Less is More

"Why do we have to look at a beautiful garden without wondering, or believing that there are fairies at the bottom; why can it not be just a beautiful garden?"

Talk Religion

Got into a pretty nasty verbal exchange with someone at work who kept pressing me to believe and accept her specific religious dogma.  Was asked how I can differentiate what's right from wrong without the aid of a divine being and replied that it's a pity that someone would need a deity to distinguish between choosing to harm others and not.  While I generally turn aside from discussing religion and beliefs with anyone, gaining solitude from the topic has become too difficult a task.  I especially cannot resist it when the motivation from the other person is flagrantly spiteful.

Disconnect

I can't seem to make sense out of justice.

The thing that's bothering me the most right now about the Zimmerman acquittal, among a staggering number of others, is that a woman (an African-American, surprise!) who fired warning shots against an abusive man is sentenced to 20 years in prison.  She is not protected by the "Stand Your Ground Law."  George Zimmerman, on the other hand, kills Trayvon Martin and gets to go home.

Am I being naive?

Book Review: Blue Nights

A heartbreaking account of loss and grief, freighted with heavy musings of her own mortality.  Joan Didion, at 74, has the appropriate voice to illustrate the meaninglessness of life and the meaningfulness of being alive. A great, great read!

"The fear of what is still to be lost."

Armchair Musings II

What if one day the whole world just gets sick of violence and stops?

Hike

The hike down to Havasu Falls has to be among the most physically taxing thing I had ever done, but was absolutely well worth it!  More on that later.  Here's a view:

Fortuitous Awakening

After allocating 45 minutes of sleep overnight prior to the descent down the Grand Canyon, I crashed at 6 pm, just a couple of hours after arriving at the campsite.  For some odd miraculous turn of events, I emerged out of my tent at 10:30 pm to behold at the stars like shattered crystals hurled up in the sky.

A billion stars go spinning through the night,

blazing high above your head,

but in you is a presence that will be,

when all the stars are dead.