Category Archives: eThoughts
December 1, 2024: Making New Arrangements
You have no right to falsify life. Mari Sandoz (Nebraskapublicmedia.org: Ron Hill Remembers, air date April 27, 2015) Human history is highly non-linear and unpredictable. Michael Shermer The Arrangement: The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless. Jean-Jaques Rousseau Believing is seeing. Michael Guillen It certainly seems a lot less […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November, 1, 2024: America has the Look of Needing a Good Shit
Hate doesn’t beat hate; it just makes more hate. The only thing that beats hate is love. Now, love doesn’t always beat hate, but it does do something. If you love someone who hates you, they will probably still hate you. But one thing will happen. Eventually, everyone will see them as the asshole. Don’t […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 1, 2024: Being-Literacy
A candle never loses any of its light while lighting up another candle. Rumi Children learn more from what you are than what you teach. W.E.B. Du Bois If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down. Toni Morrison Recently I had one of those seminal moments of […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 01, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2024: The Infodemic
Beware the Demon Instant-Gratification. Some decisions tend to fare better after the data has time to age. Hoo-nōs Our brains fuse our perceptions into a coherent movie — we don’t experience the gaps. Randolph Hefrich In part, the infodemic is spread by “wearing a mask”—hiding in front of a computer or phone can conceal sources […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 31, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 1, 2024: Hair-Trigger Vitriol and Behaviors
The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them. Attributed to a Turkish proverb It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 01, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 1, 2024: Decisions, Decisions
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. Thomas Sowell It is not the giver who makes it a gift, it is what the recipient does that determines whether it is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 30, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 1, 2024: Charm and Harm; Interesting and Intimate
Charm is always genuine; it may be superficial but it isn’t false. P.D. James His smile is infectious. But again, so was the plague. Karina Halle Charm can lead to harm and harming can lead to charming, but that does not mean interesting or intimate. Hoo-nōs Life is most interesting, death is most intimate, but […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 31, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2024: The Inclusion-Exclusion Craziness
(The) Difference between diversity and inclusion is being invited to a house and being able to rearrange the furniture. Jane Siber All paradises, all utopias are defined by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in. Toni Morrison Why were you not there, except when you were not there? Samsara Spider, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 30, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2024: A Very Partial Story of an Old Man in the Woods in the Midst of Life’s Transient Things
Brought to you by Decide if it’s Sappy or Moving, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications, ©2024, all rights reserved. Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t. Mark Twain. He had spent decades in a semi-desert home, planting and tending and caring for things that […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 31, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March, 1, 2024: Wisdom is Not a Singular Category
A mind becomes a detriment when it acquires more intelligence than its integrity can handle. Cullen Hightower Our brains fuse our perceptions into a coherent movie — we don’t experience the gaps. Randolph Hefrich Perception is interpretation. That’s a fact and one reason facts can be used to tell lies. Fictions, like perceptions, can be […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 29, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2024: Today’s Hunter-Gatherer Hunts for Information
Gathering information is like gathering mushrooms—some are healthy, some can kill you. Hoo-nōs A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers. Leonard Bernstein There is nothing new that follows, but to the extent of what is known, it seems not […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 01, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2024: Hijacked: Time for a New Year
Beware the demon Pomposity. Katharine Graham Resentment is liking drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies. Nelson Mandela “Teddy said it was a hat, So I put it on. Now dad is saying, “where the heck’s the toilet plunger gone?” Shel Silverstein A few swigs of shine might get you lit, but […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 01, 2024
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2023: Learning, Biology, Communication, Technology, Energy, and Alchemy
Love? How about starting ‘em with loins that boings, feelings with ceilings, minds that rate? At least they will have an occasional mate. God wondering aloud Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2023: Pre- and Post-Traumatic Stress
Healing doesn’t mean the pain never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives. Karen Salmansohn There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds. Laurell K. Hamilton A true disclaimer: I am neither a trauma expert nor a therapist. This is a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 1, 2023: When Language Becomes an Altar Instead of an Exchange
Romanticism implies nostalgia for damaged goods. Brad Mehldau If we esteem them too highly, good works can become the greatest idolatry. Martin Luther Communication involves sounds and body posture, listening and seeing. All four are required to limit transcription errors and increase descriptive effectiveness. Hoo-nōs Intro to “A Bit of Language/Communication” Theater: I am proceeding […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 30, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2023: No Wretch We Be (The Rant Continues)
Is life so wretched? Isn’t it rather your hands which are too small, your vision which is muddled? You are the one who must grow up. Dag Hammarskjold Once there was a boy so meek and modest, he was awarded a Most Humble badge. The next day, it was taken away because he wore it. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 1, 2023: Magnifique! The In-Between Scene
Over-correcting between beliefs like the I-Ching and the Cha-Ching, are bumper-car behaviors—crashes are ubiquitous, solutions are not. Hoo-nōs Polarizing stuff can be fun, but is often just bat-shit crazy. Let’s see, we got heaven beckoning and hell threatening, a life-force and a death-reckoning, amazing grace and poison-laced, fool-proof and stuff-poof, searching for space in a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 31, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 1, 2023: Intimacy Disorder: Humanities’ Adoption of Unrealistic Fear (so far)
A shadow exists because one is blocking the light, which can be fine unless unrealized. An unconscious exists to protect an ego that has not realized how to consciously face reality. Hoo-nōs Terminology (subject to professional disagreement): Reality: Everything and No-thing. One reality, many descriptors/adjectives. When one’s subjective reality is not in touch with objective […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 1, 2023: Integrative-Self Disorder and Integrative-Civil Disorder
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus on the cross, just before dying according to Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. I am proposing it is the misbelief and mismeasure in a fully and fulltime integrated being and beingness that is at the heart of trouble for individuals and civilization. Ironically, it may […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2023: The Big Pretend
You cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep. Attributed to a Navajo proverb Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest. Mark Buchanan I love pretending—wishful thinking and feeling. There is a certain amount of viable benefit from such an endeavor […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2023: Inflammation
A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh. Leonard Cohen A scar is a wound healed. That which festers is a wound unhealed. Hoo-nōs Cleaning the wound is often more painful than the cut itself. Brandon Sanderson, The human body and the body politic share some common ground. A sense of wellbeing, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 30, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 1, 2023: The Premise-Check Light is On: The Simple Life Myth
The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science. Erich Fromm Best not to confuse simple things as a simple life. There are simple things. There was no simple life. How does returning to what was not constitute a valid compass heading? Hoo-nōs A long-time friend […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2023: Divine Mischief, Love, and Happiness
Did you know that…“embargo” spelled backwards is “o grab me?” Colin Mochrie Love is like a fart, if you force it, it’s probably crap. Joe Wiley When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone. Tennessee Williams The curious paradox is that when I accept […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2023: It Is The Good Day, The Good Week, The Good Month, The Good Season, The Good New Year…
Change is not just something left over. Anon You are born with integrity. You can give it away or keep it, striving to improve it. A friend’s father who offered this when I was a teen. Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream. Lyrics […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 01, 2023
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2022: Echoes in The Nothingness. It is Not What It Seems
December 1, 2022: Echoes in The Nothingness. It is Not What It Seems Yes, a mighty winds a blowin’, Cross the land and cross the sea It’s blowin’ peace and freedom It’s blowin’ equality Yes, it’s blowin’ peace and freedom It’s blowin’ you and me! “The Folksmen” from the movie A Mighty Wind, 2003 Be […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2022: Gaslighting Us
Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within. Stephen Jay Gould Lies don’t end relationships, the truth does. Shannon L. Alder While I am and […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 30, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 1, 2022: The Clinging Branch
…self-deception as the preliminary to public deception is almost automatic. Walter Lippmann The truly salient issues are malleability and flexibility, not fallacious parsing by percentages. A trait may be 90 percent heritable, yet entirely malleable. Stephen Jay Gould Certainly we know, as the saying goes, that kittens born in the oven are not biscuits. We […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 30, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2022: Things of 4 (or 5)
Army, Marriage, the Church, and Banking: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Fermín Romero de Torres, a character in The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafrón Conquest, War, Famine, Death. One wording of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse in the Christian Bible. Predators, pathogens, parasites, food supply. Charles Elton, The Serengeti Rules. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 31, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 1, 2022: The One Sustainable Thing
Elizabeth Willing Powel asked Benjamin Franklin at some point after the Constitutional Convention whether we have a republic or a monarchy. To which Franklin was reported to have replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Ms. Powel asked “and why not keep it?” “Because the people, on tasting the dish, are always disposed to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 26, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 1, 2022: Measuring Sticks
“It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards,” the Queen remarked. Lewis Carroll Living in the moment might be easier if we used fluid instead of static measurements. Hoo-nōs Art is limitation; the essence of every picture is the frame. Stephen Jay Gould Lewis Fry Richardson, who died in 1953, was a researcher […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 27, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 1, 2022: Deception
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. Niels Bohr Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken. Jane Austen Deceiving others. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 28, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2022: Dirty Dishes and Lines of Demarcation
My life will always have dirty dishes. If this sink can become a place of contemplation, let me learn constancy here. Gunilla Brodde Norris …resentment buried is not gone. It is like burying a seed: for a season it may stay hidden in the dark, but in the end, it will always grow. Beth Underdown […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 30, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2022: In the Meantime, a Moment in Time for the Time Being
From A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki: So if you understand time as only passing, then you do not understand the time being. Life is full of stories. Or maybe life is only stories. I am still on-the-bounce and have little or no hope for the time being of finding the place […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 28, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 1, 2022: The Fog of Mind
Discipline without freedom is tyranny. Freedom without discipline is chaos. Cullen Hightower Tyranny is the deliberate removal of nuance. Albert Maysles Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny. Abraham Verghese This piece was completed prior to posting and is about the human tendency to see others in shallow (surface) ways as […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2022: Doing Something or Doing Nothing is Still a Doing
Look for those wearing insight honestly, sometimes shiny, sometimes blandly, sometimes with humor, sometimes with sobriety, but always with the integrity to improve. Anon A place may not be a home. A home may not be a place. Hoo-nōs Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. Rumi […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 01, 2022
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2022: Whether Monk, Mogul, or Mongrel
He not busy being born, is busy dying. Bob Dylan What good is a New Year in name only? Hoo-nōs Like researchers, we have to be aware (not necessarily beware) of our constructs—and that requires trying to prove the researcher’s hypothesis wrong (adopt the null). Instead of trying to verify how right we are, we […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 29, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2021: Here’s Some Dirt, Grow a Forest
I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have. Abraham Lincoln All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. Ellen Glasglow Either push your limits or suffocate in your comfort […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2021: The Terrible Twos of Adulthood
Perhaps we are not truly civil because we do not want to be. Hoo-nōs I heard another attempt recently—it is a daily thing that’s likely been around from the dawn of sentience—to explain why this being or that being or this group or that group is representative of the mess or the solution. It’s a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 25, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 1, 2021: Assisting or Resisting Democracy?
