I agree and I disagree. I love your writing, even the disagreeable parts, because they give me something to discuss. Your thoughts about community and society are interesting. I agree complete with the concepts, but not at all with some of the other parts. I will have to think about this. Thank you for sharing.
Elsie, I have somewhat controversial opinions on various issues, but they came about following many decades of pondering and based upon my life experiences. I am tolerant of other peoples opinions and like those people despite their opinions.
I agree with most of what you said here, in particular about how debt runs the economy and how debt traps people into a life of servitude. The most important message is get out of debt and stay out. Buy only what you need and consume less.
Perry, I remember when I was young, how things were more local, credit based living hadn't taken hold, and in retrospec, i feel it's not merely a better way to live but truly, credit and technology are what make us beholden to the globalists . . . if we're able to decouple from that, we're able to decouple from the globalists.
One more comment. I have started to use cash again for some purchases. It is odd the way store clerks look at me, and how hard it is for them to make change.
I am 66, so I think we are of the same age. I grew up with cash, pre debit, pre credit cards. There was layaway for big purchases, chiefly for furniture. Do you remember that?
My father paid cash for everything, incl for cars, second-hand of course. I also used cash until I got my first cc after graduating from university. My first car was a 1975 Ford Grenada, which I bought in 1980 for $800.
good morning, Laura, greed has run its course it seems and it's high time for people to become people again as i see things, thank you fr taking time to comment.
I am old enough to remember when cash was king. My Nonna would always say if you can not afford something then you do not need it. Those were the days 💜
Wow David! This is something! I think you should write a book. Seriously. I'm only halfway through but plan to finish when I have another hour or so;) You're a fantastic writer and I'm so happy to have found you on Substack. Technology is good for something. Also Klaus Schwab looks like a villain from an Avengers movie. What a freak! "You will own nothing and be happy." Notice how he says you and not we? F U Klaus! Rock on David! Sabrinalabow.substack.com
good morning, Lady Sabrina and thank you for the kind words . . . regarding technology, you are quite right, without it, my chances of meeting you would have been mighty slim!
Love this article especially the ending because from what I understand Kirkegaard felt that God is personal, that Hos place is within the single human soul and I believe that is where we all need to start by opening our heart to God
Holly, Kierkegaard was unusual in philo as an intellectual plus a lay Christian, ever read his little essay on the difference between an apostle and a genius?
No I have not read any of his work. Just short quotes here and there thank you I will have to check it out. I am sorry that you have lost both your parents. My father died when I was 13. I believe that thru suffering we can find God.
Fhew!! I’ve red your blog all morning on the way to my regular place in Budapest which used to be my home. I am amazed to find a kindred spirit on the other side of the ocean.
So many great ideas, so many insights.
Thank you David. Will keep reading your stuff regularly.
hi HP! and thank you for taking time to comment. One of the blessings of this internet is the ability to meet and chat with people from around the world so I’m delighted to make your acquaintance and will visit your blog during lunch break or after work
"Culture is a seed within the souls of a people. It can’t be destroyed; it can only be subdued" - just love this 💕
Thank you David 🙏
I really enjoyed reading your blog! You made me laugh, agree, disagree -- all things we do as humans.
Blogs like yours give me hope ✨
Hope that we haven't all lost our 'common sense'.
I am in what I call my 'third act' - Also trying my hand at writing - not yet as open as you, but we are all - as 'they' say- (whoever they are) - 'works in progress'.
hi Janet, thank you for this comment, my hope of course was that decent people would understand that all is not lost, and from what i see in the world, the majority is decent so all this corrosive clamor is a mirage . . . write for yourself, in a private diary, i discovered that i love to write!~
Enjoyable read, thanks 🙏. If you’d make The Sphere of Affinity a separate post, I wager people would restack the hell out of it. I know I would, even though I disagree with some of your other spoutings.
Jonathan, thanks for the advice . . . this blog is a thought dump so sphere of affinity may get isolated and expanded in the future . . . i like disagreement, thrive on it actually, as long as it's civil of course . . . in some cases, it sharpens my arguments, in other cases i enjoy the luxury of a spirited debate with a fellow human being. :)
Content to be content... I like this. I'm at this stage in life now and some people are so disappointed (the fighters), but I'm addicted to peace. As your post is one long piece, I must say at this point that I tend to like a post even if I do not agree with all the content in it. :) However, as I enjoy most of it, I will return to read more pages later. Thanks, David!
thank you, Orla, for your kind comment . . . if we agreed on everything, we'd have an echo chamber right? . . . and the difference between people like us and those others we talked about over in your post in the feed, is that we don't dismiss each other over such differences. hope your weekend is splendid.
