“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” – Sydney J. Harris
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Thought For the Day: Our Dilemma Is That We Hate Change and Love It At the Same Time; What We Really Want Is For Things To Remain the Same But Get Better
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Better, Change, Dilemma, Hate, Love, Remain the Sam, Same Tme, Sydney J. Harris, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: America Will Never Be Destroyed From the Outside. If We Falter and Lose Our Freedoms, It Will Be Because We Destroyed Ourselves
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” – Abraham Lincoln
(Look at the election results in NYC, Seattle, Portland, and elsewhere. We are voting in people who are bent on the destruction of America and our value system. This cannot stand. If it does, we stand to lose our republic.)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, America, Destruction, First Principles, Freedoms, Ourselves, Outside
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Fully Present In the Past
Fully Present In the Past
by Michael Doyle
Rage bait and other angry fills
Have long ceased being thrills.
No one has asked for my tainted advice,
But I think it's long past time to offer mine.
Let's not be rattled by our every whim.
Instead, let's look through the eyes of a child,
And speak as if we are speaking only to him,
Keeping smooth and calm instead of being riled.
Let's become fully present and fully feeling
About what the person is thinking instead of reeling.
That is the chaos of that person's present life.
In doing this, we find more peace and less strife.
It's something that we all need to know,
And it is best approached through authority, not show.
Looking at an unexpected profile takes courage.
It's these moments of bravery we should not discourage.
Sometimes goodness takes a lot of inner strength.
It's what gets us through a bad day's length.
Sometimes we can't help getting caught up in anger.
It's that look of love that removes the danger.
Sometimes life's struggles can be a fumble.
Despite our best efforts, we take our tumble.
The good and the bad are often what we do with it,
And no matter how hard we try, there are things we can't prevent.
It's like trying to right an angle meant to be bent,
Or perhaps hold on to currency that is already spent.
There are things that are near impossible to improve,
Even Atlas shrugged at a rock that he couldn't move.
There's a lot of truth to our maturity,
And no getting around it, if we will do it honestly.
We learn this from the roles in which we're cast
This and that, there is no escaping the past.
(c) November 17, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Angry Fills, Authority, Chaos, Courage, Discourage, Eyes of a Child, Fully Present, Goodness, Inner Strength, Know, Past, Poetry and Poems, Profile, Rage Bait, Reel, Strife, Tainted Adviice, Thrill, Whim
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Thought For the Day: We Are Made Wise Not By the Recollection of Our Past, But By the Responsibility For Our Future
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” – George Bernard Shaw
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Future, George Bernard Shaw, Past, Recollection, Responsibility, Thought For the Day, We, Wise
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First Principles: To Argue With A Person Who Has Renounced the Use of Reason Is Like Administering Medicine To the Dead
“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.” – Thomas Paine
(In this age where each of us are prone to believe all views opposed to our own are nonsense, maybe we’d do well remembering this sage advice at the holiday dinner table?)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Argue, Dead, First Principles, Holiays, Medicine, Persons, Reason, Renounce, Thomas Paine
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Of Harmony and Division
Of Harmony and Division
by Michael Doyle
There in all the bold stories told
Of early Christians in days of old,
Paul found too many walking in false division
And this led to words of needed admonition.
The quality of the church family's worship
Comes down to our walking relationship
As we step into our best selves with validity,
And we give all we can to our candid ability.
We find His lessons in their loving trace
As He comes to meet us in our meeting space.
All that's given for us to finally learn
All of the truths needed for us to discern.
Living with pride, discord, and too much ambition
Can subject God's family to unwarranted inhibition.
Division may have its trend of inevitability,
But all of God's children should work toward unity.
Thought it may seem that differences are demanding,
Most of the Church's brokenness is a misunderstanding.
We must commit to intentional effort and humility
Reconciliation and collaboration will bring spiritual harmony.
Gossip creates faction, and that leads to reactions
That, without solid effort, splits into actionable factions.
And this can only disturb the peace of God's family,
When of one accord, we must instead strive for unity.
We of God's people are meant to be joined as a whole.
This miracle of unity is the adhesive of the soul.
We must gently apply our efforts with loving forbearance.
This this is the way for the Church's preservance.
(c) November 16, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged amily, Christinaity, Church, Division, Dvision, Harmony, Paul, Poetry and Poems, Unity
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Thought For the Day: If Christ’s Message Could Be Distilled Down To One Line, That Line Would Have To Do With Kindness and Inclusiveness, Not Rules and Divisiveness
“If Christ’s message could be distilled down to one line, that line would have to do with kindness and inclusiveness, not rules and divisiveness.” – Roland Merullo
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Christ, Distil, Divisiveness, Inclusiveness, Kinndess, Message, One Line, Rolan Merullo, Rules, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: I Urge You, Brothers and Sisters, To Watch Out For Those Who Cause Divisions and Put Obstacles In Your Way That Are Contrary To the Teaching You Have Learned. Keep Away From Them.
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” – Romans 16:17
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Contracy, Divisions, First Principles, Learn, Obstacles, Romans 16:17, Turn Away, Urge, Watch Out
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Sunny Rays For Better Days
Sunny Rays For Better Days
by Michael Doyle
All around the neighborhood,
It's something understood.
That it comes down to right attitude,
And it comes down to gratitude.
Glimpse by glimpse, behind the doors,
We find friends we've come to adore.
Though sometimes, it's hard to forgive,
But we have to release hurts to truly live.
It comes down to a simple hello,
To bring a new high from an old low.
Try as we might to keep love in sight,
Sometimes it's hard to get this right.
All across the old neighborhood,
It's something that needs to be understood.
A writer knows from the front row seat,
Every day, it is a broken world that we greet.
With our words, we can find a way to change
The few things we know we need to rearrange
To somehow make this world the better place
We would all love to honestly embrace.
It comes down to a simple hello,
To bring a new high from an old low.
Try as we might to keep love in sight,
Sometimes it's hard to get this right.
Has the world been too burdened to say
That familiar phrase that makes it okay.
With a wink and nod, I say that I love you,
And if I could, I'd say it in all that I do.
Every day brings us a new opportunity
To distinguish ourselves with kept dignity.
Learning to do the right thing with wounded pride
As we learn what to say and what to hide.
It comes down to a simple hello,
To bring a new high from an old low.
Try as we might to keep love in sight,
Sometimes it's hard to get this right.
It's not a puff piece to remember most
The bearer of the fruits of the Holy Ghost.
It's a chance to reflect and cross-direct,
And maybe, just maybe, reconnect...
With all the right things that life can give,
Like loving one another, and learning to forgive.
Somewhere in the middle of a million love songs
Is the secret to how we can all belong.
It comes down to a simple hello,
To bring a new high from an old low.
Try as we might to keep love in sight,
Sometimes it's hard to get this right.
(c) November 15, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Better Days, Doors, Forgive, Friends, Glimpse, Gratitude, Hello, Hurt, Life, Live, Love, Neighborhood, Poetry and Poems, Relationships, Right Attitude, Sight, Sunny Rays, Undestood, Writing
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Thought For the Day: It Is Better To Be Divided By Truth Than To Be United In Error
“It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie. There is only one Gospel.” – Adrian Rogers
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Adrian Rogers, Comfort, Division, Error, Falsehood, Heal, Kill, Speak, Thought For the Day, Truth, Unity
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ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 