PS—as in prescript now, but postscript from the September posting: My house is in escrow, my life thrown into chaos. I’ve no idea how this will turn out. Sometimes the abyss is the beginning of a mountain top? Or is this about soul-snatching delusion? Perhaps, but one way or the other, I’ll find out. The […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 29, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2021: Change
September 1, 2021: Change Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw I retired from my second career nearly 15 months ago. I’ve traveled. I’ve nearly caught up with work I couldn’t much get to while I had that career. I’ve camped. I’ve done nothing. And I’ve waited. That waiting […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 06, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 1, 2021: Risk, Shifts, and Gifts
Hoo-nōs goes: Humans are social beings who seem to know little about being alone and little about being together. They who give the food, do not the master make. Getting out of one’s own way often means losing one’s way. Human interaction is a major risk. If it’s an intimate interaction (not just limited to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 31, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 4, 2021: Revisiting Independence
There’s battle lines being drawn and nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong. Lyrics from the song “For What It’s Worth,” by Buffalo Springfield, 1966 Independence is a necessary step, but it does not mean the end of dependence. Hoo-nōs I mostly liked growing up in the middle to late 1960s and early 70s. The lesson I […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 31, 2021—Part I of II: Memorial Day; June 1, 2021—Part II of II: Pandora’s Box
Memorial Day: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards,” the Queen remarked. Lewis Carroll I’ve been thinking about soldiers, whether uniformed or not, and all they do and have done. I think, relative to the living at least, that so far we have not proven ourselves worthy as we’ve not given those […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 01, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2021: Gone Geriatric: A Tale from the Grey Set
You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old. George Burns The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been. Madeleine L’Engle Though retired since last June, I was recently asked to participate in a graduate class in which students were presenting research about […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 30, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2021: Policy, Prejudice, and Human Agency
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2021 All rights reserved. We have the agency to develop civil individual and public policies as opposed to an agency practicing individual and public prejudice. Hoo-nōs I was camping in the wilderness a few years ago and doing my evening meanderings, both wandering […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 30, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 1, 2021: It’s not Sane in Nutsville
Brought to you by Forget Unique Challenges, Knowledge, & Understanding, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2021 All rights reserved. There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 02, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2021: My Brush with Discovery and Wonder—Again for the First Time
Yesterday about killed me. More accurately, it wasn’t yesterday’s fault, it was my fault. I love getting things accomplished. I love having nothing to do. Both are facets of what I consider my stewardship—those things and no-things I’ve agreed to take on (including my own well-being or not). Yesterday put the kibosh on me. I […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 02, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2021: Goodbye, Hello, and Transitions
Slow down, you move to fast; You got to make the morning last; Got no deeds to do, no promises to keep;… Lyrics and music from The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy), by Simon & Garfunkel Without the dark, we’d never see the stars. Stephanie Meyer Even a chimera is ephemeral. Hoo-nōs Goodbye 2020 […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 01, 2021
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2020: Beauty, Bread, Civil Behavior, and Redemption
Everyone needs beauty as well as bread. John Muir We treat others badly not because we don’t understand how people should be treated but because we don’t really consider them people. Michael Austin If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better. Anne Lamott Redemption is not just granted by […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 02, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 7, 2020: Vote—Follow-up
Remember to be gracious. Anon Biden supporter You can get rid of Trump, but you cannot get rid of us. Anon Trump supporter Not that this presidential election is officially over, but today the Biden-Harris ticket was declared the likely winner with the 20 electoral votes from Pennsylvania. Voter responsibility will never be over—and hopefully […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 07, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2020: Vote: The Either-Or Conundrum
Either-Or is a category. That can be a good thing, but one might consider if it’s truly an “or” and a strict category instead of degrees allowing for “and.” Hoo-nōs At its heart, democracy is about winning or losing with grace, while keeping our eye on behaviors before and after elections. It also requires some […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 31, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 1, 2020: Go-Bag Essentials for the “End of the World”
It was hard for me to know I was meditating when I wasn’t. John Tarrant What follows is not meant to be a complete list of things to take and things to leave, though basically we’re talking taking a lightness of being and leaving behind the weight of us. Go-bag essentials #1: Bring wonder. Be […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2020: Retiring in the Time of COVID-19
Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively. Carl Rogers After a bit more than 29 years of teaching in the college setting, some 25 years full-time, I retired last June—something that was planned a year in advance, though there was no way to know that a pandemic would turn […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 1, 2020: Reframe the Conversations, Reset the Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors?
Note: This is a copy of an article I recently wrote for another website, with corrections for grammar and a couple of short additions. Some of it reflects previous notions from my site. As many have noted, COVID-19 is the latest of a triad of pandemics now very much at a conscious level: the virus […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 29, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 1, 2020: How Craziness Wins the Day: Nonproductive Personalities
The only kind of craziness is the kind we make for ourselves, though that construction can get enough traction to lead to madness. Hoo-nōs The fruit is there for the picking, someone notices. The problem is in extending that to everything is there for the picking. That mattress on the side of the road can […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 1, 2020: The Thin Veneer of Civility, Reconstructed for Strength
Let’s have a National Take-a-Knee Day, not on someone’s neck as in dominance, but take a knee as in grace and humility. Wear a mask, stay at least six feet away from others, and take a knee. It would be a major powerful protest steeped in peace and unity. We can lead instead of waiting […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2020: The Cry We Haven’t Yet Had
I always find it kind of funny that normal people are always saying autistic children “live in their own little world.” When you work with animals for a while you start to realize you can say the same thing about normal people. There’s a great big, beautiful world out there that a lot of normal […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 02, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2020: A Very Partial Story of Janis May
Janis May was my sister. Janis died early last month of aggressive cancer that had metastasized, including to her brain. She was the youngest of three, the last here, the first gone. She was not in pain, though she was “absent” most of her last few weeks. By the time she found out, the cancer […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
March 1, 2020—Part I: The Political Lion versus The Political Chameleon
A lion, though stealthy, is clearly a predator. The chameleon is both as well, just not as obvious. Hoo-nōs I wonder if we are sick of political chameleons—those whose colors and policies change because blending in makes predation easier. I wonder if we now embrace political lions because it’s not as hard to see what […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 1, 2020—Part II: Establishing a Basic Floor of Thriving: Partial Repost with Alterations from September 18, 2017 originally entitled: Awake, Focus, and Come Together
There will always be a 1% and a 99% in whatever category we choose. Belonging to a category is inevitable. However, we might use caution about attributing value of lack thereof. Hoo-nōs What if we establish a non-permeable floor of thriving which we will not go below, along with a very permeable ceiling where folks […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2020: The Curious Lesson Learned by Conejo the Cat and More About the Art of Stopping and Starting Over Again?
Why should I cry for not being an apple, when I was born an orange, I’d be crying for an illusion, I may as well cry for not being a horse. Donna Williams It’s very interesting how in the world everything has become more global: mining, drugs, guns, illnesses, the stock market, everything—except people. Isabel […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 02, 2020
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2020: A New Year of Acceptance and the Art of Stopping and Starting Over Again?
Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of “not knowing.” Mark Z. Danielewski Acceptance is a cleansing breath, the kind that starts rather than stops wonder. Hoo-nōs Part of the art of quieting yourself is also to honor the tears that you carry. Jack Kornfield True acceptance is more of a beingness, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 31, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2019: The Season of the Holiday Sisyphus, Part II
From Parker Palmer, On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old. 2018, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.: “…seeing otherness in everyone except myself and ‘my people’ is the road to a sense of superiority and even uglier destinations” (p.156). “…violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering” (p.160). […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 03, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2019: The Season of the Holiday Sisyphus, Part I
And Sisyphus said “No thanks, I have learned I like the rock where it is.” The gods grinned broadly and knew Sisyphus had learned. Hoo-nōs What if such a “rebuke of the gods” is not a slap to the godly faces, but an acknowledgement of learning and wisdom? What if it was us that demands […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 03, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2019: The Trouble with Civility, Part II
Once you realize that trickle-down economics does not work, you will see the excessive tax cuts for the rich as what they are — a simple upward redistribution of income, rather than a way to make all of us richer, as we were told. Ha-Joon Chang When we replace a sense of service and gratitude […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
November 1, 2019: The Trouble with Civility, Part I
Friends ask you questions; enemies question you. Criss Jami Practice seeing innocence before guilt and enemies find it easier to practice on the innocent. Hoo-nōs Civility is an interesting attempt to make life safer. For those who see the world as “red in tooth and claw,” civility makes it easier for exploiters to do their […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 1, 2019: Tribalism
The essential dilemma of my life is between my deep desire to belong and my suspicion of belonging. Jhumpa Lahiri Belonging to a group can be a different kind of loneliness. Hoo-nōs In times of uncertainty and feelings of being forgotten, it is easy to forget democracy and easier to embrace a “leader” who tells […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2019: The Right to Vote Will Not Alone Fix Democracy
America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. Harry S Truman Resources tend to follow the money and voting is a resource. Hoo-nōs If the currency of our lives is to avoid fear, we pay dearly. But it is a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 30, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 1, 2019: Wonder
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom. Socrates The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. Rachel Carson Wonder is not really about pondering the stupidity of others or considering how to regulate the “unworthy” to lesser status. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 02, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 1, 2019: Stoical in a Time of General Sorrow?
Stoic n. a member of a Greek school of philosophy founded by Zeno about 308 B.C., holding that all things, properties, relations, etc. are governed by unvarying natural laws, and that the wise man should follow virtue alone, obtained through reason, remaining indifferent to the external world and to passion or emotion. Webster’s New World […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
May 31, 2019: Considering Beauty and Happiness in Times of Ugly and Despair
Brought to you by What’s the Debate?, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. © 2019 All rights reserved. Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they leave. Oscar Wilde [He’s] not a business man, he’s not a wealth creator, he’s a cash extractor. David Cay Johnson When existing understanding and new experience conflict, one must […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 30, 2019: Sense-Making
A comparing mind finds hierarchies. Hoo-nōs I was in a seminar many years ago and the group I was part of had two folks I found nearly impossible to listen to because they were, let’s say unusual in appearance and demeanor—as in really unusual. I got caught up wallowing in that shallow data and it […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 31, 2019: Grokking the Strangers and the Strange Land
A conforming citizen is not a requirement, though some agreement is necessary. Hoo-nōs The title above is a nod to the 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein, who also introduced the word “grok.” My understanding of “grok” is it is a multilayered and nuanced term involving being thoroughly one with—whomever […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 31, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 28, 2019: The Fog of Life
Even clarity can obscure. Hoo-nōs The saying “It’s always something” is very telling. Sometimes I think we work very hard in our own ways just to find a space and a moment to breathe deeply and freely. It’s a huge endeavor and a weird energy-output to energy-input ratio to expend so much to find […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2019
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 31, 2019: Mind Hack: Part Deux (see the blog dated December 10, 2016)
It’s a scary idea that someone could “write” into our mind, create thoughts and ideas in our own brain that we won’t be able to distinguish from ones that we generate ourselves. Would there even be any difference? Moran Cerf, neuroscientist and business professor, Northwestern University (as reported in Time, January 28, 2019, p.33). I […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 31, 2019
- eThoughts
- 3 Comments.
December 30, 2018: Best Years Ahead: There Will Be Tears; Worst: There Will Be Blood
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! Martin Luther King Jr. (a transcription from the audio of his I Have a Dream speech on August 28, 1963) Tear (tir) and tear (ter) are spelled the same, but have two different pronunciations and two different meanings though they involve […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 30, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 27, 2018: An Umbrella Does Not Stop a Meteor
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear. Mark Twain Mostly do not rise to the Bullseye position nor fall to the Bullshit position. Hoo-nōs Having something to fear does not take much intelligence. Learning to not let fear consume us, does. Yet the main currency of so much of our political […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 27, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 30, 2018: The Politics of Division and Derision Instead of Stewardship?
