The Blind Squirrel: A happy and peaceful Easter to you.....

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This morning dawned beautiful. Quiet but for the birds, peaceful is the only word that applies. A good morning for reflection on life, both past and future. I woke with a smile

, rare for me, and enjoyed the moment.

For Easter breakfast, in solitude, I enjoyed a simple meal of biscuits and coffee. Prepackaged crescent rolls from a tube, sliced and laid out in ranks. Each biscuit decorated with a small sliver of cold butter on top, and baked till golden. Paired with a spoon full of Raspberry jam, and a large mug of strong coffee laced with cream; Nothing to impress a culinary master, but tasty and warming.

It's a good morning to take a walk in the cold air... seeing the reflections of the trees on the ponds still surface... and gather thoughts like stray whispers in the breeze. A morning to take stock, counting the good against the bad, and stare off into the hazy future.

'Atlas Shrugged', 1957

"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." ('Atlas Shrugged' 1957)

Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.
(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"

The Blind Squirrel

Sunday, April 12, 2009

A happy and peaceful Easter to you.....

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Ayn Rand

'Atlas Shrugged', 1957

Robert Heinlein

Ronald Reagan said: