One man's attempt to live an enriched life in a mundane world
In the PBS series Victoria there is a story arc that particularly grabbed my attention. While the series main characters, Queen Victoria and Prince Philip, were the main theme and stars of the 3-season series, I found myself fascinated by the relationship (or, more accurately, the lack of relationship) of Philip s brother Ernest and Harriet the Duchess of Sutherland (Mistress of the Robes and…
I was sitting at my favorite European street cafe today and realized it s been ten years since launching this blog. Back then I struggled to identify the predominant themes around the Art of Wondering my attempt to live an enriched life in a mundane world. How should that effort be described? What should be the main categories for the blog to best capture the disparate interests and passions in…
I recently read an excellent article on the Substack page Dying Breed by Brett McKay about The Four Faces of Envy (you ll have to subscribe to read the whole thing). It does a great job conveying the various types of envy, as well as pointing out one type that can actually benefit you. While I cannot disagree with anything noted in that article, I can t help but wonder is it possible to outgrow…
How well do we know (or don t know) ourselves? I had no idea what the term aloof meant until was in my early 30s. It was 1991 and I was working at a very large local health insurance company, going through their Information Systems Specialist Program. I was 33 years old, looking to expand my job and career prospects after a career change from Purchasing in manufacturing at GE. As part of the…
The word research most likely causes people to cringe with painful memories of their efforts spent laboring on school papers. However, as an autodidact, I ve found that research is an avenue to enlightenment, excitement and enrichment. Knowledge Adventuring wouldn t be possible without it. It s essentially become my number one hobby. I have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and objective truth…
Gorgeous and awe-inspiring libraries of the world inspire and give one a sense of wonder over their architecture, beauty and beckoning knowledge held within. I have three large-format books about most of these libraries: The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Jacques Bosser Guillaume de Laubier The Library, A World History by James W.P. Campbell Will Pryce The Most Beautiful Book Places in…
This is my favorite piece by Enya. It has such a beautiful, gentle and somewhat haunting sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr_f_VYeA2Y Featured image by the author – James L. Patterson (Dale Chihuly Maker s Mark Distillery, Loretta, Kentucky, USA)
As mentioned in my post on Kuhn s Structure of Scientific Revolutions, science doesn t work the way you think it works. The unwashed laity think science is about the noble pursuit of truth and reality as it pertains to nature; yielding an ever more accurate picture of the way nature works. Isn t that what we re taught to believe growing up, in our schooling, and in mass media stories? We picture…
I read Ayn Rand s The Fountainhead twenty-four years ago in 2000. It was recommended to me by someone at a business conference. We were asked to bring something to the conference that appealed and spoke to us, and which had a positive impact on our lives. I brought James Allen s As a Man Thinketh as a representation of a piece of literature that influenced me quite a bit at the time. Someone at my…
In early spring 2007 I took a 3-part class in Sculpting from Matt Weir at Bernheim Forest Clermont, KY. I never really pursued much in the way of artistic activities except drawing when I was a kid/teenager. But at age 47 I had admired stone sculptures for awhile and wondered about attempting it myself. I didn t know how to go about achieving it though. Then along came this class offered by…