“There can be no public or private virtue unless the foundation of action is the practice of truth.” – George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906)
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Thought For the Day: There Can Be No Public or Private Virtue Unless the Foundation of Action Is the Practice of Truth
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Action, Foundation, George Jacob Holyoake, Practice, Private, Public, Thought For the Day, Truth, Virtue
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The Magic of Hope, Part I
The Magic of Hope, Part I
by Michael Doyle
In all of the hustled hassle
Of a snow-blanketed sense of season
Life is oft lived like an air-castle
Filled with whimsy decorated with reason
A good Christmas is worked upon
And not just a state-of-mind
Just as soon approached as gone
While one more year is left behind
Even children feel it, walking in nightmare
Too busy to take their special part
Having half-forgotten why it is to care
Absent those things best kept in the heart
Let's not forget that the universe is made of story
Certainly not only those things like atomic particles
There is is in the half missed blessing of true glory
Or at least I have read so in dusted-off articles
The magic of snow somehow twinkles in
Children begin to cozy up as the story begins
A story tells its beginning set in Nordic forest
When a young boy begins his sacred quest
Danger it seems lurks quietly everywhere
Yet crisis is adverted by just missing a bear
While times are so hard as making ends meet
Is best met with bravery and on one's feet
Not so long ago in a place not unlike this
There lived a girl, the kind you wouldn't want to miss
One day wandering in woods and under the silver moon
It wasn't long before she became as lost as her tune
Through the shadowing skies she whistled and walked
Skipping past cotton soft clouds and with giants she talked
Keeping herself as her own truest and best company
Until she found a secret village where sought sympathy
Elftown, in which lived all the most magical of elves
And who kept all of their magic bottled on top shelves
Each day was a day filled with the most wonderful happiness
Filled with their moments, blessed with purity and bliss
Believing as it is, is often as good as all of the knowing
Especially when nestled inside, while outside it is snowing
A noise is heard an undecided sort of a timid squeak
With these floorboards, it might as well have been a creak
A gentle reminder comes to foster half-forgotten belief
Speaking without words, yet somehow offering relief
There is in belief in doing, the taking of us half the way there
Until cheerful and brave, our destination draws near
Truth is there is no one so poor as those who somehow forget
The last time they've smiled and only live to recall their regret
The miserable, as always, take great pleasure in tortured company
Yet, hope is the spark to keep going on, on the vapors of empty
Two kind words are all some ever really need to wistfully hear
Like a warm memory that helps the meek to hold on and persevere
This then is the incentive to hang on the end of the rope
And start the journey to reclaim the magic of hope
(c) December 10, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Air-Castle, Approach, Articles, Atomic Particles, Bear, Believing, Best Company, Blessed, Blessing, Bliss, Brave, Busy, Cheerful, Children, Christmas, Company, Cozy, Crisis, Danger, Destination, Elves, End of the Rope, Everywhere, Feet, Floorboards, Forget, Gentle Reminder, Giants, Girl, Half-Forgotten, Happiness, Hassle, Hear, Heart, Incentive, Journey, Knowing, Lost, Lurk, Magic of Hope, Magic of Snow, Making Ends Meet, Miserable, Nestled, Nightmare, Noise, Nordic Forest, Persevere, Place, Poetry and Poems, Poor, Purity, Read, Reason, Reclaim, Regret, Relief, Sacred Quest, Season, Secret Village, Silver Moon, Skies, Snow, Snowing, Speaking Without Words, Special Part, State-of-Mind, Story, Sympathy, Talked, Top Shelves, True Glory, Truth, Tune, Twinkle, Two Kind Words, Universe, Vapors, Walked, Warm Memory, Whimsy, Woods, Year
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Thought For the Day: Those Intoxicated By the Advance of Knowledge So Often Become the Enemies of Freedom
“Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that ‘the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow with the advance of science.’ Unfortunately, the popular effect of this scientific advance has been a belief, seemingly shared by many scientists, that the range of our ignorance is steadily diminishing and that we can therefore aim at more comprehensive and deliberate control of all human activities. It is for this reason that those intoxicated by the advance of knowledge so often become the enemies of freedom.” – Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992)
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Tagged Advance of Knowledge, Advance of Science, Aim, Beginning, Belief, Comprehensive, Control, Deliberate, Diminish, Enemy, Freedom, Friedrich A. von Hayek, Grow, Human Activities, Ignorance, Intoxicate, Modern Science, Often, Popular Effect, Reason, Recognize, Scientific Advance, Scientists, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: Your Love of Liberty – Your Respect for the Laws… and Your Practice of the Moral and Religious Obligations, Are the Strongest Claims to National and Individual Happiness
