creatures of temperament

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing:
but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

— Proverbs 25:2

There are a hundred things you could be doing differently that will change the future. There is always a button you can press to advance the plot. Some of these things are mysterious and will require a great search. Others simply require work.

One of the best things you can do is face this sweat willingly, joyously. Nature places before us innumerable pleasures, big and small. They are thinly veiled. Aren’t you going to seek them out?

Many pleasures of life come from contemplation that improves with age. Every smaller pleasure is compounded by wisdom. Pleasures begin with the senses, but they dwell the longest in contemplation.

Optimism and faith and imagination tend to arrive together. The pessimist is an unobservant man, mistaking lack of belief for confidence.

You cannot forecast life or forecast happiness with any certainty. Much of life’s good you stumble upon in one way or another. But I think this misleads people into thinking they somehow have no part in it. One must believe that another world is possible, then go look for it.

Introspection, desire, passion, these need to be coupled with effort. Even if it is just a tiny bit of effort every day. Passions and desires are only real if they lead to action.

It’s spring here in New Hampshire. Out the window, a thousand fat robins search through the field.

s s