Well, it's just rebellion. They think God is going to vanish if they say He doesn't exist. Throw out all the wisdom of centuries and make up their own rules. I wonder how long that will last? :)
Shadow, thanks for your cryptic comment . . . anything you can glean from my thoughts i am pleased to share . . . also, thanks for the restack, i tried to follow the link in the notice to thank you at the restack but the darn thing brings me here instead lol
you're a great read, Shadow, your POVs are unique . . . we never know what to expect from you! . . . that's a good thing . . . who the hell wants to be predictable?
haha well, that line could be interpreted two ways . . . one way being platonic . . . she's never the same girl two days in a row . . . or erotic . . . seduce her and move on
Oh, she is definatly, in the contexual flow of the entire song...wait a minte, my lipps are flapping. She is deifatly speaking in the register of sexual extacy.
A mighty piece full of exceptional wisdom which is a bit too long for me to read and digest in one sitting. I picked up on community and your anaology of its polar opposite being society. What a brilliant comparison, I agree on all counts. This being a subject so close to my heart, I would love to see it in a post all of its own. Thank you for sharing, David, I will return to read more in the coming days.
Sue, I'm rather fond of all your posts regarding wildflowers and insects and terrains. So, it appears that whether we're from Olde England (like you) or New England (like me) nature, if we bother with her, is an intoxicant without side effects. Gee. I kinda like that. Intoxicant without side effects. It just popped out of my mind . . . think I'll write a musing about that. In about 6 weeks time, I'll be out in the forests hunting for the early woodland wildflowers so I shall look forward to comparing forest notes with you. :)
I thought of Nature as an exhilar, as in, he felt strangely exhilarated by the brisk, blue morning. The many have no idea what they are missing out on for the sake of making a true connection which can take time but so worth it.
You know the old saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. So I just keep writing and sharing and a few people here and there catch on. But my larger audience are those who for various reasons can’t get out there so I am their eyes. And I suspect you have a similar audience 😊
Yes, that's right. What a lovely thing to do. It's how Spiral Leaf started but I must admit I love creating for myself as much as anyone, and if course for Mother Nature. I want the world to see what I see and find the beauty in natural things, especially the tiniest ones.
That means the world, David, thank you, it is my pleasure. You are absolutely right that it is all about community and the wonderful attributes you ascribe. Never before has there been a greater need to embrace this traditional concept. Interestingly, the dictionary definition has been changed to make it seem arbitrary and purely a location where more than a few people live at any given time. Another example of how the elitists try to separate us and consume our very souls into the fake society you speak of so eloquently. Long live community values and all those working so hard to hold the line!
Oh wow, my deepest secret is out, there is nowhere left to hide, haha! You are most welcome and I am honoured. My videos started as a way to share my photos and progressed from there. I am getting braver and love that they are enjoyed by a few very lovely people. 🙏
they're delightful videos with pleasing background music . . . now we just hafta convince lady nature lover to put in an appearance . . . your followers want to see the woman behind the sharing . . . i'm a little camera shy myself but people always ask so sometimes i spin the camera around so they know i'm not some ai fabrication https://www.facebook.com/david.runyan.777/videos/772707167755008
What a lovely photo! I am not on FB unfortunately. They shut down my entire Instagram account (all Nature) for joining a group on there. Everything was lost overnight. I only do Twitter now @suecartwright.
Oh no, you know! This is such fun, I wish you weren't so far away but then, there's something special about joining hands across the waves. This is where technology works for the good and makes all the difference in the world
Sue, I'm at work, so I will respond with the proper amount of depth later, but I thank you for starting my day in a lovely way with your kind and connected comments.
Sue, the dictionary is now under the control of the wokesters (which is to say the davos crowd) so i'm quite sure they're busily revising the hell out of it. lol
For sure, I kept all my old ones so it's quite interesting although scandalous they can do such things. It's like they want to strip the love and meaning out of everything we hold dear.
