There is an age old saying that goes: “God helps those that help themselves.”

Well, heaven only knows we all need help.  With ourselves.  And, you don’t have to look around very hard to find it.  Everywhere you turn these days, there is some sort of “Self-Help” advice… just itching to help YOU stop itching.

Websites, news feeds, blogs, newscasts, TV shows, podcasts, books, magazines, doctors, psychics, health clubs, and wizards.  It is everywhere.

This isn’t a new thing.  Eons old, in fact.  Great Philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and the likes… were always full of “self help” advice.  When I was a kid, I remember finding a copy of “I’m OK, You’re OK” in my Mom’s bedroom drawer.

Well, I KNOW I shouldn’t have been going through my Mom’s bedroom drawers when I was a kid.  It is clear I was misguided as a youth.

And. Now, it hit me today.  Like a load of bricks.  I am always seeking some sort of self-help.  I don’t do it on purpose.  It just seems to happen that way.

At this point in my life, I am probably more concerned with Spirituality than I ever have been before.  Ever.

I try different things.  Meditation and prayer, yoga, nature, quiet time alone, and on and on.  There is help out there on ALL these things.  In fact, everyday in my email, I get a little letter from every self-help-seeking website at which I’ve ever registered. From Ancient Advice to Meditation Techniques to Zen… and back again.

There are WAY too many of these in my inbox each morning.  So many, in fact, that I get a bit stressed out about reading all of them.  “When will I find the time?  This  one looks especially good… but I can’t read it right now.  I will file it and save it for later.  Oh! This is good too.  I’ll just skim this one.”

Skimming is the worst of all.  The message gets terribly jaded.  “…..spiritual awakening does not come…. small flashes…..hurt and depression….we feel guilty…..”   WHAT?   I’ll get small flashes, hurt and depressed… then spiritual awakening doesn’t come and I will feel guilty???”   What the HECK kind of HELP is THAT?”

And then.  Then I start crying, and by the time I am through with my email self-help-email-session… I’m curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth… chewing on my hands.  Great.  Just great.

The truth of it is, we are all seeking.  Seeking something.  Some are in search of wealth, or fame, or fortune.  Others want cars, or food, or a new big screen TV.  Still others  are in search of life purpose.  Many of us are uncertain about what our life should look like.

Mostly, we all want to feel more confident, or sure, or convinced… we want to feel we are on the right track for whatever it is we are doing or seeking.

But the deal is… Life is Uncertain.  There is no perfect existence.  There is no perfect version of ourselves.  We are…   well…  …. … human.  We make mistakes,  we are full of doubts, and hesitations.  Every day, we face the unknown.  And let’s face it.  No one can “have it all.”

While this might seem a bit daunting, it is simply a part of this life.  Our greatest gift… is this beautiful life.    And if we breathe it in… for just a second… and look at all the beautiful things right in front of us… somehow it all feels right.  We just need to look around and take notice.  And as we look outside of ourselves… we may also notice… that there might be someone who needs OUR help.

And… I promise to do ALL OF THAT…. right after I get through my in-box, and the rest of these dang Self-Help Emails.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
— William James

 The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.
— Albert Schweitzer

Okay.  Sometimes you just find someone interesting.  As it is, I think H.G. Wells is pretty fascinating.  Of course, he wrote about a few of the subjects which intrigue me.  The greatest of those were his more notable works… such as The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Today, is his birthday.  He was born Herbert George Wells in 1866.  And he stuck around on this planet until the 13th of August in 1946.  He wrote prolifically in many genres…. including the novel, history, and politics.

In 1920, H.G. Wells published The Outline of History.  Most of us today do not realize that this was perhaps his best selling work during his lifetime. It was three volumes.  It began with prehistory and followed the world’s events up through World War I.

Wells believed there would be another major war to follow, and included his ideas for the future. Lobbying for a type of global socialism, he suggested the creation of a single government for the entire world.  In his day… he was the dude.

But he was a bit of a chappy I’ll tell you.  He was a pretty dang good cricket player when he was young.  But then, he broke his leg in 1874.  So he started reading while he was in bed… on the mend.  He soon became devoted to the other worlds and lives to which books gave him access; they also stimulated his desire to write.   And that, is what got the ball rolling.

