My absolute favorite time of day is in late afternoon, when everyone naturally and simultaneously trends towards rest.

The busy, noisy, loud house reverts to the stillness of early morning, and all is quiet.

🏡

Happy Birthday, America!

🇺🇸

Summer nights

Man Successfully Corrects Someone’s Grammar But Oh No! Now He Doesn’t Have Any Friends! - Babylon Bee

What, was I supposed to just let it slide and keep going with the conversation? Here I stand — my conscience is bound by the Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar and it is neither safe nor right to go against good grammar!

Its okay their, buddy!

That escalated quickly. How is it July already?

Hanging above my desk, just above my line of sight, hangs my degree in Philosophy. It’s been more than a decade since I walked across that stage, and though it is always before me, it more or less blends into the scenery of my office.

I use my degree in almost every moment of every day. In a very real sense, it shaped how I perceive the world. Yet, philosophy is not the sort of hard skill that you consciously apply during your working hours. Rather, it’s the framework through which every bit of information passes through.

In my years on campus, I read dozens of dense philosophy books each semester. With the passage of time, I find myself wondering, as an adult, why I persisted through that workload. Unpacking the most complex thoughts of the brightest minds to have walked the planet, and paying for the privilege, seems to be nothing more than drudgery.

Two weeks ago, I came across the work of Arthur C. Brooks. Although he styles himself as a happiness scientist, and he’s a Harvard professor who lectures on the science of happiness, he is much more than that. He’s studied music professionally, is a trained economist, philosopher, and now a popular social scientist. Add to that fascinating academic background is the fact that he’s a convert to Catholicism, whose conversion was sparked by seeing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I picked up one of his books, signed up for his newsletter, and have listened to several extended interviews he’s done with various podcasts. Going through his work, and unpacking his ideas, I feel spots of my brain lighting up again. I’m instantly taken back to fall on campus, sitting in my room with the windows open, exploring life with the world’s great thinkers.

Philosophy is a wonderful thing to study professionally; it’s a field of study so ubiquitous that it finds its application at work, at home, at play, and at rest.

Top Democrats Urge Party to Stand Behind Biden - WSJ

Pelosi said Biden had a bad night but that he remains sharp and his record paints a contrast with a potential second Trump term. “We see Joe Biden up close. We know how attuned he is to the issues, how informed he is,” she said on CNN. 

This argument absolutely vaporizes the second the tape rolls.

Arthur Brooks, writing in his book, Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier

The macronutirents of happiness are enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose.

The first is enjoyment. This might sound like pleasure-“feeling good.” However, this isn’t correct. Pleasure is animal; enjoyment is completely human…Enjoyment takes an urge for pleasure and adds two important things: communication and consciousness…Pleasure is easier than enjoyment, but it is a mistake to settle for it, because it is fleeting and solitary. All addictions involve pleasure, not enjoyment.

To be happier, you should never settle for pleasure, but rather make it into enjoyment. Of course, that involves a certain cost. Enjoyment requires an investment of time and effort. It means forgoing an easy, effortless thrill. It often means saying no to cravings and temptations. Sometimes, getting enjoyment is hard.

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