“Look at me,” Sam said as he rested his hands on my shoulders, gently forcing me to make eye contact. “Stop worrying about it. You’re being way too self-conscious.” he repeated. I shook my head in reply. “It’s not really about how I feel,” I reminded him as I looked in the mirror for the […]
No Damsel in Distress Read More »
Whether people are beautiful and friendly or unattractive and disruptive, ultimately they are human beings, just like oneself. Like oneself, they want happiness and do not want suffering. Furthermore, their right to overcome suffering and be happy is equal to one’s own. Now, when you recognize that all beings are equal in both their desire
The Dalai Lama on Compassion Read More »
In John Dunning’s Booked to Die, men abuse and murder women and each other, brothers and sisters cordially loathe each other; Cliff Janeway, book-loving cop protagonist, beats his antagonist nearly to death – justifiably, of course, for the antagonist is a bully who likes to beat up women. Just another few days in America, full
The Haunted Bookshop I: Innocents at the Bookshop Read More »
Life as a trucker isn’t easy or clean, and it often includes challenges that we in the general public don’t realize. Take, for instance, a fictional driver named Hailee Reagan, whose opinions and outlook stem from the firsthand accounts of several drivers I know and from various written accounts of drivers I don’t know. Hailee’s
On the Road: The Life and Times of an American Trucker Read More »
Ever since “liberal” became a bad word in America, there has been a growing tendency to pass judgment on other people by using this four-word zinger: “Everybody has a choice.” This is to say that no matter what situation one finds oneself in, there is always a right or wrong response, and if one chooses
Choice and the Complexity of Human Nature Read More »
“Before I was shot, I always thought that I was more half-there than all-there—I always suspected that I was watching TV instead of living life. People sometimes say that the way things happen in movies is unreal, but actually it’s the way things happen in life that’s unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong
Andy Warhol on the Nature of Reality Read More »