Amidst all the other things about him … Wells was a bit of a player.  In 1891, he married his cousin Isabel Mary Wells.  But, but, but…the couple agreed to separate in 1894 when he fell in love with one of his students, Amy Catherine Robbins.

He married Amy Catherine (later known as Jane).  He has two sons with her, but they both died fairly young.

With his wife Jane’s consent, Wells had affairs with a number of women, including the American birth control activist Margaret Sanger, adventurer and writer Odette Keun, and novelist Elizabeth von Arnim. In 1909 he had a daughter, Anna-Jane, with the writer Amber Reeves.  He also had a son, Anthony West (1914–1987), by the novelist and feminist Rebecca West, 26 years his junior.

I’m telling you.  Old H.G. did some Time Traveling of his own.

There are many more interesting and wild things about this guy.  I think he knew more about his fiction… which may not have been so fictitious at all.

Wells died of unspecified causes in 1946 at his home  in London.  Once, he had stated that his epitaph should be: “I told you so. You damned fools.”

I don’t know why I write about him tonight, other than his birthday.  Maybe it is because I believe that Time Travel could be possible… and I think he thought so too.

Or it could be that I just couldn’t think of one other thing to write tonight… and time was running out.

Oh Wells….

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
—  H. G. Wells

Our true nationality is mankind.
—  H. G. Wells

If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.
—  H. G. Wells

Beauty is in the heart of the beholder.
—  H. G. Wells

I happened on this photo today.  There was no context given.  But my guess is, the guy with the pointer, is telling the audience… ALL about the donut hole.  Sure.  That’s a given.

But.  I’ll bet you ten dollars to a donut…. he is relating it to how “things are looking up these days.”   I can hear him now.  “Right before the Great Depression, the donut hole was of epic proportions.  In fact folks, there was more HOLE than donut.  But today, with the close of WWII, and President Truman leading the way, prosperity in this country is around the corner.  Yes folks… things are looking up.  We now have MUCH more donut…. than hole.”

I am pretty sure the guy’s name is Sheldon Becker.  If it isn’t… it probably ought to be. Sheldon’s Mamma would be proud, I’m sure.

Now.  Today’s donut.  Some of them don’t even HAVE holes.  I bought two boxes of donuts last night…. for a house guest this morning.  A big bunch of them were without holes.  Things must really be looking up with the economy.

Or.  Perhaps.   I am barking up the wrong tree.  Maybe I have Sheldon’s message all wrong.  It may have NOTHING to do with economic trends.  It could be a lot of things.  Our moral constitution perhaps.  Or maybe average rainfall.  It could be the number of cars produced yearly.  Who knows.

But whatever the equation represents, I bet it examines the following comparison:  The smaller the donut hole… the more gainful the outcome.  I mean, just look at Sheldon.  He has a smug little smirk on his face as he points to the 3/8” example from the bakery board.  And… look at him clutching that little donut in his left hand.  Yes.  Sheldon is telling us of the “brighter days ahead.”

And who knew the truths of all the ages… resided in a donut hole.

Maybe it does.  I mean.  The Truths of All the Ages HAS to reside somewhere.  Written on an ancient cave wall?  Found in some book, or obscure scroll of parchment paper?  Maybe in the petals of a delicate flower?  In the stars?  The bark of a tree?

A donut hole is as good as anything, I supposed.

BUT.  If it IS true.  Please, I beg of you… don’t eat the wisdom of all ages tomorrow morning when you are having breakfast.  It could be the glazed, or the cake… or even the chocolate iced with sprinkles.  PLEASE….  Stick with the Apple Fritters instead.  No holes.

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
Henry David Thoreau

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
Joseph Campbell

There is an old saying that goes… “Another year older, another year wiser.”  I think this is true… SOMETIMES.

There have been plenty of birthdays in my past, when I turned the odometer over another notch.  But not in every case had I smartened up any.

Yet here I am.  And, thankfully… I think I am a heck of a lot wiser than I used to be.  At the very least, I’ve learned a crap-ton of lessons.

I just wish, somehow… I could have found these things out in my youth.  Of course, had I known these things earlier in life, I would be very different today.  I’d have like 4 Nobel Prizes wrapped up by this point.

Okay. Not so much.  But I would have been different.

Here are a few biggies…..

Everything in life is impermanent.

