High Flight - Breathing Space Blog

HIGH FLIGHT

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings,
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds; and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of; wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air
Up, up and long delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, listing mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

The only poem by American Lt. John Magee, 19, who served as a Canadian Air Force volunteer for 18 months before being killed in action over England in 1941.

On Beginning Now - Breathing Space Blog

A wonderful Mayday message:

                                           On Beginning Now
          "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative (and creation). There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."

                                    Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe     

The Case For Less - Breathing Space Blog

In his The New Republic article, Tim Wu encapsulates what too many people fail to understand:

"If the old world of scarcity yielded a mass population that was hungry, bored, and impoverished, our current surpluses lead to a population that is fat, in debt, overwhelmed, and swamped with too much stuff."

"The miserable in Dickens’s times -- malnourished, impoverished, overworked -- had the right to blame social conditions and demand change. But in today’s richer world, if you are overweight, in debt, and overwhelmed, there is no one to blame but yourself. Go on a diet, stop watching cable, and pay off your credit card -- that’s the answer. In short, we think of scarcity problems as real, and surplus problems as matters of self-control."

Cultural A.D.D. - Breathing Space Blog

We've reached the point where a typical person in our society now has Attention Deficit Disorder, culturally induced. The rising decibel level in public spaces, as documented over the last 20 years, all but confirms that our society has embraced a perpetually higher level of noise. Added to that, the number of messages that each of us is bombarded with on a daily basis has no end.

From billboards, to bus panels, to ads over urinals, at all times, in all places, someone is vying for our attention. E-mail and the Internet have exacerbated the problem, but even those who are not online and not wired are subject to cultural Attention Deficit Disorder. Why? Because the general level of message bombardment in our society is exceedingly high.

Retrieve a person from a primitive society, someone who has never been exposed to television or telephones, or, if you could, retrieve someone from 1909, and today’s information bombardment would have immediate impact: I would be surprised if such visitors to our culture did not have near-instant nervous breakdown.

Raising Kids - Breathing Space Blog

...raising children is the most civilizing exercise in life, for the parent, in transmitting values to the young, must examine his beliefs and attitudes again, as if for the first time Lance Morrow, Essay, “Fathers and Sons,” Civilization, Jan/Feb 1996

Travel a Little Lighter - Breathing Space Blog

Ask for an aisle seat at the front of the plane so that you can to stand up with greater ease, stroll in the aisles, or simply stretch. It's easier to get the attention of flight attendants for in-flight amenities from the front. Aisle seats are best for shorter flights, where you don't anticipate going to sleep.

Arrive light and rested; don't travel with heavy packages. Mail them to your destination via UPS 2nd-day air or, if you have a week, UPS ground tracking. This is an economical and reliable way to know your packages await you. Mark your packages profusely with your name and the words, "Hold for arrival of guest YOUR NAME arriving on DATE." Wrap your packages as if an orangutan will be handling them.

Travel with carry on bags only. Buy the roll-on carts to avoid toting your bags from the airport parking lot to the plane. Most tote systems are made to fit the airline aisles, the overhead seat com-partments, or under the seats.

Pilot Texting: Deadly - Breathing Space Blog

Some news stories require no further commentary: "Pilot texting a factor in deadly copter crash."