Just commenting on the new section about us all being hunters, David, because I'm happy that our little conversation inspired you to write that, which I happen to agree with.
Although I have never shot an animal, I do love to hunt for interesting encounters and experiences, as you mentioned — particularly in far away lands. Furthermore, I find the most uninteresting people I encounter to be the ones that have lost the desire to 'hunt'. They get this dull and lifeless look in their eyes, and they make up an alarmingly high percentage of the population of our world. And in the world of hunters, I have met few more zeroed in on the hunt than the 'people of the night' I met during my stay in Accra, Ghana. People who live horribly difficult lives but still have that glow in their eyes which only true hunters have.
I know you've already read my post about how I met 'Ashaley One', but I wanna share this one too (from the same series) because it underlines your point and stands out to me as one of the most impactful encounters in my life:
Ya know, it’s funny , Mads, I’ve made the same observation about people who have no hobbies. Dull and lifeless look 👀 n their eyes. Their existence is flavorless.
I agree and I disagree. I love your writing, even the disagreeable parts, because they give me something to discuss. Your thoughts about community and society are interesting. I agree complete with the concepts, but not at all with some of the other parts. I will have to think about this. Thank you for sharing.
Elsie, I have somewhat controversial opinions on various issues, but they came about following many decades of pondering and based upon my life experiences. I am tolerant of other peoples opinions and like those people despite their opinions.
Same here. I love learning about other people's perspectives because it gives me more clarity for my own.
I agree with most of what you said here, in particular about how debt runs the economy and how debt traps people into a life of servitude. The most important message is get out of debt and stay out. Buy only what you need and consume less.
Perry, I remember when I was young, how things were more local, credit based living hadn't taken hold, and in retrospec, i feel it's not merely a better way to live but truly, credit and technology are what make us beholden to the globalists . . . if we're able to decouple from that, we're able to decouple from the globalists.
One more comment. I have started to use cash again for some purchases. It is odd the way store clerks look at me, and how hard it is for them to make change.
i thought i replied to this . . . did you write it in two places, Perry? lol
I am 66, so I think we are of the same age. I grew up with cash, pre debit, pre credit cards. There was layaway for big purchases, chiefly for furniture. Do you remember that?
My father paid cash for everything, incl for cars, second-hand of course. I also used cash until I got my first cc after graduating from university. My first car was a 1975 Ford Grenada, which I bought in 1980 for $800.
we are the same age and observed the same social phenomenae!
hahaha unless you happen to have a clerk who's in her 60s!
Capitalism is working as designed agree cut the cord!!!!
good morning, Laura, greed has run its course it seems and it's high time for people to become people again as i see things, thank you fr taking time to comment.
.. am taken aback .. 🦎🏴☠️🇨🇦
Thomas, in a good way?
oh.. the scope and scale of it.. had no idea you were so invested .. & in such detail ..
oh ok, just a bunch of random thoughts that have been brewing my entire adult life lol
I am old enough to remember when cash was king. My Nonna would always say if you can not afford something then you do not need it. Those were the days 💜
it kept the davos crowd at bay . . . we were frugal . . . we were producers and savers . . . today we're chronic consumers.
Wow David! This is something! I think you should write a book. Seriously. I'm only halfway through but plan to finish when I have another hour or so;) You're a fantastic writer and I'm so happy to have found you on Substack. Technology is good for something. Also Klaus Schwab looks like a villain from an Avengers movie. What a freak! "You will own nothing and be happy." Notice how he says you and not we? F U Klaus! Rock on David! Sabrinalabow.substack.com
good morning, Lady Sabrina and thank you for the kind words . . . regarding technology, you are quite right, without it, my chances of meeting you would have been mighty slim!
Love this article especially the ending because from what I understand Kirkegaard felt that God is personal, that Hos place is within the single human soul and I believe that is where we all need to start by opening our heart to God
Holly, Kierkegaard was unusual in philo as an intellectual plus a lay Christian, ever read his little essay on the difference between an apostle and a genius?
No I have not read any of his work. Just short quotes here and there thank you I will have to check it out. I am sorry that you have lost both your parents. My father died when I was 13. I believe that thru suffering we can find God.
Fhew!! I’ve red your blog all morning on the way to my regular place in Budapest which used to be my home. I am amazed to find a kindred spirit on the other side of the ocean.
