James Pyles's Blog, page 116
October 24, 2018
The Eye
I ran into the building to get away from the angry mob of protestors outside. What is this place? The middle of the room is contained in a sort of marble circle. Who is that by those torches? “Oh good, you’re here.” He’s African-American, bald, and I’ve never seen him before in my life. “Hurry. […]
Quoting: Do Your Best
Our goal should be to keep improving ourselves, rather than “being the best.” Someone who feels the need to be “the best” should ask himself, “Why do I really have to be better than others? What is so awful if someone else is better than me in any given area?” People who feel the need […]
October 23, 2018
Quoting: See the Good in Your Past
When you look at your past, focus on the things you have to be thankful for. Sources: see Rabbi Eliezer Zev Luft; Tnuas Hamussar, vol.5, p.302; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.37
October 21, 2018
Sunday Afternoon, a Little Girl, a Tree, and Dragons
I was spending time drawing with my three-year-old granddaughter, and while she was scribbling on her piece of paper, I borrowed another she’d lightly worked on and added a few things. I can see all the colors of autumn out my back window, so naturally, I started with a tree. Then, because I read one […]
I May Not Know Art But I Know What I Like
“So, what’s with the crap?” Tammy waved her arm at the unlikely collection of two beat up rocking chairs and a dead tree. “It’s art, I guess.” Her companion Ryan scratched his head in puzzlement. “We had to pay to get in and see this? And look at the price. Who’d pay $800.00 for this?” […]
Quoting: Avoid Using Guilt to Justify Inaction
Feeling guilty is the lazy way of reacting. A guilty person resigns himself to keeping his faults and does not try to take actions to improve. Don’t use guilt feelings to justify laziness and procrastination. If a person tends to think in terms of guilt, when he hears an idea he will say to himself, […]
October 20, 2018
The New Dragon Saga: Captive
The doorbell rang again. “Just a minute.” The seventeen-year-old boy went to the front door, and looking through the peep-hole, saw a mail carrier holding a package. Turning the deadbolt, he opened the door, and then, in a breathtaking fashion, his world ceased to exist. “Landon.” His master’s voice came from behind him. He turned, and […]
Quoting: Life-Tests and Trust
When a person has mastered the trait of trust in G-d, (“bitachon”), he will look forward to difficult life-tests in order to show his love for the Almighty. His devotion to the Almighty in difficult situations is a manifestation of his high spiritual level and he actually welcomes these tests. -See Rabbi Yosef Hurwitz of […]
The Queen of New Orleans
It was after two in the morning and a light rain fell on New Orleans’ French Quarter. Sean Becker walked into a small jazz club. He was almost the only white person here, but his bond with those around him went deeper than race. “You da one wantin’ to see Mama Marie.” She could have […]
October 19, 2018
The Legend of Earth
Luke Wallace stumbled over the alien terrain as the dawning sun rose to his left, but it was the twinkling of tiny lights directly in his path that had been holding his attention for the past three hours. The biologist was the sole survivor of the “Hawking,” an exploratory superluminal spacecraft owned by Blue Astra […]
