Author: Mark J. Chmiel

Be Pro-Active

“What is this song or picture, this engaging personality presented in life or in a book, to me? What effect does it really produce on me? Does it give me pleasure? And if so, what…

Today’s One-Liner (#243)

We forget that every good  that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort. –William James, Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals

Stick with the Gospel

Ivan has maintained that p­eople bear no responsibility for their wishes—­ “who has not the right to wish?”—­a position that directly contradicts the Sermon on the Mount, which deems not just bad actions but also…

Today’s One-Liner (#242)

Brothers, do not be afraid of men’s sin, love man also in his sin, for this likeness of God’s love is the height of love on earth. –Zosima, in Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

To Learn by Heart

In a more general vein: that which we know by heart will ripen and deploy within us. The memorized text interacts with our temporal existence, modifying our experiences, being dialectically modified by them. The stronger…

Birthday Song (One of ’em)

I did my best, it wasn’t muchI couldn’t feel, so I tried to touchI’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool yaAnd even though it all went wrongI’ll stand before the lord of songWith…

Churches

“I had hired a Bohemian as my servant while I remained in London, and being much pleased with him, I asked Dr. Johnson whether his being a Roman Catholick should prevent my taking him with…