So many great ideas, so many insights.
Thank you David. Will keep reading your stuff regularly.
hi HP! and thank you for taking time to comment. One of the blessings of this internet is the ability to meet and chat with people from around the world so I’m delighted to make your acquaintance and will visit your blog during lunch break or after work
"Culture is a seed within the souls of a people. It can’t be destroyed; it can only be subdued" - just love this 💕
Thank you David 🙏
I really enjoyed reading your blog! You made me laugh, agree, disagree -- all things we do as humans.
Blogs like yours give me hope ✨
Hope that we haven't all lost our 'common sense'.
I am in what I call my 'third act' - Also trying my hand at writing - not yet as open as you, but we are all - as 'they' say- (whoever they are) - 'works in progress'.
hi Janet, thank you for this comment, my hope of course was that decent people would understand that all is not lost, and from what i see in the world, the majority is decent so all this corrosive clamor is a mirage . . . write for yourself, in a private diary, i discovered that i love to write!~
Enjoyable read, thanks 🙏. If you’d make The Sphere of Affinity a separate post, I wager people would restack the hell out of it. I know I would, even though I disagree with some of your other spoutings.
Jonathan, thanks for the advice . . . this blog is a thought dump so sphere of affinity may get isolated and expanded in the future . . . i like disagreement, thrive on it actually, as long as it's civil of course . . . in some cases, it sharpens my arguments, in other cases i enjoy the luxury of a spirited debate with a fellow human being. :)
Content to be content... I like this. I'm at this stage in life now and some people are so disappointed (the fighters), but I'm addicted to peace. As your post is one long piece, I must say at this point that I tend to like a post even if I do not agree with all the content in it. :) However, as I enjoy most of it, I will return to read more pages later. Thanks, David!
thank you, Orla, for your kind comment . . . if we agreed on everything, we'd have an echo chamber right? . . . and the difference between people like us and those others we talked about over in your post in the feed, is that we don't dismiss each other over such differences. hope your weekend is splendid.
You're welcome, David... yes, mature people can disagree on some points and still find value in what the other person is saying.
That’s how we used to be, Orla, and that’s how I believe we should have remained. 😊
Well, it's just rebellion. They think God is going to vanish if they say He doesn't exist. Throw out all the wisdom of centuries and make up their own rules. I wonder how long that will last? :)
Strong point, Orla. Redefining reality doesn’t change reality.
Haha :) Well said, David!
I will not try to trick you into thinking I can read more than a couple pages, but I got far enough to what's going on.
You are one of those people that does not mind being great at more one thing.
Any fire coming out my eyes, is just me healing from the Twitters.
I may be able to use your trick as the next bar in my jungle gym.
~
The current discovery that is
primarily saving my ass,
right now,
is to go ahead and mind,
but,
to not mind minding.
Shadow, thanks for your cryptic comment . . . anything you can glean from my thoughts i am pleased to share . . . also, thanks for the restack, i tried to follow the link in the notice to thank you at the restack but the darn thing brings me here instead lol
re Cryptic; it's a condition
re Flibbered links, i probbably flabbed it.
you're a great read, Shadow, your POVs are unique . . . we never know what to expect from you! . . . that's a good thing . . . who the hell wants to be predictable?
Luck;
I heard a line in a song;
"...never the same girl twice."
that rang a bell
that's ringing still.
And thank you.
haha well, that line could be interpreted two ways . . . one way being platonic . . . she's never the same girl two days in a row . . . or erotic . . . seduce her and move on
Oh, she is definatly, in the contexual flow of the entire song...wait a minte, my lipps are flapping. She is deifatly speaking in the register of sexual extacy.
~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRtDilPtAMA
I’ve lost both parents. I know how that feels 😭
A mighty piece full of exceptional wisdom which is a bit too long for me to read and digest in one sitting. I picked up on community and your anaology of its polar opposite being society. What a brilliant comparison, I agree on all counts. This being a subject so close to my heart, I would love to see it in a post all of its own. Thank you for sharing, David, I will return to read more in the coming days.