When you discover you’re riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. Attributed to an old Dakota saying All politics are both interpersonal and intrapersonal, which is as local as it gets. Hoo-nōs Two seemingly disparate ideas and emotions that exist at the same time and in the same space can be like […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 04, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 30, 2018: A Very Partial Story of Dr. Brigitte Pointeck-Delay
It has been a hard summer of many things, interspersed with moments of tranquility. Personally, I am better dealing with hard things when tranquility is the pattern, so it has been a struggle. Politics have been outright disgraceful, shameful—and they continue. And while it has been said that all politics are local, in this world […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 07, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 30, 2018: Swamps versus Cesspools
Brought to you by More Turd Talks, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2018 All rights reserved. Transcendence refers to the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature, and […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 31, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 29, 2018: What’s the Default?
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to high office. Aesop Too often we put saddlebags on Jesus and let the donkey run loose in the pasture. Rumi I was wondering about default behaviors under pressure and what it might say about ourselves—as in just how much grace we exude as opposed […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 01, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 28, 2018: A Very Partial Story of Robert James Galbreath
Death is a horizon and a horizon is only as far as one can see. Hoo-nōs On June 7, 2018, Bob Galbreath passed away, just about the time that commencement had wrapped up at the college where I teach. He was 94 and his passing had been expected, but the “graduation” of his life left […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 02, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 28, 2018—Memorial Day: Meritocracy is Not Democracy
Memorial Day is more than honoring our fallen and our living, our memories and our struggles, it is also a day to remember to live presently while facing forward. Hoo-nōs Many have fought and died in a struggle for the opportunity to live well, much less to live at all. In so doing, the rest […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 28, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 29, 2018: A World of Full of Intersections
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church (236), by Emily Dickinson Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – I keep it, staying at Home – With a Bobolink for a Chorister – And an Orchard, for a Dome – Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice – I, just wear my Wings – And instead […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 03, 2018
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
March 26, 2018: Part IV: Courage
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. Viktor Frankl Whoever we are, we share life, death, happiness, sadness, and struggle as common ground. When we decide to judge ourselves or others, shouldn’t we recognize the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 25, 2018
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
March 25, 2018: Part III: Follow the Leader?
I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. Alexander the Great And yet sheep elect lions? Or perhaps pseudo lions? Isn’t a true leader one who reminds us of our compass heading? We follow that heading, not the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 25, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 24, 2018: Part II: Agreements
Victor and vanquished never unite in substantial agreement. Tacitus If things get overwhelming, as they certainly have been, attention can shut down in favor of not paying attention. That latter state of affairs is a mother lode for the victor-seekers. If the meek are to inherit the earth, they must not become the vanquished. So, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 25, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 23, 2018: Part I: Myriads of Attention
When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting. Jon Kabat-Zinn If one wonders about the state and evolution of civilization, just pay attention to driving on our nation’s roads. Are we so afraid of boredom, of nothingness, we stay busy—think cell phones for instance—even though when driving our attention should be focused on […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 25, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 12, 2018: Promises and Salvation
Promises made and not kept are not the same as promises made that cannot be kept. Salvation, however, is not just about promises made. Hoo-nōs Whether in politics, religion, education, economics, etc., etc., promises seem to be the food of hope and hope seems to be the cornerstone of salvation. Yes, it is important to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 12, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2018: The Consciousness Adolescent
What if Judgment Day was really the end of Judgments? Hoo-nōs So, Judgment is not equivalent to judgment/decision-making? From 30,000 feet, the light and color of us can look luminous—shimmering. From one foot, the light and color from one of us could be shorting or just plain out. From 30,000 feet, there could appear to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 02, 2018
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 8, 2017: The Politics of Disparate Approaches—Time for a New Politic?
The art, philosophy, and science necessary for a healthy populace is realizing the necessity of maximizing opportunities for thriving and minimizing intrusions in doing so. It is also necessary to realize the balancing point is dynamic, not at all static. Hoo-nōs Majority versus minority political party my rear aperture. What we’ve really cooked up is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 08, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 7, 2017: Maintaining the “Golden Gate Bridge”
If it’s a big circle, it simply takes longer to realize it’s a circle. Hoo-nōs Maintenance is a normal part of existence, but so is change. It can be very difficult to move off of an old and familiar plateau and transcend to other areas of existence. Think caterpillar to butterfly or an infant to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 08, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 20, 2017: Trust
Do not trust more than you are able, but strive to be more able. Hoo-nōs It is difficult to trust when one is unsure. That’s a default condition. Just look at how wildlife approaches it. It seems to me those who advocate “trust me” as opposed to others, are spinning tales. They want control/influence. They […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 20, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 27, 2017: Fake News, True News
Figuring out if information is one-sided is easy. Hoo-nōs How is it possible for someone espousing transparency to leak or provide information obtained from just one source? Hmmm.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 27, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 25, 2017: Are We Kidding? Life from The Daily Nutsville Noise
Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it. Edmund Burke Perhaps who we are is manifested all around us. That’s not the same as who we can be. Hoo-nōs What’s the plan exactly—to manifest our frustrations by dividing each other into silos and then to isolate ourselves from the world? We seem […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 27, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 18, 2017: Awake, Focus, and Come Together?
Brought to you by It’s All Been Noted Before!, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2017 All rights reserved. Wake up the fourth branch of government in America and see what happens. Hoo-nōs For the record, what follows has, in one form or the other, been brought up before. I am not inventing or improving the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 18, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 29, 2017: Talking into the Wind?
All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:5-6 Vision without action is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 02, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 16, 2017: National Fart in the General Direction of Washington D.C. Day—Let’s Do Something Together
Maybe it’s time to go all Monty Python on the politicos in D.C. After all, what’s coming out of D.C. stinks. Forget the high road, let’s stink ‘em back. It would be a bipartisan stand to show the politicos that the fourth branch of government—us—are not just here to cast votes as they’re not much […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 16, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 29, 2017: On Pom-Poms, Shovels, Egos, and Enemies
Attempting to dig oneself out of a hole can often have the opposite effect. Hoo-nōs It is interesting to watch those who cheerlead for themselves and garner others to do the same. It is interesting to watch someone dig a deeper hole for themselves when others are trying to keep that person out of holes. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 04, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 19, 2017: Love First—Make Love Great Again, Again.
The only worthwhile compass heading is love. It is the only way back to the new Paradise. Hoo-nōs Lofty words, that. Crazy even? After all, we need stuff—truly. And what if one has a full-blown deadly disease—love alone will fix that? And look around, what difference does love make with all the contamination we’re breeding […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 29, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 28, 2017: Ecstasy, Disappointment, and Other Waypoints
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing or right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. Jelaluddin Rumi There is no solution; seek it lovingly. Socrates I just returned from vacation, one filled with many waypoints. The airline lost my baggage in transit (it is still missing, some 21 days later). That was an unexpected cost—and […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 28, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 26, 2017: Disturbances and Democracy
It is important to know from whence disturbances blow. The inside manifested out may become the outside manifested in. Hoo-nōs I can imagine being thrown into an unknown world—and actually it’s not much of a leap for any of us at this point. Perhaps one thing to do immediately is to figure out how to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 27, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 26, 2017: The Borders We Need
Having an internal governor to rein in the stampede to solve problems born of neurotic fear or the need for personal power is the cheapest and most effective border. Hoo-nōs There are, indeed, (who might say nay) gloomy and hypochondriac minds, inhabitants of diseased bodies, disgusted with the present, and despairing of the future; always […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 26, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 25, 2017: Ratland
Things are in the saddle, and ride mankind. Ralph Waldo Emerson Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations. Alfred Adler Character is destiny. Heraclitus The rats of Ratland had experienced it before: 100 rats and food for 50 will bring about rat-hell. Yet, oddly, enough […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 26, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 19, 2017: On New Beginnings, Again.
Being married and being individual are not inherently mutually exclusive. Hoo-nōs I know a couple who are getting married. They have not asked me for advice, though I’ve been invited to their wedding. But I’m going to hold forth regardless. If you are the one who has been visiting this site, you will have seen […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 19, 2017
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 19, 2016: Life and Love
There comes a time when living on doesn’t matter. Just be sure. There is never a time when love doesn’t matter. And that’s for sure. Hoo-nōs It is a season about life and love. I love it. I feel it. I immerse. There is still a sense of separation, of beings lacking connection—at least that […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 18, 2016: Wonder
What would the world be without a dragon? Hoo-nōs There is such craziness afoot—again. I was talking with a neighbor who has views I find anathema to the gift of awareness. Crazy-thought is all I could figure, except they were not engaged in evil behaviors, just crazy cognitions. Of course they likely thought the same […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 17, 2016: Home
There’s no place like home, though sometimes it can feel very lonely. Hoo-nōs Belongingness is both a sense of place and being with one’s own kind. One without the other is likely to give rise to some disenchantment. Having neither can give rise to some desperation. However, being in that place and with one’s own […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 11, 2016: Love, Mind-Hacks, and the Holiday Season of Good Will
Love is not the result of antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. Love simply is, and is easily found in an unencumbered mind and being—in the rich emptiness. The path to get there can be messy and involve many tributaries, including much theater and the illusion of paths to get there. Hoo-nōs Our paths to find Love, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 11, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 10, 2016: Mind Hack
The trick to hacking a mind is to make the mind think it is right thinking, freely found. Hoo-nōs Of course free thinking is not about hacking, but good luck telling the difference (yeah, that means neuroscientists who may be stuck in the biological basis of cause and effect). There may be, however, a bread-crumb […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 11, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 12, 2016: The Season of Great Bullshit
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is never acceptable. Hoo-nōs Okay, Donald Trump is our President-elect. Whatever we believe, whomever we believe, that’s what has happened (short of some unknown issue in the verification process). Time to get over it. Yes, this political season has been a rough one, rife with nonsense and division, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 14, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2016: Excalibur, Betrayal, Acceptance, and Love
Acceptance is reserved for those times and places where nothing else good can be accomplished. Hoo-nōs Considering all the good that can be accomplished, true acceptance is a rather rare occurrence. Temporary acceptance is another issue, as in getting some rest before the next effort to contribute some good. Let’s call the effort to contribute […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 06, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 9, 2016: Craziness, Busyness, Consequences, and Navigation
It’s all very interesting—by way of bottom lines first. It can be crazy, though that’s what we choose when we create it or participate in it. Madness is another matter and may not involve choice—think zombieism, like rabies, etc. It can be busy, some of which is a choice and some of which is not. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 08, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 26, 2016: It was Profoundly Anticlimactic
Sometimes expecting something and getting nothing is a much richer gift. Hoo-nōs My annual wilderness trip (it was official wilderness, but about an hour from the trailhead, so I was not in the middle of nowhere) had been amazing for the second year in a row after about a decade of semi-contrary weather. I had […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 31, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 8, 2016: Promises, Promises
If it’s true one is only as great as their last success, it’s important to get paid as soon as possible. Hoo-nōs Maybe that’s why some folks—and I don’t just mean some politicians—make promises as it can make for a good payday. And don’t think payday is only about money. And don’t think this is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 09, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 17, 2016: Making American Great Again? Telling it like it is?
Bumper-sticker philosophy has all the nuance of a shiny barbed fishing hook and can be just as deadly. Hoo-nōs There is a person in my neighborhood who parks their vehicle in various places, goes online via their phone and tosses out their cigarette butts—and lots of them (I pick them up, along with trash other […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 18, 2016
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
June 10, 2016: The Ratings Phenomenon
“…not many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays it’s often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize.” Pico Iyer I can’t seem to simply get good products or service and then take a deep breath and relax about things […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 13, 2016
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
June 9, 2016: Muhammad Ali
The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. Mark Twain I’m no pundit, but I do think there is something to be learned from Ali’s life: It seems to me for all the rights and wrongs surrounding him, we, and he, would’ve done a lot […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 13, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 7, 2016: Who Can Use the Toilet?
