When you think of it in terms of ecology, Hitchhiking has very little to do with the economy. From my own experience, it's about relationships Perhaps even sometimes about brinksmanship.
The people that are met on the open road Are full of stories that are dying to be told. Then again, this reminds me of the danger That comes with accepting rides from any stranger.
The thing is that if all strangers are friends, unmet, Are the odds really stacked for or against regret? For myself, while I have met few with any real glory, I have never met anyone who picked me up without a story.
It's the heart of life when it comes time to fly, Very few extended thumbs are not worth the try. Caught rides when thought of in the collective, The wide open road tends to add to one's perspective.
Those who have studied the hazards find them few. The ratio of harm to fun should offer a subtle clue. But urban myths play it up for the factor of fear, Most of us would rather emphasize pleasurable cheer.
The cheer of knowing that we truly are not alone, In-person conversations beat speaking on the phone. Hitchhiking has had somewhat of a new emergence. Fellow travelers speak in terms of a resurgence.
Maybe America and its traveling companions can begin To trust each other and to know each other once again. Hitching rides with strangers can plant God's seed Of knowing that trust is as common as we have need.
(c) April 28, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
A lot can be said and with enormous passion For Jewish and Gentile people with compassion. In the obedience of faith, we live God's story, All for the sake of our Father's glory.
We are new creatures in this family, Wearing the garments of God faithfully We are to give away all this grace. The goodness of all this we embrace.
Paul spoke to his brethren of the need for restoration. Doing his best to remind all of the Jewish nation, But like a lullaby effect without any question, We know what we want to know without any hesitation.
Asking questions beyond the sins of self-deception, We betray ourselves with comfortable misconceptions. All of us walk between our faith and unintended tension Across the discomfort, as we learn to redirect attention.
Self-betraying is the ownership of what we do and need. We ignore the unexpected demands of being freed. Like a driver no longer steering but moving on ahead, Adjustments are missed as we hide inside our heads.
We get lost in walking rituals of blind-sighted worship When what we need is to find our way to right relationship. God so loved the world that He gave us the ability, And now we must grow into our best capability
The eyes of our hearts need to see the holy light In the the world's darkness as we fight the good fight. Disturbance comes to call us ever higher As we reach to comfort others, not our own desires.
Options considered are the way we learn to grow. The mercy of God is to learn what we might know. Bookended by discipleship and evangelism, We are on the mission of God's profound optimism.
There is a world that we find all around. It needs us to reach out as God's love abounds Developing a heart that feels for the lost No longer insular but willing to sacrifice the cost.
The cost of loving others as is the Lord's will. To live the life that God freely reveals, We live our latter years as if at our start Sharing with others straight from our hearts.
The world outside us waits for us to share Jesus, as our savior, who truly cares. Out of our abundance, we are to freely give The pathway needed for others to truly live.
(c) April 27, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
The things of this world come in complexity. What some face causes others frayed anxiety. When we versify in earnest, we find the truth. It can be as frustrating as an elder as it was in youth.
It was this way for me week among friends Who hold counter-opinions frayed at their ends About deeply contested issues brought to light And as for myself, I'd rather hike than fight
What in war, we too often confront and see Is not that which it is that we want desperately. There is very little love and too much brutality And yet, both of these are the way of humanity.
Idealism speaks of citizen soldiers and sacrifice. The truth is that doing one's duty manages to suffice. It gets more complex in the hues of a divided nation. Sometimes, these quandaries defy reasonable explanations.
It is suggested that it is sweet and fitting to die For the well-being of others, and I choke on my reply. If this were really true, the generals should go first If this valor leaves them dry-mouthed and with thirst.
Go ahead, then, good general, please show us how it's done. As you go into battle for glory, tell us when it's won. Let the scales of justice define moral integrity And let this be cone with the strictest impartiality.
For with the fall of virtue will come our fragility. Otherwise, decay, betrayal, and hubris will burden our humility. There, in the fallow battlefield, lays a tragic wasteland. Where when death comes, no one is truly fit to command.
(c) April 26, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.” – Edward R. Murrow
“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison
Being a father who is generationally removed Leaves very little feeling that life has improved. The world is spinning, and it feels blurred When I think of the changes that have occurred.
I watch my daughters rooting for their aspirations At the same time, I cry for the broken nations A life that consists of a cradle-to-empty career Only leaves me tattered in my unshared tears
I watch them struggle between relationships, Wondering if they believe in a god to worship. As they make their own kind of choices, Each of them independently finding their voices.
Will there be wedding pictures above a fireplace Or just a cold house and a career they embrace? I watch them walk away from sacred traditions And try to feel fulfilled with pics of graduation
It takes a lot in life to press on that far. I find myself thinking as I strum on this guitar, Where's the bad of God, country, and the family? It's all these things that mean so much to me.
There's a lot of discipline in the good girl mentality. Mastering the skill sets requires great facility. Still, all the things that I value aren't empty, And what would be the harm of God, country, and family?
We have awakened at the dawn of a new girl order in life. It's a day and age when it is meaningless to be a wife. Only a new sense of the heroic feminist will save this day. I watch over my daughters' sleeping, and I silently pray.
(c) April 25, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
