Tag: Ralph Waldo Emerson

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When Effort Becomes Effortless

“The best effort of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson When I turned 75, I took up playing the guitar. I have found it is not an effortless endeavor. I have to make great effort to remember the notes, find the right chords, keep the beat, strum the right strings, and remember the words. And things don’t come as easily when your fingers are not as nimble Read More

Title: Cnidaria, MultiView Light Sheet Microscopy (3 of 4) | Author: Helena Parra | Source: ZEISS Microscopy | License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Evolution of Consciousness

My wife sometimes accuses me of selective engagement. She says I am much more open to conversation with people whom I find physically attractive, intellectually stimulating, emotionally responsive, or spiritually evolved.

Guilty as charged. As it turns out, the idea of selective engagement goes back 500 million years.

Title: _MG_3044 | Author: Hugh Letheren | Source: Flickr | License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Courage and Creativity

It’s scary to be outside the margins of “normality.”

As any person (whether they they think of themselves as creative or not) knows, introducing newness goes hand-in-hand with disruption of established rules and expectations. But if we can find the courage to break out of rigid structures, we may be rewarded with finding a clearer path to joy, meaning, and purpose.