“…it really is like raising a storm in a teacup.” Catherine Sinclair I can tell you why I worry about gender-neutral bathrooms: Long lines. I’ve asked women what they do in there and mostly I get answers like “check themselves out” or “get pretty chatty” or “I really don’t know.” I can tell you why […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 08, 2016
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
May 16, 2016: Work
Brought to you by Nuts to the Nut House!, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2016 All rights reserved. The proper ratio of good work, good play, and good sleep will move us further toward Paradise than any other single human endeavor, no matter how heroic it is. Hoo-nōs It’s difficult to get anything done if […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 16, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2016: Distance
Empathy is not concern for others, it is the art of being an other without getting lost in the transitions. Hoo-nōs There are those who “love” and “care” born of a hurt they don’t want others to experience. I’m guessing (and I mean it) that “God” does not love and care in such a manner. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 30, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 21, 2016: Rights, Privileges, Emptiness, and “God”
Vibrant Emptiness is fine for understanding the inherent nature of existence, including from whence all comes and goes, but it is of little use for explaining good or evil or that which is in-between, other than there are many beings acting from form as opposed to that Emptiness. But those acts are understandable as form […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 30, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 20, 2016: Rights and Privileges
Rights: Innate, basic, as in the right to life, liberty, happiness, opportunities—none of which are exclusive to humans only. We must tread carefully to not take them away. Privileges: Entitlements, earned, as in an education, benefits, titles, ownership. We must tread carefully to not give them away.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 30, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 12, 2016: Reckoning, Part II: The Null Hypothesis
Reckoning stories that point toward emptiness may be the ultimate lazy outcome of present-day geriatrics nurtured by a laidback, 60s California, hippy-hoppy motivation to justify doing nothing much at all—even if many of those geriatrics did a lot to be able to do nothing much at all. The Null of the Null Round: Nevertheless—do not […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 16, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 12, 2016: Reckoning, Part I
Whether from on high, from down below, or somewhere in-between—all really one “place”—there will be a reckoning. Hoo-nōs Though we may be dispersed to the cosmos never to congeal quite the same again and though we may remain coalesced more or less as we know, whether in death or in life—as we may presently label […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 16, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 27, 2016: Resurrection Day
Brought to you by Zero Arrogance, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2016 All Rights Reserved. The standard joke is of course there’s resurrection—look what happens on Fridays at 5 P.M. Of course that assumes one has a 9-5 job during the week, or a job at all. Jokes aside, if one believes in reincarnation, one […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 31, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 26, 2016: Turning Around
If everything reminds us of our past burdens, then we lose the future, no? All this victimization makes us beggars. Elvira Meliksetyan “I understand you insist on your voice, while you try and censor mine. I can only speak if you approve. I do not approve of such insistence. But you shall have your voice […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 26, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 20, 2016: Integrity
Integrity is always a priority, but priorities don’t always involve integrity. Hoo-nōs Integrity: 1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. 2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (2001). Thunder Bay Press. Psychologist Erik Erikson named his last developmental stage in […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 22, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 15, 2016: Bullying
Bullying begins when intelligence and empathy are absent. Hoo-nōs Bullying comes in many forms, from the hard-to-detect to the hard-to-ignore. But the heart of bullying is resentment and revenge. The politics in this Presidential election year seem to be fundamentally fought on the grounds of bullying. And why does it work? Because we humans are […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 16, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 9, 2016: Push, Part II
The saying “it’s all going nowhere,” could infer that nowhere is a destination. Hoo-nōs The young man, a kid really, was bright-eyed, full of hope. “We just have to make it better,” he offered. “Otherwise, it all seems so needlessly stupid.” “Perhaps it’s just a push,” the old man said. “Perhaps hope lives in the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 11, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 8, 2016: Push, Part I
The saying “as luck would have it,” could infer that chance has intention. Hoo-nōs It had been a long night at the blackjack table and the man was even. He was restless and didn’t want to be even as there just seemed nothing dynamic about it. He elected to play $1,000, 10 times the maximum […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 11, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 25, 2016: On Becoming Weird
How did I get this way the opossum asked? The crab said there was no reason to ask, it was just that way. The biped said it was God’s will, but it was up to us, though environs had a hand. The mockingbird had a field day, while the shark circled. Hoo-nōs I was truck […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 25, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 10, 2016: Changing Our Minds about Control and Regulation
Brought to you by You Don’t Say, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. Copyright 2016: All rights reserved. Gun control, traffic control, people control, intimacy control—it seems like we’re getting even deeper into control and regulation as it seems much more likely to ensure behavioral prediction. Such a sense of control and prediction is tantamount to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 25, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2016: Forgetting to Remember; Remembering to Forget
Brought to you by I Forgot, But I’ll Remember, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. Copyright 2016: All rights reserved. Of course living results in forgetting. That’s what we need to remember. Hoo-nōs It’s 2016, 16 years past Y2K. We still seem to be here. Personally, I’m pretty sure I’m still circling in the woods. I’m […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 02, 2016
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
2015’s Holiday Season: Love is Not All We Need (In this Incarnation Anyway)
Brought to you by No Offense to Romantics, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. Copyright 2015: All rights reserved. In our particular incarnation at least, we need more than love—we need the opportunity for access. Having a sense of access is like being hungry yet having access to food, or feeling dry yet having access to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 29, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
2015’s Holiday Season: The World is Not Ours for the Taking
Brought to you by Not Our Oyster, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. Copyright 2015: All rights reserved. It’s the season for celebrating gifts, which is not at all the same as taking. Yep, giving a gift is difficult without acceptance, but gifts can be all around regardless of any acceptance. However, taking the gifts life […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 20, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
2015’s Holiday Season: Not Smart Enough to Move On, Not Dumb Enough to Stay
Brought to you by The Conundrum, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. Copyright 2015: All rights reserved. The holiday season is a great time for reflection, realization, re-cognition, and—well—lots of humor. After all, there’s a lot to laugh and smile about when we’re stuck somewhere between where we can’t seem to go and where we don’t […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 14, 2015: C’mon!
I understand people are frustrated with politicos and doublespeak. It isn’t a new phenomenon. But here’s a clue: The problem and the solution aren’t politicians, it’s us. What’s at least a better way than sniping at each other and siding with some current politico who has tapped into people’s frustrations? How about folks getting off […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 14, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 11, 2015: Some Kind of Awareness
What if it is not just energy that is conserved, but awareness? Form can matter to form or sometimes not. And sometimes there is simply nothing that form can do about it anyway. Yet form in awareness can seem so pervasive, except for some dim notion there is something more. Which can be yet another […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 12, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 11, 2015: Some Kind of Panda Bear
What is it like to be a panda, ecological narrowed, thriving in a thimble and dying just beyond? We all have a niche—a thimble of a boundary. And we live and die in that thimble. Perhaps a niche is simply home for a while and moving on yet another call to thimbledom, which we can […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 12, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 11, 2015: Some Kind of Emptiness
I will go no more, because it is not me alone who can help—or perhaps me at all. I will wait no more, because it is not coming. Perhaps it never left to begin with. I will not want it anymore, because it is not mine. Yet it is all around despite going or not, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 12, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 26, 2015: Days of Gratitude and…
…Thanksgiving. It is sometimes difficult to live and love and prosper and thrive. But the difficulties are mostly of our doing and our perception, rather than life out to get us. So today, whatever I have won or lost or both or neither, I am simply grateful. Tomorrow I may cuss again, but even then […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 20, 2015: Diversity…
…is not a single identifier, but rather many elements that make up the constellation of life. When we recognize and relate to the many elements of diversity, we connect not just with others, but with ourselves and with all of life. Then it becomes impossible for the darkest parts of our being to cohere around […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2015: Retirement
Part of the series You Don’t Say!, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2015 All Rights Reserved. Retirement is not a cessation of work, but a shift in it—at least that’s likely the best scenario. At 68, I’m sure thinking about that shift. I’m hoping to eventually be paid for what I think and not to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 31, 2015: Looking for Treats and Getting Tricked
Part of the series You Don’t Say!, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2015 All Rights Reserved. Costumed up or not, the trick of civility is to treat all of us as humans. However, that shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not pay attention—as though having acquired the civility costume means we can go to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 30, 2015: Ownership
Part of the series You Don’t Say!, a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications. ©2015 All Rights Reserved. Whether individual, corporations, government or any human institution (including marriage), it seems someone always owns or controls the resources. Mostly such ownership is not about being a steward, but more about being in control and having power. Somehow that […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 28, 2015: One Life, Many Lifetimes
I’m only 68, but it does feel like lots of “reality” iterations have been and are afoot. Some have seemed unnecessarily uncomfortable. Some have seemed unbelievably extraordinary. However, when I breathe deeply and relax into what has seemed like my life, it is neither the uncomfortable nor the unbelievable that is emergent. It is a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 28, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 27, 2015: How about a new dating site?: Enlightenment Only Dot Com: Because “Normal” Folks Just Don’t Get It
Real money maker this one. Not much of a match maker either as it would likely be an empty set—I mean who would qualify? It would certainly be above my pay grade. Besides, just what does enlightenment mean—omniscience? Probably we’d have to go with inputs like “every once in a while, I just nail it.” […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 28, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 10, 2015: All That Noise
Populism is what passes for citizenship among those who don’t pay much attention. It is, to actual democracy, what vinyl is to leather—too smooth to be real. Joe Klein, Time, August 3, 2015 Klein was referring to toxic populism born of the “populist showbiz lane” that is apparent “In the trumped-up train-wreck politics of the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 11, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 5, 2015: Hope in the Time of Cabals
Okay, I’m tweaking the language of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, but somehow it seems very apropos (I’m thinking about the recent picture of the young Syrian boy lying dead on a beach in Turkey after his family tried to escape the violence in Syria—his brother and mother also died […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 05, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 30, 2015: Purgatorians Involved With Purgatorians
It’s interesting being a Purgatorian—sometimes outright hilarious, sometimes not so much. Certainly the landscape of Purgatorian relationships is part of the conundrum of such joy and sorrow. I mean the point of getting together is what exactly? It’s easier to chop wood and haul water, etc.—in other words, a divided workload is easier than an […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 31, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 22, 2015: Being Away
Thank you for my victories, and for my defeats! Old Lodge Skins (Chief Dan George in the movie Little Big Man) I have not been here for nearly two months. That’s the longest time away in over ten years. New life phases are afoot and I’ve been navigating the transition busyness and getting ready to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 25, 2015: Energy Drains, Energy Gains
Being too busy or too lazy may be nothing more than attempts to avoid demands on attention. It’s certainly easier to recognize the problems with a lazy propensity if one is busy and easier to recognize the problems with a busy propensity if one is lazy. What if paying attention, however cyclical attention may be, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 24, 2015: Being Lazy
It’s good to do, but only if one is not frightened by being busy.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 23, 2015: Taking “Time Off”
It’s good to do, but only if one is not frightened by what may be “catching up” with them.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 25, 2015: Memorial Day
“It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards,” the Queen remarked. Lewis Carroll Let’s learn the lessons forward and quit adding to the list of those to honor on Memorial Day. Perhaps the best way to honor all those who served?
