone features great water falls and forest land along with hot springs and guessers like old faithful.  Now this spout spurts every 93 minutes on the average And not the same time on the hour every hour as the myth Seems to imply.   On the other hand  why should the park keep track  of time when we decide to skip an hour here and add an hour there and add a whole day every four years?   

Peace and Joy and Yellowstone

Life, like Yellowstone. Has many wonderful features and one might think  it should always be a source of joy,yet like Yellowstone we often have things brewing below the surface and some of them “hot” spring to the surface  regularly.  Life  has massive features that have been  around for what seems like forever and yet events come along  often that shake up  the situations at hand.  Like Yellowstone, we can recognize that life  his a marvelously  complex and changing  place and while we are in it we can view it with curiosity and share its interesting  parts with others.  Are there some  bounds on life...yes...like. Yellowstone...there are some bounds...but the borders of what we can do often exist far beyond  our current visions.   

Anyway speaking about  getting beyond—and time—-this has used about enough to both of those for us today... so more tomorrow with parks....I’m glad we have a National Park system and that life is often like a stroll in the park —-full of grizzly bears, earthquakes, and sitting on disruptive.forces...and still cherished and rightly  so.

More tomorrow  Get ready to Spring....sooon.

Baseball apiece enjoy sort of game?

 In the Ballpark of Seeking Peace and Joy

In the previous entry I hammered out my feelings about the current lock out and I make no bones about it, the owners are allowing the love of power rule over the power of love (the love many fans have for the game and the love many of us would pass on to others).  In terms of seeking peace and joy, baseball is more than a hot dog and a beer or peanuts and Cracker Jack—why?—at least three reasons.

You see….

Baseball is not dictated  by external time.  Nearly all other major team sports, if not all, start with a symbol a horn a whistle and then the clock starts to run and every action has some time components to it.  Baseball starts when the ball comes to the place where the first batter has a chance to observe it, act on it or let it pass and the story of the game at hand comes  about.   The game goes on until the last batter concludes an action and then the results  can be considered and placed into perspective  along with lessons from other games etc.  The pitcher, the fielders, the batters, the umpire, and the fans don’t wait for a two minute warning and aren’t watching  the clock at all as the only thing that counts is what is happening right now.  

There is an expectation of “failures” leading to learning.  

Even the “best” hitters fail to reach base about 6 or 7 times out of ten.  The odds that any pitcher will pitch a no-hit game let alone a “perfect” game are smaller than tiny and all game long we cheer for  our flawed hero’s.  We expect  the hitters to take wicked cuts in situations where they are challenged.  I wonder  how much more interesting life would be if we expected the same of ourselves and those we know?  I wonder. How much more peace and joy would abound if we accepted  that failure would happen often and lessons would be learned.  

All game situations are temporary.

There are  enough games. In a season, enough at bats and enough pitches in each game, that what happened  in one inning or in what at bat in one game comes and goes and each action can be the beginning of a new  plot twist, a new story etc.  So even if todays game was rotten  tomorrow is a different story.  Thus it is. Or can be in life.  

We cheer for people we don’t really know, however, we share a purpose with.

You stand and cheer for your home team.  You don’t really know the players  and they don’t know us, yet because we share a goal we all stand and cheer.  What if, once we made our purpose known,  like-hearted.people would stand and cheer when we had a good day?  

Baseball give the players and the fans plenty of time to talk with each other on and off the field.  While sitting in the stands you can turn to the person next to you and have plenty of time to connect, chat about the game or almost anything.   You can also sit and observe  many parts of the baseball universe and know that many people sitting around you also know and appreciate the subtle  aspects of the life experience you are having in this moment.  

Baseball as a sport gives us all. Of that not to mention all the joys children and their parents get playing and passing it along…maybe that’s for tomorrow.

For now —let’s get the bargaining agreement  done.  

No joy in Mudville and very little peace of mind

 There is no (Peace and) Joy in Mudville 

A Two-Part entry on the Lock-out

Well…there are many reasons why baseball may be  the best sport for seeking peace and joy, however  it’s not reasonable to go forward without claiming my stance in the current baseball lock-out so today’s blog entry. Does just that in an eight line rhyme.  Tomorrow  we will take you out the Ballpark for more.  For.now put me in coach for a few words that reflect  my notions.  

Your mess you could not mop

So some games you chose to chop

More cash you would not drop

Instead you took a flop

The grounders will not hop

Nor will the big bats bop

You rich cats at the top

Will kill the game—so Stop!

Lock Out