Roosevelt on The Strenuous Life
In 1899 Theodore Roosevelt gave an important speech on the virtues of personal growth and effort. He was taught to work on developing himself in order to achieve great things. He came to enjoy to efforts he made and ended up becoming a great man and politician.
While 'The Epoch Times' is a far-right newspaper that is a great sponsor of Trump, it has published an article worth reading on the speech that Roosevelt made. Although the concept of personal, individual effort is a true right-wing approach to the improvement of society, it has some lessons on an individual, non-political level. Beware, though, of applying these lessons to society as a whole, that is a route to the problems that the USA faces right now.
Individual effort is important in the development of a man, not in relation competing with other men, or with women, but in competing against himself. I am a great believer in personal growth and trying that bit harder.
I enjoyed the article and the speech and see the attitudes expressed in the context of the late nineteenth century.
Enjoy the article.
The Epoch Times
Roosevelt’s Ode to the Strenuous Life
by Ryan Moffatt
'I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.'
Read the full Roosevelt speech at The Roosevelt Association - The Strenuous Life.
The Art of Teaching Yoga
Donna Farhi's approach to teaching yoga is inspired but seems so natural.
I have become disillusioned with much of what is called yoga. The disillusionment is not with yoga itself but with the teaching of yoga. I have stopped going to live classes because I do not like being manhandled and told what to do.
For me yoga is about discovery, the discovery of the self, the inner self and the capabilities of the body. The self lives in the body, which is crucial to our existence here and now.
Donna Farhi, a yoga teached who I have never studied with but who I admire, teaches yoga teachers online. She really understands yoga in relation to everyone's individual body, their needs and desires. Read a bit about her approach to asanas and the teaching of them.
by Donna Farhi
A shared inquiry pedagogic model for teaching yoga, the focus is on the student’s process as an emerging and evolving entity. The form of an asana becomes a soft suggestion. Or possibility. Not defined by a singular representation or demonstration. What an asana looks like is less important than how it feels and makes sense in a practitioner’s body.
This approach is excellent and should become the basis of all yoga teaching.
To take part in Donna's course click through to her site.
Writing Insults for People
I love the English language, especially the Anglo-Saxon part descended from Norse and Germanic roots. I particularly love the english ability to insult or denigrate people in many ways.
As a writer it is important to know them for use in dialogue. Daily Writing Tips has a cracking list of some of them, all ones I know well from my childhood.
In today's culture on inclusivity much of this is no longer acceptable language, particularly aspects relating to mental health. Still the language exists and insults are in common usage.
The article delves into some of the most common.
Daily Writing Tips
30 Ways to Say, 'You’re Stupid'
by Maeve Maddox
In researching insults in general, I came to realize that English provides an astounding number of ways to show contempt for our fellow creatures—too many for a single post. I shall begin with thirty words used to insult the intelligence.
How many did you recognise?
Digital Garden
In re-designing this site I have re-configured the whole ethos of the site from a simple blog to a storehouse of ideas, thoughts and actions.
The concept of a digital garden is gaining ground in the wake of general dissatisfaction with where blogs have gone. They have been appropriated commercially and have lost their appeal for people.
This article outlines the ideas behind a digital garden that can grow and flourish. The idea is an exciting one that has a long way to go.
Maggie Appleton
A Brief History & Ethos of the Digital Garden
by Maggie Appleton
A garden is a collection of evolving ideas that aren't strictly organised by their publication date. They're inherently exploratory – notes are linked through contextual associations. They aren't refined or complete - notes are published as half-finished thoughts that will grow and evolve over time. They're less rigid, less performative, and less perfect than the personal websites we're used to seeing.
I realised that on here no-one is interested in a time based series of articles. What they are interested in is the ideas expressed in the material here. So I have re-worked how the writing is expressed so that it is accessible in different ways. I have used the metaphors of notes, library, magazine, index and search. I hope that they are self-explanatory. Dig around and have fun.
If you want to read more about digital gardens look at the resources page.
Highly Sensitive People
Highly Sensitive People are a real boon to society, it is just that they rarely realise it, preferring to think they are 'weird'. It is time that attitude changed.
Have you ever wonder why life seems so difficult, why so many people do not seem to understand you? Being highly sensitive is a real condition that is closely aligned to ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). There is nothing wrong with being highly sensitive but it is important to understand what it means.
Medium
7 Things Highly Sensitive People Need from Their Partners
by Krisor Kitna
HSPs make up nearly 20% of the population. We are a group that is born with a more sensitive nervous system than the rest. Our nervous system is genetically designed to pick up on subtleties and reflect more deeply on our inner experience, making us more easily overwhelmed by the outer world.
Read the srticle to understand either your sensitivity or that of your partner. Many men have this condition and have no idea that they have. Knowledge of this should be more available.
Some Magazine Articles
Catch up with what has been published in the magazine. Click through to read the full articles.
Let Go - Digital Clearing
Life, I have found, has been a process of accumulation. To move forward, though, it is necessary to clear out possessions, clutter, thoughts and energy. I am working on electronic clearing, I have found it takes major decisions.
Masculinity Characteristics—Are They Nurture Or Nature?
When I first started thinking about my masculinity I was confused, no not in that way but from the perspective of understanding all the different approaches put forward. It does help to see their context.
The Courage To Change—To Feel Love—To Feel Important
When we first met you were crazy about her. You couldn't stop talking about her. You wanted so much to be with her, all the time, but you couldn't make it work. You needed her to show you the way. It fell apart...