Quote

"Every man is the architect of his own fortune." --Anonymous.

Terrible Misfortunes

"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened." --the great French philosopher Montaigne.

A Story of Earl P. Haney

A story of Earl P Haney, as told by himself on November 17, 1948 to Dale Carnegie:

"Back in the twenties, I was so worried that ulcers began eating the lining of my stomach. One night, I had a terrible hemorrhage. I was rushed to the hospital connected with the School of Medicine of Northwestern University of Chicago. My weight dropped from 175 pounds to 90 pounds. I was so ill I was warned not even to lift my hand. Three doctors, including a celebrated ulcer specialist, said my case was 'incurable.' I lived on alkaline powders and a tablespoonful of half milk and half cream every hour. A nurse put a rubber tube down into my stomach every night and morning and pumped out the contents.

"This went on for months...Finally, I said to myself: 'Look, here, Earl Haney, if you have nothing to look forward to except a lingering death, you might as well make the most of the little time you have left. You have always wanted to travel around the world before you die; so if you are ever going to do it, you'll have to do it now.'

"When I told my physicians I was going to travel around the world and pump out my own stomach twice a day, they were shocked. Impossible! They had never heard of such a thing. They warned me that if I started around the world, I would be buried at sea. 'No, I won't,' I replied. 'I have promised my relative that I will be buried in the family plot at Broken Bow, Nebraska. So I am going to take my casket with me.'

"I arranged for a casket, put it aboard the ship [along with my possessions], and then made arrangements with the steamship company--in the event of my death--to put my corpse in a freezing compartment and keep it there till the liner returned home. I set out on my trip, imbued with the spirit of old Omar:

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie,
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End!

"The moment I boarded the S.S. President Adams in Los Angeles and headed for the Orient, I felt better. I gradually gave up my alkaline powders and my stomach pump. I waw soon eating all kinds of foods--even strange native mixtures and concoctions that were guaranteed to kill me. As the weeks went by, I even smoked long, black cigars and drank highballs. I enjoyed myself more than I had in years! We ran into monsoons and typhoons which should have put me in my casket, if only from fright--but I got an enormous kick out of all the adventure.

"I played games aboard the ship, sang songs, made new friends, stayed up half the night. When we reached China and India, I realized that the business cares that I had faced back home were paradise compared to the poverty and hunger in the Orient. I stopped all my senseless worrying and felt fine. When I got back to America, I had gained ninety pounds and I had almost forgotten I was ever sick. I had never felt better in my life. I went back to business and haven't been ill a day since."

Via ZenHabits

A wonderful post on ZenHabits by guest Johnathan Mead: The Number One Dream Killer

If you enjoyed that, you can check out Mead's blog.

By Chance and Determination II

It's a beautiful day here in Austin today. I've been spending the afternoon on the balcony, studying as the shadow of oak leaves dance across my laptop in a warm breeze. I have the first exam for my Biology class tomorrow morning, and it's quite possibly going to be hardest test of my life.

As I reread the first nine chapters of the book written by my professor--Dr. Eric Pianka, one of the world's foremost experts on Australian lizards--I inevitably begin the wander off in my own thoughts. This first test will cover pre-Pleistocene evolution and phylogeny, not exactly my strong points. I walked into his class knowing I would hate him: he openly bashes those "Creationists Freaks" and spends half his lecture on his opinions of society. But, the tremendous thing about Pianka is that he makes sense, in everything. In the end, I think, to be human you must either have a tremendous amount of sense, or a tremendous amount of faith. I don't think there's any requirement for being right...to be human is quite almost always to be wrong. Pianka hates the Creationists for very good reasons--having ignorantly misunderstood him, he's received more death threats than I have had birthdays, and from people who were just insane. He hasn't seen the beauty of Christianity, only the ugliness of the Christians (I use that term very loosely here). And I've got to say, after having read "Origin of the Species" and Pianka's book "Evolutionary Ecology," while I might not agree with them entirely (such that we're all doomed), I don't see what the big deal is. At least on this afternoon, it's beside the point.

One thing that he said sticks in my mind on this afternoon. He leaned up against his podium, stroked his frightfully ungroomed white beard, and said, "You know, I've lived a good life. I was born with the right genes, right parents, right environment to succeed. I am more accomplished than most of my colleagues, and I make more money than all of them do. I've been presented with some of the most prestigious awards of mankind. Mind you, I'm 78 years old now; I've worked my whole life for it, was determined for it. And today, there is a bum in New York. He's ugly and smells bad--an alcoholic begging for coins under an overpass, dying of AIDS. And he was born with better genes and better ability than I. He would have been a better professor and changed the world more profoundly than I. But by chance, he wasn't given the environment to do so. And he will die, and that will be the end of it."

It's as a classmate said--"After class, or reading his book, I just want to go home and cry." But I am not old enough to be afforded with the luxury of pessimism.

Peace be with you

I didn't find out until two weeks after she died. One of my friends I went to school with was killed in a car wreck. She was a friend when I needed a friend very much. We hadn't spoken since we parted ways six years ago after one of those stupid fights that for the life of me I couldn't remember what was about. We had our differences, but I'd like to think that we're better in the end for them. It was right after her birthday. I'm sorry this happened to her, but I'd like to hope she's happy. Peace be with you Tiffany, and may God watch over you.

Prayer

This is a prayer I wrote during my year in PY. It was taped on the side of my wardrobe which faced my bed, and I said it every time I lay down to rest and every time I woke. I am no longer the person who said these words, but it is these words that help make the person that I am.

..Prayer..
As I walk, I desire Truth
And I desire wisdom in my innermost being.

Purify me, wash me, cleanse me from my sin.
Make me become to BE as You wish
So I might love with whole Truth,
And truly love in whole,
Lacking nothing.

May I be strong and sound
And able in body, in mind, in spirit
So I may be used for You.

May I seek to give, show and love
And not to receive, judge nor hate.
So I should hear and help,
By Your grace and power
Every DAY of my life.

Do not let me fear or doubt what I trust,
That my faith and love and hope
Endures strong against fear,
For with You I lack nothing.

Let me see good beauty in everything,
And be guarded by Your Holy Spirit.

May I bring glory to You,
Bringing fruit,
Though I may not taste it, may I serve.

Keep me only of You and with You forever.
I honestly thank You for all You've done.

May today be a day of peace,
Reaping and sowing good fruits.
But if today be a day of war,
May it be a war well fought,
And the glory in either given to You alone.

Break me with Love, fill me with Peace.
Let me sing in my heart.
I am this hour dependent on You.
I will LIVE for You,
And You alone.

The First Question

Comet McNaught by John White

Is it better to look out into the darkness and know that there is nothing out there, or is it better to look out there and know that there is great Evil looking back, but that there is also great Good that might save you?