We recover our balance and harmony
by sitting still 
in a quiet place
and breathing normally
while focusing intently on our breathing.
Breathe in.
Say it mentally as you do.
Breathe out.
Say it.
Pause between breaths
for a count of five.
Breathe in. 
Say it.
Breathe out.
Say it.
Count.

Do that for three more rounds.

That's 5 rounds.

After the fifth round,
sit quietly for a count of ten.

And get back in the game.

That's it.

Insert 5 rounds of breathing
throughout your day.

Your balance and harmony
will improve instantly.

--0--

Where do you go for comfort and peace?
What restores your soul?
Your connection with soul?
What do you do to experience
the goodness of place and time?

The right kind of bookstore does that for me.
And the right kind of restaurant.
Lakes and woods.
Music.
The right kind of coffee.
Rainy days.
Used to be a canoe on the water,
back when I could get into and out of one.
Driving through the Smokies
before that became bumper to bumper traffic.
And through Yellowstone
before that became bumper to bumper traffic
(And before it was washed away).
Horseshoe Bend in the Tetons.
Driving through the Canadian Rockies.
Photography.
Writing.
Reading...
And all of these things I could do alone.

The right kind of conversation.
The right kind of company
(The right kind of company
is easy to please,
without definite preferences
and hard lines,
and funny in a warm and friendly way).

A country barnyard in the stillness
and quiet of early morning.

A path through a nature preserve.

A pond with waterfowl coming in 
and going out.

Not an airport.
Not an airplane.
Not an interstate.
Not a concert.
Not a football (baseball, soccer, basketball, etc.) game.
Not a movie.
Not a city.
Not noise.

I invite you to make your own list,
and attend the things on it
in a regular and recurring way.
Beginning today.

We all draw the line
in places and in ways
that suit us. 

Other people would have us
draw it in different places
which would suit them.

We have to draw our own line
in places and in ways
that suit us

Opening the way for Fraser Snowden's remark,
"The only true philosophical question is
'Where do you draw the line?'"

Where we draw the line
defines us,
identifies us,
and sets us apart from one another.
It is our mark, 
our sign,
signifying who we are.

Where we draw the line
is our statement of who we are,
declaring who we are.

Where do you draw the line?

–0–

It is all useless, pointless, hopeless, futile and absurd,
and that's where we come in,
as Doctor Who (Steven Moffat) would say.

It is our place
to remain in place
on the Anchor Stone
of our original nature
and the innate virtues
that are ours from birth,
and say, "So what?"
adding:

"What's the use of thinking its useless?
What's the point of declaring it to be pointless?
What is hopeful about proclaiming it to be hopeless?
What is the purpose of announcing it is futile?
What could be more absurd than asserting it to be absurd?
And stopping there,
leaving out the most important part--
namely, the conclusion,
"and we are going to meet it unflinching,
look straight into it's ugly red eye,
and do what needs to be done about it,
anyway, nevertheless, even so,
in each situation as it arises,
all our life long!
Not caring what our chances are,
or what anyone thinks!
We came here to be who we are,
and to do what is ours to do,
and that is exactly 
what we are going to do,
and you are in our way!"

Our original nature 
and innate virtues
are here to express themselves,
exhibit themselves,
bring themselves forth
and make themselves known,
and it doesn't matter to them
what our circumstances are.

We are the Dandelion,
come to sprout,
grow,
bloom
and show ourselves to the world,
no matter what,
where,
when
or how.

And nothing is going to stop us,
or even slow us down.

–0–

An unwavering conviction
about how things ought to be
is the worst thing in the world.
No!
In the universe!

"All things considered"
shifts how things ought to be 
around quite a bit,
and it works out
that how things ought to be 
depends upon the configuration
of variables in the here/now
of the assessment,
and cannot ever be determined
"from afar," 
in some other time and place
and applied willy-nilly 
to all times and all places.

"It all depends" is the closest
we can come 
to how things ought to be.
And we have no business
minding someone else's business,
and need to trust them to know
what is best in their particular circumstances.

And if they decide
they need an abortion,
they need an abortion!
So get out of their way
and let things be what they need to be
regardless of your precious convictions
and moral rectitude.

–0–