Sue, I'm rather fond of all your posts regarding wildflowers and insects and terrains. So, it appears that whether we're from Olde England (like you) or New England (like me) nature, if we bother with her, is an intoxicant without side effects. Gee. I kinda like that. Intoxicant without side effects. It just popped out of my mind . . . think I'll write a musing about that. In about 6 weeks time, I'll be out in the forests hunting for the early woodland wildflowers so I shall look forward to comparing forest notes with you. :)
I thought of Nature as an exhilar, as in, he felt strangely exhilarated by the brisk, blue morning. The many have no idea what they are missing out on for the sake of making a true connection which can take time but so worth it.
You know the old saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. So I just keep writing and sharing and a few people here and there catch on. But my larger audience are those who for various reasons can’t get out there so I am their eyes. And I suspect you have a similar audience 😊
Yes, that's right. What a lovely thing to do. It's how Spiral Leaf started but I must admit I love creating for myself as much as anyone, and if course for Mother Nature. I want the world to see what I see and find the beauty in natural things, especially the tiniest ones.
i think i have just found the female versio of me! :)
Sue, thank you for taking time to comment. And the way you conduct yourself is precisely what I espouse . . . abandon society and embrace community!
That means the world, David, thank you, it is my pleasure. You are absolutely right that it is all about community and the wonderful attributes you ascribe. Never before has there been a greater need to embrace this traditional concept. Interestingly, the dictionary definition has been changed to make it seem arbitrary and purely a location where more than a few people live at any given time. Another example of how the elitists try to separate us and consume our very souls into the fake society you speak of so eloquently. Long live community values and all those working so hard to hold the line!
Sue . . . I found your You Tube channel. You're in trouble now, young lady because I will be a frequent visitor . . . unless you give me the boot!
Oh wow, my deepest secret is out, there is nowhere left to hide, haha! You are most welcome and I am honoured. My videos started as a way to share my photos and progressed from there. I am getting braver and love that they are enjoyed by a few very lovely people. 🙏
they're delightful videos with pleasing background music . . . now we just hafta convince lady nature lover to put in an appearance . . . your followers want to see the woman behind the sharing . . . i'm a little camera shy myself but people always ask so sometimes i spin the camera around so they know i'm not some ai fabrication https://www.facebook.com/david.runyan.777/videos/772707167755008
What a lovely photo! I am not on FB unfortunately. They shut down my entire Instagram account (all Nature) for joining a group on there. Everything was lost overnight. I only do Twitter now @suecartwright.
haha i bet you have deeper secrets that THAT!
Oh no, you know! This is such fun, I wish you weren't so far away but then, there's something special about joining hands across the waves. This is where technology works for the good and makes all the difference in the world
Sue, I'm at work, so I will respond with the proper amount of depth later, but I thank you for starting my day in a lovely way with your kind and connected comments.
Thank you too! I look forward to further conversation, we are so on the same page and your comments on my recent post are greatly appreciated.
Sue, the dictionary is now under the control of the wokesters (which is to say the davos crowd) so i'm quite sure they're busily revising the hell out of it. lol
For sure, I kept all my old ones so it's quite interesting although scandalous they can do such things. It's like they want to strip the love and meaning out of everything we hold dear.
Just commenting on the new section about us all being hunters, David, because I'm happy that our little conversation inspired you to write that, which I happen to agree with.
Although I have never shot an animal, I do love to hunt for interesting encounters and experiences, as you mentioned — particularly in far away lands. Furthermore, I find the most uninteresting people I encounter to be the ones that have lost the desire to 'hunt'. They get this dull and lifeless look in their eyes, and they make up an alarmingly high percentage of the population of our world. And in the world of hunters, I have met few more zeroed in on the hunt than the 'people of the night' I met during my stay in Accra, Ghana. People who live horribly difficult lives but still have that glow in their eyes which only true hunters have.
I know you've already read my post about how I met 'Ashaley One', but I wanna share this one too (from the same series) because it underlines your point and stands out to me as one of the most impactful encounters in my life:
https://thescrawnyape.substack.com/p/shadows-of-accra
Ya know, it’s funny , Mads, I’ve made the same observation about people who have no hobbies. Dull and lifeless look 👀 n their eyes. Their existence is flavorless.
Makes perfect sense. And in some way I guess most hobbies contain elements of the hunt.
I just began to read your words and can see I've plenty more to take in, fortunately! Some gems in here. I look forward to continuing...
Hi Addie, thank you for your kind comment! And a pleasure to make your acquaintance in this platform.