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Other People's Sense and Nonsense (and a bit from me)

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Youth


WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?

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Youth

by Samuel Ullman

     Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. 

     Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. 

     Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 

     Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station:  so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young. 

     When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.

 

I though of this while reading a Duggar thread, when @emmalyn made a good point about Michelle Duggar clinging to her fertility and hopes of another child as  part of her identity. (Some of this was from the post, some was from a PM with @emmalyn. I hope I get her point across accurately.) Just as some of us mourn the wrinkles, gray hair, or saggy bits we see as we age, Michelle seems to mourn her loss of fertility as an unacceptable loss of youth.  

Mr. Ullman's meditation doesn't seem to apply directly to the Duggars, though. They seem to need less enthusiasm, not more. Or maybe they just need more genuine enthusiasm, joy, and childlike appetite. Not just a veneer for observers. 

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  • Posts

    • keepercjr

      Posted

      8 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

       

      The field of journalism has changed dramatically. But saying "they work for the rich" and are "sellouts" is so juvenile and lacks any sort of understanding of the state of the industry. 

      Calling people "sellouts" because they took or kept jobs when their peers and colleagues were being laid off is just cruel. It's also not that deep. Not everyone in journalism is into hard-hitting investigative journalism. There are sports writers and sports casters, arts and entertainment, political analysts, anchors, feature writers, food writers, etc. There's a former Attorney General who writes a garden column and occasionally a piece on local politics. I guess he's a "sellout" too, reminding us when to start our peonies and snap peas. 

       

       

      My good friend in high school has had a great career as a sports writer.  He has lived in NY, Honolulu and other places.  Is it hard hitting journalism? No, of course not.  But sports is something that interests people. 

    • noseybutt

      Posted

      3 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

      I bet there are quite a few changes in the book that they will never publicly admit to. 

      We need a graphic designer to make up a faux literary award for the new cover that acknowledges the number of times it has been entered into evidence in child murder trials.

       

      • Upvote 1
    • JermajestyDuggar

      Posted

      I bet there are quite a few changes in the book that they will never publicly admit to. 

      • Upvote 1
    • noseybutt

      Posted

      4 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

      You are probably correct - as usual, it's about the money and the power. Jesus is a very distant third, if He is in the running at all.

      Nathan Pearl just took over the NGJ business ministries. His daughter Ashley is running the NGJ social media. NGJ is also republishing TTUAC, allegedly a new edition with some changes:

      TTUAC_Newcoversameshit.thumb.png.6952c42bfa40ffc44e225ccb1ad8ebe2.png

       

      Well now. Who is going to take one for the team and compare it to the original?

      Nose goes.

    • hoipolloi

      Posted

      4 minutes ago, noseybutt said:

      Michael Pearl is the cult leader and he will feel the need to pontificate on some bizarre and arcane reasoning when the truth is likely much more logical: he wants to keep the money and the power and the esteem and allowing for occasional divorce makes all that possible. To stay true to the teaching would mean distancing from half of his kids and that would be cruel.

      You are probably correct - as usual, it's about the money and the power. Jesus is a very distant third, if He is in the running at all.

      Nathan Pearl just took over the NGJ business ministries. His daughter Ashley is running the NGJ social media. NGJ is also republishing TTUAC, allegedly a new edition with some changes:

      TTUAC_Newcoversameshit.thumb.png.6952c42bfa40ffc44e225ccb1ad8ebe2.png

       



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