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 15, 2015: Guardians
Personally I do not think we are the guardians of the gates of others, but we might be the guardian of our own gate. However, given the problems with constructive memory and eyewitness testimony, perhaps we’re not even qualified to be the guardian of our own gate.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 12, 2015: Getting Right?
Many of us have heard the saying “Getting right with God.” What if God is already right with us and the problem is us believing we are not right with God? What if the major sin is not believing we are worthy? Note for the Espousers: There is a difference between espousing and wondering. I’m […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 25, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 5, 2015: Easter and Luminescence
Can luminescence create invisibility—as in blending in with light around us? Can luminescence create camouflage—as in appearing the same as the light around us? Can transparency let all light through, thus rendering “physicality” invisible? Perhaps all three statements are one in the same. Is this why “God” is invisible—because “It” is transparent and luminous? Is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 05, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 4, 2015: Emotions like Cats and Dogs?
Put a box in a room and a cat will generally need to size it up, albeit by sneaking up on it. A dog may just bound up to the box and bang into it, assuming they are interested. It seems to me human emotions are like the cat and dog’s approach to a box […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 05, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 3, 2015: Comply or Die
…almost always comes from those who own the “high ground.” As near as I can tell the Purgatorian definition of “high ground” is about power and specialness and hierarchy. Interesting…
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 05, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2015: Transcendence
Is transcendence really getting past the need to account for ourselves? I asked someone about it and they said no, not at all—transcendence is about going beyond, about rising above. It is not about accountability. I was a bit confused as I thought that’s exactly what I’d said—since accounting for ourselves seems so much a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 05, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 1, 2015: Fools
In the midst of so much foolishness and so many tricky interpersonal landscapes and so many demands for accountability, I thought that I may be fool and a fellow Purgatorian, but all-in-all I’m a pretty good fool and a pretty good Purgatorian. There was some modicum of comfort in that thought, however self-induced.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 05, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 12, 2015: Free-range Ideas & Feelings IV
What can be said thoughtfully and beautifully is nothing to living it. Hoo-nōs Of course words are part of our lives—symbols used to sculpt our sandcastles. We can enjoy both the symbols and the sandcastles. Of course there are many ways to enjoy—like laughing or crying or worrying or avoiding hell or searching for heaven […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 13, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 10, 2015: Free-range Ideas & Feelings III
Looking back and looking forward are best done by being present. Hoo-nōs Of course it’s impossible to be anything but present. The trick is to realize it.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 13, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 8, 2015: Free-range Ideas & Feelings II
What does it take to catch one’s breath? What does it take to lose it? Hoo-nōs The rhythm of breathing is fascinating. Shallow breaths, deep cleansing breaths, losing one’s breath are all part of a dashboard announcing what’s afoot.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 13, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 6, 2015: Free-range Ideas & Feelings I
It can be tricky attending to emptiness as we tend to put stuff in there. Hoo-nōs It is interesting that we seem to attend to stuff more than the space around stuff. And I don’t mean just concrete stuff, but abstract stuff, ephemeral stuff, cognitive and emotional stuff, and so on. Just how did stuff […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 13, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2015: Why Bother?
Well, because it can be full of fun to: Be part of the conversation to engage with others, rather than to just win. Ask difficult questions in order to understand, rather than to just be difficult. Get involved to be involved, rather than to be involved to gain recognition. Be a friend to find a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 02, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2015: Celebrate
I’ve heard it said we have to find that one thing that will make us happy. I’ve heard it said that there is never just one thing that can make us happy. I respectively agree and disagree in both cases. There is one thing and it is nothing—the vibrant emptiness. As for the somethings in […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 03, 2015
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 16, 2014: Balancing, Anima and Animus, and “The Baloney-Detection Kit”
During my recovery from surgery, I watched the movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (a bit silly with hugely undeveloped feminine roles). I thought about all the racial tension that is afoot, this time created in part by the recent confrontations with police that led to the separate shooting deaths of Michael Brown […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 14, 2014: Pain and Joy
I had surgery two days ago. It was not joyful before or immediately after. It is interesting to know there is pain, but yet not to feel it—anesthesia does that. If one ignores the pain, even more will gather. If one seeks pain, it can become a litmus test for feeling—something, anything. In injury, too […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 5, 2014: Travels In and Around Space/Time and Substance
We’ve forgotten who we are, explorers, pioneers—not caretakers. “Cooper,” Matthew McConaughey’s character in the movie Interstellar. I think we become a mess if caretaking is our main task. Do we really want our journey to be about maintaining our relationships (with anyone or anything) or do we really need the fix of novelty? Yep, exploring […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 05, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 28, 2014: Education and the Community College Concept
With the increased emphasis on student success and performance-based funding in education, I think the following op-ed piece in the New York Times on Sunday, October, 26, 2014 bears reading: The American Dream is Leaving America, by Nicolas Kristof (http://nyti.ms/1z8uOlb). I think it a timely observation about the importance of educational access. I agree with […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 29, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 3, 2014
Uncovering problems should not be the same as identifying with them. Anon One’s identity is an ongoing dynamic—there is really no “place” one can land and declare it done. But the fact that one has a cold, does not mean one is a cold. Easy one, eh? But what about gender or culture or age […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 03, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 30, 2014
Waves are not measured in feet or inches, they are measured in increments of fear. Buzzy Trent, surfer Some patterns do seem to bear down on us. Getting lost in the particulars can be a recipe for disaster. Of course some particulars also bear down on us. Getting lost in the patterns in such a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 03, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 29, 2014
The most fundamental problem of politics is not the control of wickedness but the limitation of righteousness. Henry Kissinger Humans do seem to get their knickers in a twist when it comes to controlling “evil” much more often than when it comes to limiting self-righteousness. Perhaps we mistake righteousness as being a call to good. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 03, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 24, 2014: Defining Hierarchy
Hierarchy can be measured by the difference between those who have to pay attention to others and those who do not. There is a paradox there we might want to be mindful about in our interactions. And for those who like to assume stuff: I’m still practicing.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 25, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 23, 2014: Defining Enlightenment
Enlightenment can be measured by our ability to keep the filing straight—as in facts versus interpretations, theater versus reality, subjective versus objective reality, freedom versus determinism, etc. In other words, enlightenment is the degree we can live in a paradox without getting thrown off by one side of it or the other. And for those […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 25, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
August 22, 2014: Entertainment
We are in an Age of Entertainment. Again, I like theater. I like entertainment. A lot. But when we confuse entertainment with enlightenment, we are merely entertaining ourselves. That’s okay, unless we think we’re actually enlightened. And for those who like to assume stuff: I’m still practicing.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 25, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 26, 2014: Patterns and Particulars—and more?
Sometimes I get sick of language—it can just be so much noise. Sometimes I get sick of behaviors—they can be so much ado about nothing. Like physicist Niels Bohr’s theory that particles and waves are not separate, but are complementary, I suspect the same about words and behaviors. I suspect the same of all rhythms […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 26, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 25, 2014
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” What if one doesn’t get the picture? Sometimes it can take a thousand words to see the picture.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 26, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 24, 2014
“You can’t put a square peg into a round hole.” I guess it depends on the size of the peg and the hole. Or maybe the size of the hammer or the drill.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 26, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 23, 2014
“Find a penny, pick it up. If it’s heads, you’ll have good luck.” I found a penny while walking today. It’s was tails so I turned it over. Sometimes intent can make a difference.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 26, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 3, 2014: God and Machine
We build machines to alleviate the work of living, yet somehow manage to create more work to live. We use machines to build houses to protect us from nature, but have managed to become disconnected from nature. We build machines to make travel easier, but often find travel harder, not to mention getting along with […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 04, 2014
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
June 1, 2014: The Sandwich
We are always in a sandwich—living between this and that. Sometimes we’re the main ingredient, sometimes the condiment, sometimes the salt or pepper, sometimes the tomato, the lettuce, the onion… Nonetheless, our job is still the same. How we answer what our job is can enhance the sandwich, ruin it, or transcend it, even if […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 04, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 7, 2014: Dancing With Paradoxes
What is the difference between imagination and reality? They’re both here so do we favor one or the other or do we navigate both? After all, lots of reality, good and not so much, begins with imagination. On the other hand, imagination alone can be a fairly weak reality. What is the difference between intensity […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 07, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 1, 2014: More on Personality
It may be inappropriate to decide personality is the problem, especially when the problem is big. If we go with personality-solving rather than problem-solving, it’s down a rabbit hole for sure. The former is a nearly impossible task, the latter can be, but at least we’re trying to solve something that could be solved. What […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 07, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 17, 2014: Paths
It seems to me that folks who tend to navigate personalities and form connections tend to make more money. It seems to me that folks who try to get it right don’t tend to navigate personalities and they tend to make less money. Well—some artists make money after they’re deceased. Come to think about it, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 07, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 3, 2014: Technology, Part II
In any case (see yesterday’s post), technology will not eliminate the problem, only the excuse. Explanation Round?: When we’ve got all the technology in place so we aren’t just wallowing around trying to survive, we’re still us. What’s our excuse then to not transform? I’m fairly sure we’ll come up with something. Coming face-to-face with […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 02, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 2, 2014: Technology, Part I
I was in a technology meeting recently. What was our vision for the future was the theme? Are you kidding me? We need the equivalent of a pencil. Any idea how amazing a pencil is? It works across all kinds of platforms. It allows expression in words, in numbers, in musical notations, in art, in […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 02, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 1, 2014: April Fool’s Day
I’m thinking every day is Fool’s Day. We don’t need a special day to say so. It’s kind of like having a Breathing Day. I know, I know—it’s a day to fool people and be fooled and laugh. Being made a fool of is also a common event, almost like breathing. We can fool folks […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 02, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 17, 2014: Taking a Leap and Surviving It
Leaping into the abyss may require faith, but surviving it requires science. Bonus Round?: Thriving seems to require both.
