INTERESTING TIMES $30

We live in interesting times! Yesterday was the second inauguration of Donald Trump. It was also Martin Luther King Day… and the world continues to march forward.

Like many people, I feel an odd mixture of ennui and fretfulness most of the time lately. It sits in my abdomen unchanging and I tune it out as best I can in order to get some work done, make myself lunch etc…

I do remain optimistic though, for two reasons.

First, I remind myself that the history of human kind has always moved in cycles, between periods of tumult and stretches of relative calm. And when I look back and see the path that we have traveled, from the 1920s and 30s to now, I certainly see an “arc of the moral universe” that has bent “toward justice”.

Second, Optimism is a choice and a strategy. Perhaps it’s an imperative.

A LOT ON MY MIND $10

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I lifted this motto from Doug Stanhope’s comedy. It offers a very good description of how I live my life. I believe that there are times when embracing wildness is healthy and too much restraint is not.

I didn’t always believe that however. I lived a life of very strict sobriety and restraint for 11 years. Not a single drop of alcohol or coffee or any other intoxicants. Not because of any addiction, I just valued that kind of control.

I’m no longer that way now, but I still value temperance a great deal and when I need to, I go for very long stretches of strict self-discipline.

I think it is possible to be addicted to temperance. Everything in moderation. Including moderation.

Quick note for the record, I’m not referring here to people who have identified their own addiction and instituted a zero-tolerance policy for themselves. This, I respect very much and I do not view this decision as an addiction to temperance. In my opinion, being alive is one of the most difficult things one could ever do!

DON’T WAIT! PUZZLE $25