“Your love of liberty — your respect for the laws — your habits of industry — and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness.” – George Washington (1789)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Claim, First Principles, George Washington, Habit, Happiness, Individual, Industry, Law, Liberty, Love, Moral, National, Obligation, Practice, Religious, Respect
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Always Time For A Story
Always Time For A Story
by Michael Doyle
Quietly sitting on the pew
There in one sense, family
Wearing our brother's coat
And in this, draped in poverty
Keeping warm on Christmas night
All for the sake of spirits bright
Kept a flicker in swaddling clothes
As only as a love the child knows
Excited voices and joyful eyes
Looking for the Christmas surprise
A secret to be shared with loving heart
This then is a love's story from the start
A doll in an old store window
Peers out from behind its shadow
There is a story yet to share
Filled with love beyond mortal compare
There is always time for a story
Filled with adventure and full of glory
Kings and paupers filled with wishes
Platters filled with food as exotic dishes
Some might wish more for purest gold
Other may wish for happiness missed from old
Kindred hearts lost in their separation
Cry out for solace in their desperation
Missing the one so faraway
And needed home for Christmas Day
Digging in backyard deep as the hole
To reach for the comfort within our soul
Great distances beg for sympathy
As the lonely heart speaks in empathy
If only there'll be a place to be
And if only you'd keep a place in your heart for me
There is no such thing as second hand embarrassment
When a child's heart expresses its hurt sentiment
A love meant to share shines in saddened eyes
Too young to know that life is filled with dull surprise
And unafraid to quietly hold to one's dream
However unlikely it might be or at least seem
You work at it until you find that right sort of way
And then the one you miss might yet be home on Christmas Day
(c) December 9, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Child, Child's Heart, Christmas Day, Christmas Night, Coat, Comfort, Compare, Distances, Doll, Dream, Dull Surprise, Empathy, Excite, Eyes, Family, Glory, Gold, Heart, Hole, Home, Hurt, Joyful, Kings, Know, Lonely Heart, Love, Love's Story, Loving Heart, Miss, Paupers, Pew, Place, Poetry and Poems, Poverty, Saddened Eyes, Second Hand Embarrassment, Secret, Seem, Sentiment, Shadow, Share, Sit, Soul, Spirits Bright, Story, Surprise, Swaddling Clothes, Sympathy, Time, Too Young, Unafraid, Voice, Warm, Window, Wishes
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First Principles: A Good Moral Character Is the First Essential In A Man
“A good moral character is the first essential in a man.” – George Washington
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Tagged Character, First Essential, First Principles, George Washington, Good, Mankind, Moral
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Thought For the Day: Blessed Is the Season Which Engages the Whole World In A Conspiracy of Love
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” – Hamilton Wright Mabie
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Tagged Blessed, Conspiracy, Engage, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Love, Season, Thought For the Day, Whole Wold
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Invitation To Change
Invitation To Change
by Michael Doyle
Change a life with an invitation
The real thing given, not imitation
Christmas comes in just a few days
Let's show it in all of our ways
It's worth it to think and recall
That Christ our savior came for us all
The chosen has come in His full glory
Welcoming with love the Christmas story
Praised in faithfulness for all that's done
By the Father, the Holy Ghost, and the Son
Blessings arrive in so many special ways
To shelter us in love through all of our days
(c) December 8, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged All of Our Days, Arrive, Blessings, Change, Chosen, Christ, Christmas, Days, Done, Faithfulness, Glory, Holy Ghost, Imitation, Invitation, Life, Love, Praise, Recall, Savior, Shelter, Show, Son, Special, Story, The Father, Think, Ways
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First Principles: This I Hope Will Be the Age of Experiments In Government, and That Their Basis Will Be Founded In Principles of Honesty, Not of Mere Force
“This I hope will be the age of experiments in government, and that their basis will be founded in principles of honesty, not of mere force.” – Thomas Jefferson (1796)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Age, Basis, Experiment, First Principles, Founded, Government, Honesty, Hope, Mere Force, Principles, Thomas Jefferson
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Thought For the Day: The Real Index of Civilization Is When People Are Kinder Than They Need To be
“The real index of civilization is when people are kinder than they need to be.”-Louis de Bernieres, novelist (b. 8 Dec 1954)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Civilization, Index, Kinder, Louis de Bernieres, Need, People, Real, Thought For the Day
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