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 17, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 10, 2014: Influencing The Influencer
I was watching Cosmos the other day. I had forgotten that our moon used to be much closer—apparently 25,000 miles away instead of 250,000 miles away. Apparently the tides were so powerful they helped to push the moon away. Bonus Round?: There are a world of facts that are important, but not as important as […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 17, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 24, 2014: A Koan
What’s the difference between dying while sitting on a hill grinning at the sunset or dying face down in the mud? Watch out for appearances. One answer to the koan depends on whether the dying was the best one could do. Grinning at the sunset could be an act of unmitigated defiance. Dying face down […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 24, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 6, 2014: Wolves and Sheep
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. James Bovard Participative governance can be empowering and it certainly is necessary—we need the input. But just how much input does a sheep have in the company of wolves, though the wolves can technically say the sheep […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 06, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2014: Being Set
Sometimes when humans are all set, it’s hard for us to really listen. For example, when we’re all decided about something (we’re a political conservative or a liberal, religious or not, etc.), that decision tends to become the filter through which our attention works. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it isn’t. Clarity is a […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 06, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 20, 2014: Holographic Universe and Experience–Don’t Worry, It’s Short and Pithy
A holographic picture (hologram) is a made up of pixels in which each pixel contains all of the information. The clarity of a hologram depends on how many pixels are involved in the picture. If it’s a holographic universe, then everything is in everything. One does not have to seek out an experience, only pay […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 13, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 16, 2014: More Stuff N’ Space; More Space N’ Stuff
All intellectual property rights still remain (yeah, I know–doesn’t it have to be intellectual before the intellectual property rights kick-in?). Points of no return eliminate choice. Of course one can go in circles and have many points of no return. Bonus Round?: What if we didn’t go in so many circles, yet still had many […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 09, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 7, 2014: New Year’s Ponderings
Copyrighted, trademarked, and all the usual declarations about intellectual “property”! What is your mind doing to shape your experience? Attributed to a Buddhist saying It’s a new year, a somewhat arbitrary designation for sure, but one that is good for marking endings and beginnings. As is the usual pattern, the preceding year was marked by […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 07, 2014
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 18, 2013: More About Greatness
Okay—about greatness again: Maybe what wears most great folks out is being great because of great quests. Sometimes, however, greatness is also about the accumulation of small acts of kindness—in addition to small insights gained. That isn’t likely to wear anyone out. In fact, it is likely to make both the giver and the receiver […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 15, 2013: Greatness
Got to have permission per all those copyright rules! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be great? When I see greatness in people, I see a lot of worn-out folks. It seems to be great, one has to be a kind of successful Sisyphus—you know, the character from Greek mythology who […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 16, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 7, 2013: The Time It Takes to Have Time
All the usual copyright stuff applies… Have you noticed it takes a lot of time to have time? It’s a lot of work to not have much to do. And if you’re the kind of being who likes to sit and watch sunrises or sunsets or birds flit about or if you like to sit […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 16, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
More Same Ol’, Same Ol’: November 25, 2013
The usual copyrights and disclaimers still apply. Let’s pretend there’s Karma—after all, stories can be rather useful in finding a truth. That’s not to say there is or isn’t Karma, but it is to say that in situations like this, we know the truth is we’re telling a story. So here’s our story: Karma is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2013
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
November 21, 2013: Same Ol’, Same Ol’
All the usual copyrights and disclaimers apply The compass heading is always the focus of our attention—meaning that our attention determines the compass heading. That attention/compass heading can shift as rapidly as there are directions or it can land on something as seemingly regular as the North Star. The point is if one wants to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 12, 2013: The Still-Not-Ready-For Whatever
And still the usual copyrights with the usual “who knows why?” tag. So, I have a question. Is deliberately doing the one best thing the only thing to do for the practiced mind or is it in some way being tethered to an unrelenting task-master? Sometimes there is great beauty in deliberately screwing up—effectively not […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 13, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
October 15, 2013: The Not-Ready-For Whatever
Still copyrighted, though who knows why. There is a difference between going to sleep with everything accomplished and going to sleep having done all one can do. In the former, the to-do list is empty. In the latter, the to-do list remains. There is nothing quite like sleep when one is free from the to-do […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 13, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 9, 2013: The Not Even Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The barometer of our evolution towards getting it right is our attitude. Much of human attitude stews in our resentment. We resent. Perhaps it’s about being born, a kind of abandonment. Perhaps it’s about needing so […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 09, 2013
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
August 17, 2013: The Not-Even-Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Remember summer vacations? Remember doing good work? When was the last night you spent outside yet felt safe? When was the last time you appreciated home? When and how did we get so out of rhythm? […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 17, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
July 20, 2013: The Not-Even-Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. A man I know passed away. I attended his memorial as I like him (yeah, I know about the verb tense). He was hard not to like. I’ve been to some memorials in my time. There […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 17, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
June 6, 2013: The Not-Even-Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Take away an army’s boots and you have crippled them. Author In war, when it comes to the need for “boots on the ground,” bare feet on the ground just won’t work—it’s a bit hard to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 06, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
May 12, 2013: The Not-Even-Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. May 12, 2013: Mother’s Day Father’s may not know, offspring may wonder, but a mother always knows the child is hers. Author Such knowing is the purview of motherhood and the basis for a bond that […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 13, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 21, 2013: The Not-Even-Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The trick of the “devil” is for each of us to grow tired and to feel put upon. Author And it’s easy to fall into. Relationships, work, driving, traveling—anything that demands our attention. I heard recently […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 21, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 9, 2013: The Not Even Ready For Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I really like not having anything to do, especially after having a lot to do. Author I went into the desert for a sojourn. Truck camping it was. Four days were planned. The Gods laughed. It […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 10, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
April 1, 2013: The Not Even Ready For Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
Brought to you by Blah, Blah, Blah, a division of Book-in-a-Drawer Publications. Trademarked, copyrighted, imprinted, branded, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. Groucho Marx Tough to type as my hands hurt from handling barbed-wire to repair a fence my neighbor’s horses have broken down. Of […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 01, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
March 1, 2013: Being a Purgatorian, Part I
Thus you may understand that love alone is the true seed of every merit in you, and of all acts for which you must atone. Dante Alighieri Have you ever wondered what language they speak in Limbo? Lee T. Gallup Are you carrying a big stick or are you just one? Author As I am […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
Being a Purgatorian, Part II
Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply Purgatory. Abraham Lincoln They have come up with a perfect understanding: He won’t try to run her life, and he won’t try to run his, either. Anonymous Marriages don’t last. When I meet a guy, the first question I ask myself is: is this the man […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
February 1, 2013: Musings: The Idle Mind as Heaven’s Workshop? Part I
Some people make sharp distinctions sort of between their recreational musings and their professional work. I don’t make that distinction very much. Whitfield Diffie Kicking a can down the road can be a great way to spend a day. Author As I’ve written before, the folks I know are busy people—I think kind of borderline […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 02, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
Musings: The Idle Mind as Heaven’s Workshop? Part II
There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know. Harry Truman Nothing against Harry, but I’m guessing we can create new histories. I mean, look at the difference in human history because of technology. As best as we can tell, that technology was new to human experience. However, give Harry […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 02, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
January 1, 2013: Things I’m Still Learning, Part I
He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool. F.M. Knowles It wouldn’t be New Year’s if I didn’t have regrets. William Thomas 2012 was an interesting year, as most of these years are and will likely continue to be. We seemed to have survived yet another catastrophic prediction, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 02, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
Things I’m Still Learning, Part II
May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions. Joey Adams Even with stopping at two parts, it looks like I’m heading into the New Year with a list of needed learnings that could fell me on my best day. Maybe I’ll be satisfied if I comfort myself on knowing how much […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 02, 2013
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
December 1, 2012: Holiday Thoughts, Part I
“At this time of year I find myself falling into a condition that I like to call Infectious romanticus or Sentimentalicous irrationalico.” Lewis Black Yep, it doesn’t matter what I do trying to stop it, it’s sentimental tsunami time. I won’t go into all the reasons why this is so over the years other than […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
Holiday Thoughts, Part II
Who decides when the applause should die down? It seems like it’s a group decision; everyone begins to say to themselves at the same time, “Well, okay, that’s enough of that.” George Carlin The Holidays will be over soon enough and the applause, such as it was, will die down and we’ll all forget about […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
November 1, 2012: More Caring and Less Carrying?: Political Diversions, Part I
“…it’s only when you stop trying to make sense of things that you start seeing.” Eugene Richards Warning: This is the vision part. The action part follows. It’s major election time again and as usual uninformed and low-informed opinions are appearing like locusts in a plague. Hopefully I won’t be one of those pesky beings, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 02, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
More Caring and Less Carrying?: Political Diversions, Part II
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. Japanese Proverb The best time to plant a tree was twenty-years ago. The second best time is now. Chinese Proverb I am basing what follows on a central premise: None of us is so dumb that we don’t have the ability to listen […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 02, 2012
- eThoughts
- 2 Comments.
October 1, 2012: Personal Sabotage
On the surface, sabotage sounds unidirectional and that direction is all bad. However, what if there was an underlying silver lining when we sabotage ourselves? Let’s start with asking if personal sabotage is necessary. I’m thinking such sabotage doesn’t kick-in unless it’s a facet of required change. Even the word “required” is a bit suspect, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 06, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
Group Sabotage
Sabotage is not just a personal undertaking, but one that can involve a group of folks, like the gathering-of-idiots example in the bit on personal sabotage written previously. And again, like personal sabotage, group sabotage could actually be a guiding light—a wake-up call that the body-whatever is wandering off trail. In writing this, I’m not […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 03, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
September 1, 2012: A Grin and Grim Short Story, Part I
Brought to you by Fun with Words,™ a division of Book-in-Drawer Publications. ™ Warning: The following may seem cynical and depressing, but is actually meant to be an inoculation against cynical and depressing. Somewhere in a “beginning” was communication. It was tough because communication requires at least two voices, whether within one entity or between […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
A Grin and Grim Short Story, Part II
Still brought to you by Fun with Words,™ a division of Book-in-Drawer Publications. ™ Warning: The following may seem cynical and depressing, but is actually meant to be an inoculation against cynical and depressing. All right, the part I scenario above all seems kind of grim and not much grin—and for good reason. It is […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Dick and Jane, Part II
Brought to you by Keeping It Simple,™ a division of Book-in-Drawer Publications.™ Warning: The following may seem cynical and depressing, but is actually meant to be an inoculation against cynical and depressing. Dick and Jane are married and have children. Dick and Jane have a home and stuff and careers. Dick and Jane are upstanding. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 10, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : August 1, 2012: Dick and Jane, Part I
Brought to you by Keeping It Simple,™ a division of Book-in-Drawer Publications.™ Warning: The following may seem cynical and depressing, but is actually meant to be an inoculation against cynical and depressing. See Dick notice himself. At first others think it’s cute. When Dick is older, others will worry he is self-absorbed. So will Dick. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 05, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Decisions, Part II
Brought to you by A Beta-Society Member Speaking Up™, a division of Book-in-Drawer Publications™. “Sir, What is the secret of your success?” a reporter asked a bank president. “Two words.” “And, sir, what are they?” “Good decisions.” “And how do you make good decisions?” “One word.” “And sir, what is that?” “Experience.” “And how do […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 12, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : July 1, 2012: Decisions, Part I
Brought to you by A Beta-Society Member Speaking Up™, a division of Book-in-Drawer Publications™. A “No” uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a “Yes” merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Attributed to Mohandas Gandhi The upfront disclaimer is that the following is simply a beta-society member speaking up. I will […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Slouching Towards Thriving?
Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid. Heinrich Heine Beware again, now it’s random musing that follows. The ants used to build colonies in the garage. I chased them out many times. Then they came to forage and I was okay. As it turns out, it is not […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 22, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : June 1, 2012: Thriving
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. J. Krishnamurti Beware, musing follows. Thriving, like surviving, is a very individual thing, though there are likely similarities with all folk. However, unlike surviving, I consider thriving to be a win-win—and a win-win in so many facets of our lives […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 02, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Wild Boar in a Tree
We were on an eight-mile, round trip hike to Hanakapiai Falls—a rugged hike if not a long one. We had to cross the river at least three times in each direction, slogging through mud, over trails that disappeared, traipsing along slippery rocks, having to use our hands in numerous places to hoist ourselves up or […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 21, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : May 1, 2012: Beauty, Delight, and Adventure
Kauai was an interesting adventure, though a week is certainly not enough time to unwind. Nonetheless, it was a week I will not soon forget. I’m clearly the kind of being who loves having nothing to do except what can come up as I’m going along. My lady friend, a being with a to-do list, […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Our Relationship and Influence With Perception
One thing about the involvement/no involvement paradox is that it is always about involvement. Even a hermit is involved in one way or the other. Spring break looms and my lady friend and I are headed to Kauai. Besides being a professor, I’m also an Academic Senate President. That means that vacations are not the […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 20, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : April 1, 2012: To Be Involved or Not To Be Involved—That is the Question
Interpersonal interactions can be a bit frustrating. One wouldn’t think there would be so much politics in such interactions, but alas… I get we’re all scared in some way or another. We all need help in some way or another. But until we learn that we don’t need others to be lesser for us to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Courage
Forget the dictionary definition on this one—we’re venturing forth without it. What does it take to realize and practice freedom and determinism, the consequences of each, along with acceptance and goodness of fit? I’m thinking it takes realizing and practicing our courage. I think we should lift the veil that makes courage an attribute for […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 25, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : March 1, 2012: Goodness of Fit
Okay, freedom seems to interact with determinism and vice versa. There are consequences in any case. Acceptance of the consequences, despite how much work we might face because of those consequences, seems important for our overall health. Besides, if we fully understand there are consequences as a result of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, we might […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Consequences, Part II
Perhaps consequences have not much been the lead sled dog in our framing of reality because arguments about freedom or determinism or morality seem so much more spectacular, if a bit ambiguous. For instance we can be inundated with dictums such as, be good go to heaven, be bad go to hell. Kill for sport […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 15, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : February 1. 2012: Consequences, Part I
60 Minutes can be an interesting television program. Recently there was the story about Leon Panetta, President Obama’s Secretary of Defense. A good story and a hard man not to like. But I took umbrage with his telling families who have lost a loved one in war that their son or daughter will not be […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Clutter, Part II
We saw each other at that moment—a moment without agenda. It was strange as it had always seemed that to connect required some agenda or the other, whether it was biological, environmental, spiritual, emotional, cognitive, social, individual, whatever. There was vastness in her being. There was vastness in mine. Yet in that vastness was something […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 23, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : January 1, 2012: Clutter, Part I
There she was, coming in like she owned the world. Beautiful, tall, lean, shapely, stately, poised, sensual and sensuous. She commanded—not demanded—attention. She was why the word “breathtaking” came about. I wondered what would take her breath away. And then I knew—and that was when she noticed. As we all know, the New Year is […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 01, 2012
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Holiday Thoughts, Part II
Continuing in the spirit of being thankful for all we do wrong, let’s grin a bit and keep ‘er going. All right, humans are directionally challenged. For all of our intent, our behaviors are like a shotgun blast on a distribution chart—all over the place with no real arrow of direction. Our attentions are so […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 18, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : December 1, 2011: Holiday Thoughts, Part I
Resentment may not be a wonderful holiday thought, but resentment is definitely a holiday sentiment. Interesting. And the motivation for resentment? Perhaps it’s because we already feel so pushed around that anything constituting another obligation is bound to be met with resentment. If we were not so overwhelmed, we might feel a bit better about […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Sometimes I Doan Wanna Pay Attention Any More
Motivation. Hmmm. Sometimes I get lost. What are we doing exactly? I get survival. Seems like a way to keep a certain constancy. There’s some comfort in that. However, one problem with trying to maintain constancy in a dynamic environment is massive energy expenditure. Calorically, it can be a bad return on investment. Unless one […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 15, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : November 1, 2011: Intimacy is Not One Thing
I was talking with a woman recently about various things. Along the way, intimacy came up. She railed about that. Intimacy, she claimed, is not about talking, intimacy is about being. If one talks about intimacy, that is not only not intimacy, it actually detracts from intimacy. She then proceeded to ask me what I […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Keeping One’s Head Down and One’s Attention Up
Brought to you by Theater of the Mind,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Sometimes it may seem like all I write about is a form of lament. Actually, my natural pattern is this grin—it’s all really pretty funny. It’s like the mother lode of comedy “out there” or “in here” what with humans running around […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 23, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : October 1, 2011: Badges, Prison Stripes, and Other Defining Garb
Brought to you by Theater of the Mind,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Sometime in the early 1970s, Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University ran an experiment called the Stanford Prison Experiment. It was terminated after about one week. I am going to take the idea and run with it, though I’m not the first and […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Conversations With a Magical Raven
Brought to you by Adventures in the Wilderness,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ After my conversation with Deer, I walked the fifteen or twenty minutes from the lake back to my campsite. I made some tea and moved about while enjoying the tea and the beginnings of evening. Soon I found myself exploring what had […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 15, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : September, 1, 2011: Conversations With a Magical Deer
Brought to you by Adventures in the Wilderness,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ I was napping in my camping hammock (eleven ounces and worth every cent) by a lake in the mountains, near where my camp was, when I was awakened by a deer moving about. Apparently the deer had not noticed me or noticed […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : More Nonsense?
On a micro level, relative to my small world, the institution of higher learning has been an interesting ride lately. The economic meltdown has driven up the amount of paperwork documenting accountability and driven down the time needed to polish learning. Joe Klein, wrote an article in Time (March 7, 2011) about the “…crusade to […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 16, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : August 1, 2011: Weirdness
Our real problems are almost entirely about us—about people. What is weird about living is us. We’ve made the context—we’ve allowed it. And now the weirdness of us seems to have a life of its own. Such momentum seems difficult to break. Our institutions don’t help—can’t help. As conceived, those things simply promote further separations […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : The Palaces of Hell
Brought to you by, Attempts at Sobriety and Levity,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ I am not going to pine for the past. I cannot imagine trying to live off the land or water. I cannot imagine being constantly at their mercy. I like cell phones, computers, television, and all of our technology and conveniences. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 10, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : July 1, 2011: The Slums of Heaven
Brought to you by, Watch Out for Lightning,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Going on vacation to visit relatives, friends, and old acquaintances is always interesting and my latest visits were no exception. Those close to us are an important part of life, a respite that can help mitigate the hell that sometimes swirls around […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : The Smartest Person in the World: How Frightening Would That Be?
Brought to you by, More Knucklehead Philosophy,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ It’s one thing to have an occasional idea that no one seems to have thought about and it’s entirely another thing—I imagine—to be that kind of person on a regular basis. I mean, just how unnerving would it be to be the smartest […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 12, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : June 1, 2011: Reality-Making: Is Our Notion of Time in the Way?
Brought to you by, Knucklehead Philosophy,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ All of these differing human attentions are a bit like the stories of leprechauns or ghosts intersecting with humans and how what we think are realities are only partially true. In other words, such stories are about puncturing our ideas (or other entities’ ideas) […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Equanimity
Brought to you by, Reality Theater,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Navigating through life seems to be a lesson in equanimity—though that doesn’t mean one has to sit idly by while life’s carnivores chew away on them. It does mean that we might be careful making attributions about why such events happen. Cause and effect […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 13, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : May 1, 2011: Reality?
Brought to you by, Random Musings After Another Weird Day,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ This reality business is rather interesting—and annoying, at least to the degree we struggle with trying to be clean about our interpretations so they don’t masquerade as facts. But we’re working with a limited apprehensional skill set. And that’s yet […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Let’s Misbehave
Not to dampen the misbehaving enthusiasts, but this misbehaving idea is nothing new. It’s been around for millennia and it doesn’t appear to have helped much either. In fact, it is clear there are cases in which misbehaving has run us off a cliff, if that is possible in Purgatorio (well, there is Inferno). So […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 11, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : April 1, 2011: Trying to Find Joy in Purgatorio
It’s been a bit serious lately: Clear shifts in political structure in the Middle East, a new war with Libya, our continuing war in Afghanistan, the earth rumbling off the eastern coast of Japan and the resulting tsunami and nuclear reactor problems, continuing global economic hardships, etc. And none of the above is about all […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : To Breathing
Breath is an interesting rhythm. I have noticed in myself and many others how discomfort makes shallow, breathing’s rhythm. I have noticed in myself and many others how joy deepens breathing’s rhythm. I have noticed far too much discomfort compared to joy, except perhaps in children not yet schooled by adults in life’s harsh ways. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 14, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : March 1, 2011: Thoughts in Bad Poetic Form
Brought to you by, Really Bad Poetry,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Awakening Are humans at a place between our bodies telling our minds how it is and our minds telling us how it is? It is sometimes true that our bodies are formidable, as it is sometimes true of social input and certainly of […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Still Sleepless in Nuevo
Brought to you by Women Don’t Give up Ribs,™ a subsidiary of Conscious/Unconscious, Figure/Ground Reality, AKA Red-Monkey Butt Alchemy,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ ©2011: All rights reserved, of course. We’ve got tongue-in-cheek ads! Most-of-the-time requirements for You: Intelligent, gorgeous, physically fit, economically stable, playful female. Must be agreeable without being whiny-dependent, conscientious without being […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 11, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : February 1, 2011: Sleepless in Nuevo
eThoughts : February 1, 2011: Sleepless in Nuevo Brought to you by Men Give up Ribs,™ a subsidiary of Conscious/Unconscious, Figure/Ground Reality, AKA Red-Monkey Butt Alchemy,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ ©2011: All rights reserved, of course. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” says she, as though asking for permission. “Okay,” says I. “I’ll […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : More For a New Year
So, what if the end of the Mayan Calendar—apparently set for December 2012—is correct? How shall we live until then? I’m not suggesting we cash out and spend like crazy—that could be a monetary mess if we keep on living. I am suggesting we cash out on the current economy of our interpersonal interactions. Personally […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 11, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : January 1, 2011: Auld Lang Syne
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Plato Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Dylan Thomas The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 01, 2011
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Holiday Thoughts, Part II.
I do like appearances, both for their help in my apprehension of reality and for the beauty of their existence. My choices are my preferences. I understand this. I do not celebrate my preferences as though they should be others’, I celebrate them because they are part of my apprehension. Celebrating Preferences I celebrate a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 23, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : December 1, 2010: Holiday Thoughts, Part I
For those who are not chronologically advanced, the Holiday season may have been very slow in arriving. But for those like me, 63-years along, I simply cannot believe it—again. However, one distinct advantage for the chronologically advanced is the accumulated memories and experiences of all the years of living. I have a lot of those […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : A Grandfather’s Vision.
Tyler-Grandson: What follows is not an inclusive list of a grandfather’s hopes for his grandson, but a reflection of some of what I hope you learn as you go about your journey. I hope you will be keen on living and that you will be full of wonder and that wonder will grow with your […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 18, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : November 1, 2010: Welcome to My Grandson
On October 6, 2010, Tyler Ashton Gibbs was born. My son now has his own son and both he and Tyler’s mother gained a sacred stewardship that will in one way or another, last for lifetimes—whether they like it or not! I’m not being smug, but it appears the new parents are getting about as […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Leaning Towards the Light, Enjoying the Shadows, and Loving the Night
The other night while I was enjoying the outdoor fire, the stars, the trees, and the silence, I began to wonder about my writing and why it can come off as so pedantic, though I have a pretty good sense of humor (really!). I think my humor is more objectively contextual—I work off of the […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 15, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : October 1, 2010: The Change/Stability Paradox
Recently, after looking for a new home, I discovered I was semi-broke. Yes, I have a home and I am not likely to lose it—it’s paid for and has been for maybe 25 years. Like most people the home has plummeted in value, but I don’t owe, so I’m not in much danger of being […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Leadership and Awareness: Who or What is in Charge?