We all know this to be true, but sometimes, when you are young, it doesn’t seem real.  We won’t live forever, and neither will our parents, our dogs, or our pet hamsters.  We also won’t be sad forever, or heartbroken, angry, or happy… or anything else.  It all changes, sometimes by the moment.

Change scares me sometimes.  I think it does the same to a lot of people.  When in fact, that “constant change” is a cause for celebration.  We should rejoice in the fact that tomorrow… it all changes. In that…. we can cherish the wonderful moments, and have knowledge that the really stinky times won’t last forever.    I believe knowing this helps us find peace.

We also won’t stay young forever. I wish I had figured that out when I was younger.  Dag nab it.

Here is another big lesson.  Compassion is Key.  It is the thing that bridges all people.  It connects us all.  No matter our color, belief system, or make-up.  It is why everyone is thinking Pope Francis is so Rocking.  He lives compassion.

Sure.  We won’t always agree with everyone you meet.  Take Donald Trump, for instance.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t get along with those people. Except for maybe Donald Trump.

If we really try to express compassion towards all people…. and ALL living beings… we will know greatness.  Greatness!  In many ways.  If we have understanding and sensitivity throughout our lives, we will find peace.  We will transcend things we never thought possible.  Honest.  Well… I guess I don’t know for sure if all of this might be true.  BUT…. I’m counting on it… at least.

So.  I’ve said it before, and I will say it again.
I wish you peace.  In every facet of your life, I wish you peace.

Earlier…. I also said that everything changes.  I hope that is NOT true.  I hope that I always, always, can wish you peace.   Always.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
— Bertrand Russell

Giraffes hum to each other.  After dark.  Biologists  have just recently discovered this.

Seriously.  BUT.  Why do those giraffes hum?  Well… why does anyone hum?  Most of the times it is because we can’t remember the words.  I think this is probably the case with giraffes, but the specialists seem to be leaning toward another proposition.

Scientist had earlier speculated that giraffes are unable to produce any substantial sounds.  The reason for this is because it is physically difficult for them to get enough air flow going in their long necks to produce any kind of sound.

But low and behold.

After reviewing almost 1000 hours of sound recordings in three European zoos,  a scientist with too much time on her hands…. named….. Angela Stöger (University of Vienna, Austria), found out otherwise.   She picked up a weird humming coming from the giraffe enclosures in all three zoos at night.

Now… they aren’t really for sure why.  They can’t see their activities in the pitch of dark.  So they don’t know if they are communicating… or just doing something like snoring.

I told you what I think.

They forget the words.
OR… they are playing on serious game of “Name That Tune.”  Nonetheless…  it remains a mystery.

There is a lot about this world that remains a mystery.

I’ll keep going…. about our Big Little World.

There is a new study out. It estimates that Earth has almost 8.8 million species!   But get this.   We’ve only discovered about 25% of them.

There have been SOME recent discoveries…. and they have been small and weird.  To name a few…. a psychedelic frogfish, a lizard the size of a dime and even a blind hairy mini-lobster at the bottom of the ocean.

A professor (Canada’s Dalhousie University)… named Boris Worm (of ALL things)….  said:  ”We are really fairly ignorant of the complexity and colorfulness of this amazing planet.”

Ya’ THINK Boris?  Or shall I call you Dr. Worm?

No matter.  He is right.  We don’t know Jack.  OR Jack’s Insects.

AND. We didn’t know that giraffes hum.  And a bazillion other things.

Which brings me to this.  If you don’t believe in the magic… if you don’t believe in miracles… or angels…. or unseen spirits… well…  you might not know the words to the song either.

In that case, you might want to spend some time with the giraffes… and hum along.  To see if you can really name that tune.  Any tune.
Don’t become a mere recorder of facts, but try to penetrate the mystery of their origin.
— Ivan Pavlov

I think that the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery and mystery.
— Luis Barragan

I wrote a very long piece tonight about energy.

And when I read it back, I realized I would have bored you all to tears.
To TEARS.  And far be it from me, to make someone cry.

No I won’t.

But the point I was making, in the whole long and short of it…. was this:

A lot of humans are searching for something.
Call it true happiness.
Or wisdom.
Or transcendence.

I speculate we will reach this place, of spirituality, through our connection with energy.  Because everything is in motion.  And all of it is connected.

