Author Archives: jimwdollar

01 The movie “Groundhog Day” is my template, pattern, model, for waking up. We all wake up the way Bill Murry/Phil Connors wakes up. Murry’s/Connors’ advantage in the movie is that nothing changes until he does. With us, everything is changing all the time, and we have something else to see before we have seenContinue reading “May 30, 2021”

01 We live to increase our net worth annually. It would be better for all concerned if we lived to maintain our balance and harmony, in the service of our original nature. We think nothing of sacrificing balance, harmony and original nature in the service of our net worth. And wonder why we are notContinue reading “May 29, 2021”

01 The first rule of life is to live truthfully. The second rule of life is to live compassionately. Until we get those two rules down, we are only pretending to be alive, wrapped up as we are in denial and greed. The third rule of life is to live in the service of balanceContinue reading “May 27, 2021”

o1 Think of the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell as Bribery and Extortion. It makes sense, coming as they do from the priests of organized religion. It is a rule never mentioned: First came religion, then came theology. Religion’s primary motivation is not serving its theology. Its theology is a tool it uses to keepContinue reading “May 26, 2021”

01 Can you bear the pain? Will you bear the pain? Why bear the pain? For what are we bearing the pain? What’s with the pain? Why pain? The pain is the pain of being alive, Life is pain all the way from the pain of child birth, to the pain of child rearing, toContinue reading “May 25, 2021”

01 When Jesus said, “Don’t throw your pearls before swine,” and, “Leave the dead to bury the dead,” he was saying, “Many people are too far gone to help. Pass them by. And seek out those who can receive what you have to offer.” Passing them by seems harsh. Perhaps, if we threaten them withContinue reading “May 24, 2021”

01 It all starts with, and revolves around, wanting. We want this, we don’t want that. If we don’t know what we want, we know of a lot of things we do not want. Wanting runs our life. And ruins our life. With wanting at the center, everything waits to serve what we want, andContinue reading “May 23, 2021”

01 There are no shortcuts on the spiritual journey. Growing up is hard to do. And that’s all it comes down to. Growing up. Coming to terms with the way things are. Making our peace with not having our way. Doing what needs to be done. When it needs to be done. Where it needsContinue reading “May 22, 2021”

01 Getting it right is crucial for NASA to fly a helicopter on Mars. A lot of things have to happen precisely at the right time in the right way for that to happen. Compare that to, say, going to the grocery store and coming back with everything you needed when you left. Our lifeContinue reading “May 21, 2021”

01 It is difficult to find places where we are free to ask the questions that beg to be asked, where it is safe to say what needs to be said, where we are encouraged to step beyond the normal and customary, where we are allowed to be who we are. AA and Quaker MeetingsContinue reading “May 20, 2021”

01 Shel Silverstein nailed it with his, “Some kind of help is the kind of help that help is all about– and some kind of help is the kind of help we all could do without!” I miss Shel Silverstein. He was the kind of help we need in our life. What we don’t needContinue reading “May 19, 2021”