Do you know why we like babies? They’re innocent, as in not running the world through their experience. Do not get me wrong, babies are not born with a blank slate—a tabula rasa—they are born with personalities, and hence with certain predilections. Babies clearly influence their learning. However, as babies, their predilections are not their […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 14, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : September 1, 2010: Leadership and Intimacy
I read many years ago that managers try to do things right and leaders try to do the right thing. I’ll take that as those who manage try to follow established guidelines and those who lead try to create new and appropriate guidelines. It is my thought as well, that leaders are simply those who […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : We Are
It seems to me that any good relationship deserves an occasional deep look. It’s a risky situation to be sure. Try finding out that the real basis of a relationship is a house of cards. However, we need people and sometimes it’s better to have some kind of relationship than no relationship at all. But […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 29, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : August 1, 2010: More About Moving Beyond “I am” to “We Are”
I seem to be up—it’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m a busy mulling. The usual disclaimer ensues: Random musings and a bit of a caustic mood follows—blah, blah, blah. Take the disclaimer seriously, the caustic mood not so much, and watch out for sudden thought-turns. And furthermore, please note that I certainly don’t do […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Aug, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Unfettered Awareness.
Recently I heard part of a discussion between some students about what appeared to be the nature of reality. In response to a student saying they saw the good in everything, another student replied, “Well, I’m realistic.” I blurted out, uninvited, “that doesn’t sound very realistic.” It seems to me that striving to be something […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 24, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : July 1, 2010: Life Doesn’t Repeat Itself, We Do”
I have had occasion lately to think about the human debris field that can be interpersonal relationships. And yep, that includes my screw-ups. And I have had occasion lately to think about the beauty that can be interpersonal relationships. And yep, that includes a contribution or two by yours truly. The debris field doesn’t just […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jul, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Rejection, Part II.
This muse is sounding humorless, I know. It is not a pleasant subject, but it is a pleasant resolution. So bear with me. Besides the thread of war in human existence, we also have a thread of maladaptive individuals living among us, regardless of the political/philosophical/religious/ orientation of a nation. The sum of these problems […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 16, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : June 1, 2010: Rejection, Part I.
Memorial Day has come and gone—a holiday to think about all those military veterans who have gone into harm’s way, including those who have given or have had their lives taken in the process. When I wonder about those who went into harm’s way, I cannot help but think about agendas. I suspect some of […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jun, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Conundrum, Part II
When one’s expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have. Stephen Hawking The rest of this is brought to you by Speak, Bozo, Speak,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ ©2010 All rights reserved (like anyone wants to rip off Bozo-Speak). All of this traversing paradoxes can be a bit intimidating. How […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 26, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : May 1, 2010: Condundrum, Part I
Yearn to understand first and to be understood second. Beca Lewis Allen The rest of this is brought to you by Speak, Bozo, Speak,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ ©2010 All rights reserved (like anyone wants to rip off Bozo-Speak). We live in a world—a universe (multiverse?) I think—of paradoxes. Paradoxes cannot be eliminated, but […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On May, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : The Extinction of Idiocy: The Cry Over Big Government Versus Individual Rights.
I have no idea whether the recently passed health-care bill will be a solid contribution to our society or a weight to drag it down. But I do know one thing: In general, private corporations were not taking care of the problems of adequate medical care. All of this talk about the advent of a […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 20, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : April 1, 2010: Extinction
There’s more to extinction than dinosaurs. In terms of Pavlovian or Skinnerian psychology, extinction is the apparent loss of associations between stimuli that had previously been learned. You know, repeatedly ring a bell and put down food and a dog will eventually associate the ringing bell with food and begin drooling at the sound of […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Apr, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : The Cognitive/Emotional Strobe-Light Effect and Bumper-Sticker Philosophies.
In the midst of all my semi-rehabilitation, I still notice how disconnected we, including me, can be. It’s as though one’s feelings and cognitions are not connected to the continuum, only to a picture-frame reference. Odd thing that. Without a continuum, how can we discover the connecting links? With only a picture-frame reference, how do […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 10, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : March 1, 2010: Doing Much of Nothing
Apparently life is a lot more difficult when one is a newbie at this physical rehabilitation stuff. But newbie or not, and realizing that so many are doing so much more and with likely a lot less to work with, I’m still struggling with trying to heal and to continue on with my life. It […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Mar, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Clamping Down
When one learns to live with pain, one takes a chance that the grip on one’s life necessary to live with pain will become a living appendage itself. In fact, it is not just physical pain, but cognitive, emotional, and spiritual pain that become a living part of us. When this happens, divesting ourselves of […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 20, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : February 1, 2010: Pain and Mobility
I went in on January 18, 2010 to have the so-called hip-replacement surgery. The spinal block didn’t take as needed so I was given general anesthesia. I went to sleep and woke up what seemed like an instant later in the recovery room. The surgery went well and now my attention is turned to preventing […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Feb, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : A New Year and Shifting Identity
The psychologist Erik Erikson thought that one’s identity is ever changing and that one of the major tasks as a human being is to keep up with that change. January 1, 2010 marks the beginning of a new year for a lot of us as well as the beginning of a new decade. As many […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 25, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : January 1, 2010: Holiday Adventures
Christmas 2009 was amazing. My entire family, excluding my brother, showed up and stayed around for a bit. My sister brought her two dogs and my son brought his. I’ve not had animals in the house for a long time, short of accidentally when my one remaining pet shoots past the unaware. And though my […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Jan, 01, 2010
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Holy-Days, Part II ©2009. All rights reserved.
Brought to you by, Random Musings from the Stream of Semi-Consciousness,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ There is little question in my mind that powers greater than us exist. There is also little question that whatever intelligence really is, there are those that have more of it. And there can be little doubt that stability […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 21, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : December 1, 2009: Holy-Days, Part I ©2009. All rights reserved.
Brought to you by, Random Musings from the Stream of Semi-Consciousness,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ For many of us, the days from Thanksgiving through January 1st are about holidays, a term dictionaries tend to define as a break in work for festivities and celebration. I don’t know why that definition only—aren’t holidays supposed to […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Dec, 01, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : Songs, Part II ©2009
Brought to you by, Really Bad Poetry,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Listening We were on the phone, Talking. I heard her peeing And the toilet flush. “What? Were you listening?” I had to ask. “I heard you,” she said. I suppose she did, Though she wasn’t listening. But then again, Maybe I only heard […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 20, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts: November 1, 2009: Songs, Part I ©2009. All rights reserved.
Brought to you by, Really Bad Poetry,™ a division of Book-In-A-Drawer Publications.™ Cooperation In the late afternoon I walked, Though one of my legs was not cooperating. Or maybe it was I that was not cooperating With my leg. Still we went along, As we all seem to do. Lament There was a song that […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Nov, 01, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts: Marriage
Why is there so much trouble with marriage? Okay, I don’t have easy answers. But I do have a thought about the societal structure of gender involvement (notice how I dodged the heterosexual versus homosexual issue?). And yes, naysayers, I am divorced. Consider this: Sometimes we learn more about our lives from the mistakes we […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 30, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : October 1, 2009: Soul Mates
The concept of having a soul mate almost always refers to a human-to-human relationship, though some humans seem to have animal pets as soul mates (as opposed to human pets—and don’t send your cards and letters to me, it’s a legitimate observation). And the concept of soul mate always seems to infer a good thing, […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Oct, 01, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : This and That, Part II
My son and I went backpacking again this year. I’m not talking anything more than finding an out-of-the-way spot in beautiful surroundings that is not hours from the car. And it must be quiet and serene. We know of a couple of places, even if we have to put in some driving to get there. […]
Read More- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 11, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
eThoughts : September 1, 2009: This and That, Part I
It’s been an interesting summer vacationing and getting things accomplished. The house and land are pretty well handled, though when I returned from my last vacation of the summer, I returned to a couple of non-working irrigation valves, a kitchen faucet that leaks a bit, and a toilet that now really won’t fill up. And […]
- By Travis Gibbs
- On Sep, 01, 2009
- eThoughts
- No Comments.
Recent Thoughts
- December 1, 2024: Making New Arrangements
- November, 1, 2024: America has the Look of Needing a Good Shit
- October 1, 2024: Being-Literacy
- September 1, 2024: The Infodemic
- August 1, 2024: Hair-Trigger Vitriol and Behaviors
- July 1, 2024: Decisions, Decisions
- June 1, 2024: Charm and Harm; Interesting and Intimate
- May 1, 2024: The Inclusion-Exclusion Craziness
- April 2, 2024: A Very Partial Story of an Old Man in the Woods in the Midst of Life’s Transient Things
- March, 1, 2024: Wisdom is Not a Singular Category
- February 1, 2024: Today’s Hunter-Gatherer Hunts for Information
- January 1, 2024: Hijacked: Time for a New Year
- December 1, 2023: Learning, Biology, Communication, Technology, Energy, and Alchemy
- November 1, 2023: Pre- and Post-Traumatic Stress
- October 1, 2023: When Language Becomes an Altar Instead of an Exchange
Stream of Consciousness
What people are saying
- Travis Gibbs on April 2, 2020: A Very Partial Story of Janis May
- Queenofchaos06 on April 2, 2020: A Very Partial Story of Janis May
- Travis Gibbs on November 1, 2019: The Trouble with Civility, Part II
- Edgar on November 1, 2019: The Trouble with Civility, Part II
- Travis Gibbs on July 1, 2019: Stoical in a Time of General Sorrow?
- Edgar on July 1, 2019: Stoical in a Time of General Sorrow?
- Edgar on January 31, 2019: Mind Hack: Part Deux (see the blog dated December 10, 2016)
- Travis Gibbs on January 31, 2019: Mind Hack: Part Deux (see the blog dated December 10, 2016)
- Edgar on January 31, 2019: Mind Hack: Part Deux (see the blog dated December 10, 2016)
- Travis Gibbs on April 29, 2018: A World of Full of Intersections
- Edgar on April 29, 2018: A World of Full of Intersections
- Travis Gibbs on March 26, 2018: Part IV: Courage
- Edgar on March 26, 2018: Part IV: Courage
- Travis Gibbs on Contact
- arianamromero on Contact
- Travis Gibbs on July 17, 2016: Making American Great Again? Telling it like it is?
- deborahdearest on July 17, 2016: Making American Great Again? Telling it like it is?
- Travis Gibbs on June 10, 2016: The Ratings Phenomenon
- adamgc91 on June 10, 2016: The Ratings Phenomenon
- Travis Gibbs on June 7, 2016: Who Can Use the Toilet?
- Immune2Tasers on June 7, 2016: Who Can Use the Toilet?
- Travis Gibbs on Contact
- ndelao on Contact
- Travis Gibbs on June 3, 2014: God and Machine
- actions on June 3, 2014: God and Machine
- Travis Gibbs on September 9, 2013: The Not Even Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
- Travis Gibbs on More Same Ol’, Same Ol’: November 25, 2013
- Lyla on More Same Ol’, Same Ol’: November 25, 2013
- Lyla on September 9, 2013: The Not Even Ready for Bumper-Sticker Philosophy
- Travis Gibbs on Contact
- Megan TLe on Contact
- Megan TLe on Contact
- Travis Gibbs on Contact
- Megan TLe on Contact
- Travis Gibbs on Contact
- Travis Gibbs on Renewal: One : Chasing Our Tails
- Travis Gibbs on More Caring and Less Carrying?: Political Diversions, Part II
- v1felipe on More Caring and Less Carrying?: Political Diversions, Part II
- v1felipe on Contact
- eThoughts: Freedom, Choice, and Enlightenment on Renewal The Non-Ordinary Reference Pages
- eThoughts: Holidays, Good Will, Genuineness, Control, Awareness, Love, Grace, and Experience | Travisgibbs.com on eThoughts : We Are and the Age of Clarity
- eThoughts: Freedom, Choice, and Enlightenment | Travisgibbs.com on Renewal Six : Choice Eventually Limits Choice
- Nice on Renewal: One : Chasing Our Tails