If none of this makes sense… believe me… you are better off reading this condensed version… as opposed to the long, drawn-out thing… I wrote initially.  At least you are not crying right now.  Be glad for that.

And.

One day it will all make sense; everything is connected.  I think. I hope.

“Last night I lost the world, and gained the universe.”
― C. JoyBell C.

Have you ever been somewhere in your childhood, and then… as an adult… return to that “place”?

Like a home where you lived as a kid?  Or an amusement park?  A baseball field? Or some such deal?  It seems like nine times out of ten, it is much smaller, or darker, or WAY less grand, than when you were a kid.

Well.  This changes when you get older.  I think.  We went back to Charleston, SC.  It was our home away from home for a while.  I anticipated that it would feel very different.  I guessed it would be less magical, not nearly as splendid, or a bit lack-luster.

I was wrong. It was every bit as majestic as I remembered.  Truly, a great city.  Culture, people, charm, food, food, food.   Did I mention the food?

I had missed a lot about Charleston though.  A lot.

But there were little things that made me happiest.  These photos are some of them.  Everywhere I looked, were tiny trinkets… just asking for it.

Asking for what?  Well.  That’s between each individual, and every little sparkly spark in time… which you might deem a  trinket.

It is really the same during the every day, everywhere …. … I guess.

It is taking notice, is what I suspect.  Waking up enough in the “everyday” to actually take the time to look.  To see.  To hear.  To feel.

So much of our time, we spend wishing it was another time, or another place.  “I can’t wait until I get out of work.”  “Oh, when will this meeting ever be over?”  “I hate sitting in this traffic.”  And on, and on.

Maybe it is better when we shake those thoughts out of our minds, and appreciate each heartbeat, each breath, and each glimpse.   We can notice the little gifts that way.  We can see those trinkets… no matter where we are.

Like tonight.  When we returned back to our Home in Ohio.

And in that way, every moment might be just as grand as the next.

If you go anywhere, even paradise, you will miss your home.
— Malala Yousafzai

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.
— Joseph Campbell

Here we are down in Charleston, SC.  We decided to pack a bag, leave a note, and take a little over-nighter down to our home-away-from-home.

It has been a great trip, so far. But it has crossed a wide span of emotions. We have had a great deal of fun; had the opportunity to see some old friends; and of course, explore this amazing city once again.

So much of it seems exactly the same, but simultaneously different.

The city buzzes with activity.  There is history pouring out of the sidewalks and spilling from the tops of buildings.  Gorgeous cemeteries, beautiful weather, and a view of the bay which is speckled with remnants of old Civil War Forts and battle sites… the likes of which include Fort Sumter.

A cruise ship was in yesterday, and those boat people were in a touristy-shopping frenzy.  And speaking of frenzies, we have been eating like Bandits since we got here.  Actually, we have been eating like Kings!

I walked a great deal of the downtown from end to end.  And then I made the decision to visit a church.  Not just any church, but the Emanuel AME.  I have been past that church a hundred times before.

And never, in all those times, did I ever suspect that a horrific tragedy would take place there.

As I stood before it today…. it felt like the world had simply moved on.  Most of the world, at least.  Certainly, the loved ones of those slain will never move on.  They will always be reminded.  Somehow, somewhere.

I stood at those steps, in front of that church.  I imagined the evening of June 17, 2015…. moments before the mass shooting took place. During a prayer service, nine people were killed by a gunman, Dylann Storm Roof.

He walked up those very steps… with intent and purpose.  As a result, nine innocent people died, because they were black.  No other reason.

I will never be able to wrap my mind around this way of thinking.  Why a person hates other people, simply because they are not the same as the person filled with hate.

Blacks, Homosexuals, Jews, Women, so many more… just because…. and for no good reason.  If you call it religious beliefs, I don’t want your religion.  If you call it God’s will… I don’t want anything from that particular God.

I want to know love,  kindness, goodness, acceptance, and compassion.

Like walking down a familiar street, in a place you love.  Like sharing breakfast with a couple of old friends.  Like being yourself, exactly as you were meant to be.

Without ever having to worry about falling victim to someone’s hatred.

Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd (54) – Bible study member and manager for the Charleston County Public Library system; sister of Malcolm Graham
Susie Jackson (87) – a Bible study and church choir member
Ethel Lee Lance (70) – the church’s sexton
Depayne Middleton-Doctor (49) – a pastor who was also employed as a school administrator and admissions coordinator at Southern Wesleyan University
Clementa C. Pinckney (41) – the church’s pastor and a South Carolina state senator
Tywanza Sanders (26) – a Bible study member; nephew of Susie Jackson
Daniel Simmons (74) – a pastor who also served at Greater Zion AME Church in Awendaw
Sharonda Coleman-Singleton (45) – a pastor; also a speech therapist and track coach at Goose Creek High School
Myra Thompson (59) – a Bible study teacher

Bless them.  Their families, their hearts, their souls.

“What would Scooby Doo?”  —  Seen on T-Shirt in Charleston, SC

“I didn’t mean to hack anyone off tonight.  I just think we should all try to get along.” — Polly C Kronenberger

We are off to places unknown.  I say that because we are traveling for a couple of days.  While we have a general direction in mind, we never know for sure where we will land.

I mean, we have plans, and intentions, but those things are always subject to change.

For instance, we wanted to be at the Airport at least an hour before our flight this morning.  But.   There was a five-car pile-up on I-70.  So, we waited and waited in one lane of traffic…. with all the other schmucks late for their flights.

As it turned out, we made it to the plane with plenty of time to spare.  Even a couple of pee breaks and a stop at Starbucks.  Not necessarily in that order.  And away we go.

Yet, as I mentioned.

We are off to places unknown.

All of us.

That is life really.  We have intentions, and purpose.  We map a plan for the day, the week, the year… even the next 10 years.  But there are no guarantees in life.

Except when you are born, and the doctor pulled out the big blotter, and puts a huge stamp on your butt…. which said…”Guaranteed Fresh”.  And that only lasted a day or two.

But back to my point in all of this.  No guarantees.  Nothing etched in stone. We don’t know what is down the pike, or around the bend.

We go.  And we do.  But I suspect we will enjoy this entire journey much more, when we finally realize that we are not really driving the plane, the train, or the automobile.  We are simply passengers.

While we can make all attempts to ensure our direction, we can never really know where it is we might end up.

Of to places unknown.  And liking it.

Busy.  Like a bee.

Today has been a busy day, to say the very least.  I have been completely immersed.  In it all.

As busy as a beaver.
As busy as a one armed paper hanger.
As busy as a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

You get the idea.

The thing of it is, I truly like to be busy.  In fact, I think when I was born… I popped out of that birthing canal… and said to the world… “Okay.  Let’s say we get started already!”

And I haven’t sat down since.

There is an article out in TIME this week about our human nature to want to be lazy.

It reports that humans are inherently lazy.  They give one explanation which might be the culprit.  Apparently, we have a trait left over from our ancestors’ days of conserving energy for the next hunt. Ahhhh.  The next hunt.

Unfortunately, a new study published in a journal called Current Biology, discovered that even when we do choose to move…. we do it in such a way that our bodies naturally behave in the most economical way possible.

Science has already proven that our bodies naturally choose the most efficient way to walk.  We go at a speed and step length that limits the number of calories we expend.  It goes way deep into the “nervous system monitoring what we do” and blah, blah, blah.

But it comes down to this:  Thor, me hungry.  Rest. Hunt. Eat. Rest a lot more.

Well, I did my fair share of hunting today, and very little resting.  Thank you very much Professor.

And then….. As if those labcoats couldn’t leave well enough alone.   Researchers at the University of Chicago and Shanghai Jiaotong University enrolled a large number of college students to take part in experiments of the “Busy vs. Not Busy” kind.  One group was idle during long periods, and the other group was kept busy.  (This is a Reader’s Digest version of the study)

At any rate…. the group that kept busy showed indications of being “happier” throughout the study.

So.  Staying busy makes us happy.   Busy and smiling.   Bzzzzzzz.
Lazy and resting for the next hunt.  Uggghhhh.

Well. I don’t feel particularly happy tonight.  I do feel tired.  Like I need to rest for the next hunt.

And I don’t even hunt.

Except at Easter time.  And then I hunt eggs.
I hunt eggs all year long actually.  Chicken eggs.

So what is my point?  I bet those researchers are elated that I am NOT one of their test groups.  I’d throw the “Results Curve” right out of the Laboratory Window.

And then I’d run down 23 flights of stairs to go fetch it.  And then I’d run back up again…. and then I would….