“Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe and, when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight.” – Rev. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)
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Thought For the Day: Liberty Is the Soul’s Right To Breathe
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Breathe, Girdled, Laws, Liberty, Long Breath, Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, Right, Soul, Thought For the Day
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Seasons Shift In Meaning
Seasons Shift In Meaning
by Michael Doyle
In times filled with doubt and question
One certainty stands without hesitation
That as the seasons shift in meaning
These changes influence every human being
Hearts break on the shores of coincidence
In this time seemingly devoid of justice
As phases constructed from Neolithic observation
Are no longer fixed by observation of cultivation
This dystopian pandemic has brought fixation
That some would pass as if humanity's liberation
To find that darkness is the path of woken light
While others still stand knowing wrong is not right
A few still bravely cling to Spring's optimism
And hold to Autumn's romance against Winter's pessimism
Quietly passing by a summer that has lost its hope
Humanity's back is up hard against that last rope
Carefully made plans have changed as if by whimsy
Evidencing the callous truth that life is flimsy
All that was dreamed can with a breath be undone
These challenges make it hard to chase the morning sun
Yes, it is hard to find pleasure in pointlessness
Still, all the same, trepidations require calmness
If we, as a whole, are going to weather this storm
And find our detangled values seeking out the new norm
(c) September 28, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Autumn, Callous Truth, Calmness, Carefully Made Plans, Certainty, Changes, Coincidence, Cultivaation, Detangled Values, Dystopian Pandemic, Fliimsy, Hope, Humanity's Back, Justice, Liberation, Meaning, Morning Sun, Neolithic Observation, New Norm, Optimsim, Pessimism, Pleasure, Poetry and Poems, Pointlessness, Question, Romance, Seasons, Spring, Summer, Times, Trepidation, Undone, Weather This Storm, Whimsy, Winter
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First Principles: There Is A Certain Enthusiasm In Liberty, That Makes Human Nature Rise Above Itself, In Acts of Bravery and Heroism
“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” -Hamilton (1775)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Acts, Alexander Hamilton, Bravery, Enthusiasm, First Principles, Heroism, Human Nature, Liberty, Rise
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Thought For the Day: It Is By Character and Not By Intellect the World Is Won
“It is by character and not by intellect the world is won.” – Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Character, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, Not Intellect, Thought For the Day, Won, World
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First Principles: They Define A Republic To Be A Government of Laws, and Not of Men
“They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men.” – John Adams
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Boston Gazette, Define, First Principles, Government of Laws, John Adams, Men, Novanglus, Republic
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Thought For the Day: The Central Function of Imaginative Literature Is To Make You Realize That Other People Act On Moral Convictions Different Than Your Own
“The central function of imaginative literature is to make you realize that other people act on moral convictions different from your own.” – William Empson, literary critic and poet (27 Sep 1906-1984)
Moments That Bring Gratitude
Moments That Bring Gratitude
by Michael Doyle
There are moments that bring gratitude
That we must face with the right attitude
A first basis needed, a case made then pleaded
There is the voice of God that must be heeded
These are the gifts that keep on giving
The smiles and nods that make up true living
Life is an ongoing bit of interconnection
It's the bottom of the ninth in this translation
In God's purposes there is a special plan
That started with walking with us as a man
There is a need for confidence arising from relevance
With the evidence given in its full prevalence
God's love flows into all of each of us
Seeded soil produces good things simply because
Of the fundamental elements of cultivation
God's guidance shepherd's our interpretation
The agendas of Christ must be lived out
Recognizing the authority given without doubt
This life of faith provides our best friend
Relational and on which we can always depend
Lovers of God are immersed in adoration
Given over to the purity of admiration
This is the calling to each of our lives
That bring the peace faithfully beyond strife
(c) September 26, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Admiration, Adoration, Authority, Best Friend, Bottom of the Ninth, Calling, Case, Christ, Cultivation, Depend, Doubt, Evidence, Faithfully, First Basis, Gifts, God's Love, God's Purposes, Gratitude, Interconnection, Interpretation, Life of Faith, Lovers of God, Moments, Peace, Poetry and Poems, Purity, Relational, Relevance, Right Attitude, Shepherd, Special Plan, Translation, True Living, Voice of God
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Thought For the Day: It Is Curious That Physical Courage Should Be So Common In the World and Moral Courage So Rare
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.” – Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Common, Courage, Currious, Mark Twain, Moral Courage, Physical, Rare, Thought For the Day, World
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First Principles: Every Man Who Loves His Country…Ought To…Be Able To Set A Due Value On the Means of Preserving It
“Every man who loves peace, every man who loves his country, every man who loves liberty, ought to have it ever before his eyes, that he may cherish in his heart a due attachment to the Union of America, and be able to set a due value on the means of preserving it.” – James Madison (1788)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Cherish, Country, Due Attachment, Due Value, Every Man, Eyes, First Principles, Heart, James Madison, Liberty, Love, Preserve, Union of America
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Installation
Installation
by Michael Doyle
In this race of recurrence
May we run it with endurance
The baton passes in every generation
There is a strategy in this veneration
Laying hands to pass authority
This is the way of the legendary
Time passes in legs of this race
Making changes that we must embrace
We hope for the best, not disaster
In those we choose to come after
Joined together as if one of the family
Reflecting the love of God's invincibility
Looking to the future brightly
This change of power is not taken lightly
We raise this man in our prayers
As his life takes on another layer
(c) September 25, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged After, Authority, Baton, Change of Power, Embrace, Endurance, Family, Future, Generation, God, Hope, Installation, Joined Together, Layer, Laying Hands, Legendary, Legs, Life, Poetry and Poems, Prayers, Race, Raise, Reflect, Strategy, Veneration
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