Very practical wisdom in that book. You don't have to be Buddhist, or sit in meditation, and there's no spiritual or religious component. I remember reading it, the act of reading her words, was itself a calming experience.

thanks for the fix!

sure thing. you want to "think small" and that book contains passages like this:

3

If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.

The Master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.

Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.

OR

8

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.

OR

9

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

(etc.)

===

these are modern translations i found on a university website. can't tell you how accurate they are, though they read "easy". the versions i've read before are a bit less on the nose, more metaphorica. probably best to find a scholarly/well-annotated one. the book is ancient, the language archaic, and the meaning hidden in symbolism, so it requires a big leap (even for modern chinese people)-- but it does challenge the "western" striving/goal oriented/individualistic/perpetually unsatisfied mind. so maybe you'll spot something useful there.

there are explanations of taoism flying around, most famously by alan watts, who by some accounts was some sort of sex maniac? or something. anyway, there's that. here's to finding/enjoying.

ps - oh! also chuang-tzu. who can be HILARIOUS.

meant to go to sleep hours ago, but got on a wikipedia k-hole, and you know how that goes. i wanted to look up something from the j-archive, and now i have database theory/heloise d'argenteuil/12th century latin literature/pitcairn islands open in four tabs and i can't really tell you how i started. ugh.

luckily i don't have plans up until 10 pm or so tonight... wait...

Joe Rogan sez be a hero of yr own life. A little embarrassed at how affected I was by this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTuElM6T50w

ha ha ha

that was me on monday night-- didn't fall asleep till 3 or 4 am

so tuesday was... ughhh

Yo yo. Im doing great. Been busy with things...life. havent been online much other than occasional fb posts n sutff. Also been playing a lot of SF3 still. That game has consumed me along with my gf and cat. We got a kitten and her name is audrey. She and my gf run my life.....in a good way....not the bad way. Also been ooking fo another part time gig. This dog place cut my hours and business is Not doing so well...

You know, I manage to help improve the lives of like everyone around me but I can't seem to improve my own situation. Indeed its always seeming to go backwards, uphill, and in a smoldering wreck at that! I'm like Midas, everything I touch turns to gold, but I can't have the benefit of any of it. And hey, you'd think I'd find some philosophical solace in being able to help so many people overcome their own problems, difficulties, and bad situations, but somehow it always feels like a hollow victory when I sit and look in the mirror...

is what it is. gonna get shitfaced drunk tonight, fighting off the dreadful urge do use substances much worse than that..

on the positive note my sister is likely getting into grad school and thanks to great advice !@#$%! helped me with before I am helping her find grad assistantships.. however in my own grad department, there are none, and the university in its infinite wisdom decided I am not a worthy candidate of scholarship of any kind while the banks also decided I am not worthy of a sizable loan to cushion the blow and Uncle Sam FAFSA said nope too..

and this year the district decided not to offer me a contract so I am not teaching next year either :(

Wow...heavy.....im really sorry to hear that.

thanks.. I'm kind of used to it all.

oh, shit!!! no school/no work? that is a major blow, man.

uffffff....

i don't know what to say, i know getting drunk when i'm angry only makes me worse... brawls, accidents, damaged relationships. dont' know what works for you, but i only drink when happy these days-- it amplifies whatever you're feeling.

go talk to yr ethiopian monks maybe? they gotta have some advice & connects.

you have a record which maybe makes things difficult so... try to stay cool and don't make it worse!

but yeah it sucks major huevos. i can only advice patience till a new door opens. for now... uffffff... breathe deeply and hang in there.

ps- congrats to sister souljah

I don't have a record actually, just really bad luck.

I was teaching on emergency credential year to year so I'm not entirely surprised, that is why I am in the process of making it "free and clear" in university program (I'm still in the program just got to find alternative funding source) but things just got infinitely more difficult..

well if you have no record-- lots of school systems need teachers desperately. some will even pay for your licensure!

don't be afraid to leave hellay...

No, I don't have credential. The district I have been working with took the gamble because they had a big hole to fill and not time and everybody likes me there when I was an aid then a long term sub then emergency credentialed, but it was out of their hands to have to replace me with somebody with permanent credential.. state laws etc etc...

Teaching is a very competitive industry, it took me two years just to find the job I had, and really it fell into my lap, so who knows, something else is bound to happen. Just really bad timing right now, I wasn't in the most optimistic moods to begin with!

PS- A QUICK SEARCH TURNED THIS UP:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6834874.html

close enough to visit home every now & then



==

ps- didn't see your post above. but like i said, some schools systems will pay your licensure if you don't have one. not sure if vegas does but checkit.

Got to stay in this university program locally, it took me two years just to get into it and I only have a year left.. if I don't get a permanent credential I'll be in this limbo FOR EVER.

The Devils just trying to discourage me because I am good at what I do, I care about ALL students, and like I said, I got the Midas touch in helping people.. whether at my (former) job, in my family, at my parish, randomly on the street....

so I just got to stay focused. Worst case scenario it crashes and burns and something else rises out of ashes, I wasn't always a teacher nor did I initially every really want to be one..

[quote=SuchFriendsAreDangerous]Worst case scenario it crashes and burns and something else rises out of ashes/QUOTE]

ha ha ha! that's the story of my life.

..

okay. gotta put one more hour of work in before the internet conks out. best wishes w/ all that.

thank you kindly :)

life is hard. I get the curiosity juices rushing out of contemplating my neg rep scores. people brush up against you and add different colors to the self-evaluation. pondering for a minute whether I should feel down or guilt. what is this or that? shame on my fingers? my heart says "fuck it".

You must spread some POSITIVE Reputation around before giving it to rebeccagotcursedout again