nirtog Here’s a short review of Ron Chernow’s three biographies, titled Alexander Hamilton (2004), Grant (2017), and Mark Twain (2025). I have not read one of his in-between books, Washington (2010). I’ll focus on impressions of these three icons of American history, while offering only a few comments about Chernow as a historian and biographer. I … Read more
Many Mind in Heart readers will have heard of the Inklings, a mid-20th-century group of British writers and thinkers who enjoyed discussing literature and the art of fiction. Their most famous members were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The group name seems to have been whimsical: they were dabblers in ink, writers with mere inklings … Read more
author’s note: While obviously inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, no artificial intelligence was employed for the writing of this tale. Attend, concentrate, take heed, and listen, my Dear Ones, as I disclose, decipher, resolve, elucidate, and clarify how the octopus got its beak. These mushy creatures may have many features that you didn’t … Read more
Alone is not how we begin life. Hopefully, our mothers felt deep joy as they held us to their breasts and shared life-giving milk, while marvelling fathers nearby embraced both with strong protective arms. Families naturally provide the necessary environment for each of us to join the wider human family. As a species, we thrive … Read more
We seem to be inherently double-minded. I find with all kinds of things that part of me thinks one way and is ready for action, but another part of me doesn’t cooperate. This could be characterized as a disagreement between higher and lower brains. My higher self knows the best action, but my lower self … Read more
A trip to Arizona had two primary reasons. We are friends with the breeders of Kili and Jaro, our Basenji companions. Therese and Kevin had moved to Green Valley, south of Tucson. Secondly, a niece had married a Navajo man, and they lived on the reservation at Many Farms. Along with Kili and Jaro, we … Read more
After the post on Endemic Hypocrisy, which referenced Lincoln’s attitude toward enemies, I happened upon an interesting YouTube video that reported some of Lincoln’s words a few days after the Battle of Gettysburg. He was in Washington, at the bedside of a wounded Northern general, and they were discussing the recently ended famous battle. Although … Read more
Why would people reject the teachings of Jesus because of the bad behavior of Christians? People who fail him do not demonstrate that his teachings are worthless. If we humans were good at keeping our priorities straight, we would never have come up with the idiomatic sentence: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. … Read more
This post is a meditation on what makes you you and what makes me me. Where to start? Please excuse me while I mull. It took me just under three seconds to write that and inform my unconscious that I wanted it to gather information from previous experiences, list comparisons and contrasts, and begin to … Read more
Biographical sketches on Mind in Heart are meant to give glimpses into the lives of real people (ones like us) and their spiritual journeys. They may have had interesting experiences that did not impact them much spiritually, but who can tell? We each have opinions about things that most shaped us. The older we get, … Read more
Last week was Holy Week, and this, I just learned, is called Easter Week. Boy, did the disciples of Jesus learn something in those days! They didn’t learn everything, that’s for sure, because we humans can never learn everything. We constantly make the mistake of thinking we’ve got the entire picture. In our self-satisfaction, we … Read more
You can go to People Magazine for coverage of the famous ones, and there’s Instagram nowadays, not to mention many other ways. They call them VIPs, but I’ve always considered that to mean “Very Important Puppies,” such as the Basenjis, Kili, and Jaro. The lives of ordinary folks, we only learn about if we happen … Read more
I investigated several wildfire-ravaged landscapes during my career, and the Hermosa Creek watershed in Colorado was one of the most beautiful. This post is meant to show some of Earth’s more recent climate change challenges, not to be particularly political. Let me explain the catchy title. In Spanish, the word colorado means “colored red” or … Read more
No one has accused me of being out of touch with real life or being unable to imagine what truly downtrodden and suffering people must endure. But the accusation could be justified. Mine has been a cushy life. Not that I inherited wealth or was born with any amazing gifts. But white privilege has not … Read more
I offer you a metaphor of what it means to exist. Each of our lives is like this, maybe. But remember, a metaphor is a bridge to meaning. Not being the thing itself, a metaphor has limits. To use metaphor, keep what feels right and ignore the rest. Your life is like a river. Not … Read more
Among the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands is Kaua’i to the northwest of the Pacific island chain. Mount Waialeale (why-allay-allay), at 5148 feet elevation, has been known to be the wettest place on Earth. Called the Garden Isle, Kaua’i holds some of the most lush and diverse ecosystems in all of Hawaii. It has eroded … Read more
A spiritual confidant of mine inspired me to explore a new way to understand how Jesus has the power to be, in his own words, “the way, the truth, and the life.” Below, I’ll give you the broader context of what Jesus said, but I won’t cite chapter and verse. You will have no problem … Read more
I receive a steady stream of emails via this website that all assume I am trying to make money. They figure I’m a business, with the need for marketing my products and an incentive to pull traffic, get clicks, and attract eyeballs. examples from three separate prospecting emails: Drive targeted traffic to your website with … Read more
I want to describe an extended spiritual conversation with my friend, Sydney. We think so differently that one could suggest we come from different planets. But our attempts to communicate do not bring too much frustration to either of us. We seem to have a tolerance, bordering on love. The challenge of understanding causes us, … Read more
Twelve score and ten years ago, our forebears brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all humans are created equal. Eight score and three years ago, one of our most capable presidents, Abraham Lincoln, called us to reaffirm our commitment to the values of that … Read more