Lao Tzu will let ya know what to do, uh

heaven and earth are enduring. the reason why heaven and earth can be enduring is that they do not give themselves life. hence they are able to be long-lived.therefore the sage puts his person last and it comes first,treats it as extraneous to himself and it is preserved.is it not because he is without thought of self that he is able to accomplish his private ends?
highest good is like water. because water excels in benefitting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes close to the way.in a home it is the site that matters;in quality of mind it is depth that matters;in an ally it is benevolence that matters;in speech it is good faith that matters;in govt it is order that matters;in affairs it is ability that matters;in action it is timeliness that matters.it is because it does not contend that it is never at fault.
to use words but rarelyis to be natural.hence a gusty wind cannot last all morning, and a sudden downpour cannot last all day. who is it that produces these? heaven and earth. if even heaven and earth cannot go on for ever, much less can man. that is why one follows the way.a man of the way conforms to the way; a man of virtue conforms to virtue; a man of loss conforms to loss. he who conforms to virtue is gladly accepted by virtue; he who conforms to loss is gladly accepted by loss.when there is not enough faith, there is lack of good faith.

Our thoughts on pure love and invincibility

Hey kids, Laura here. I’ve been doing some surveying on unassuming innocent folk such as yourselves and others who happen to be in my path. Here are some results I’ve come up with. I’m keeping them anonymous cuz it’s more fun that way. If I didn’t harangle you yet and you’d like to add your own you can anonymously or not anonymously please do so =0)

What is pure love or the purest form of love?

I’ll start by saying that this question popped into my head while I was gazing into my friend’s dog’s eyes and felt what I believed to be unadulterated love. Some survey results reflect similar feelings, as you shall see.

1. Person to animal

2. The love that comes from helping another person.

3. Joy that makes you feel that what you’re doing is good and complete. Like a dog licking its crotch. (The example is to prove that the answer is not necessarily a deep and spiritual one) (I’ll just go ahead and say this one is from my dad)

4. Love that does not expect love back.

5. Acceptance

6. Bailey! (The dog who started this whole thing in the first place, but that’s not my answer!)

7. Peace and understanding

8. God

9. Absolute comfort

10. The love between good friends. Not the love between mother and child or romantic love; those are too complexly intertwined.

11. Trust, passion, certainty that you don’t want anything else, laughter, among other things.

12. When two people can look each other in the eyes and know the other’s innermost feelings and still be extremely happy, all without saying a word

13. Love without thought or action.

14. Disney. Especially Enchanted. Child to mother. What you make it.

What is invincibility?

1. It doesn’t exist- it’s absolute freedom with no constraints, but we constrain ourselves.

2. Dean Cain, aka Superman

3. Having such a strong sense of yourself and your purpose that nothing/no one can ever get you down.

4. Can’t be beaten or hurt. Superman. I like to keep it simple.

5. Giving and receiving enough love that nothign can compare to this love network.

6. Being all forgiving. When one considers invincibility one may think of being unbeatable, but in order to be beaten, there needs to be an objective, and how one defines purpose is open to infinite variability. Therefore to be truly invincible, one needs to transcend a single system and recognize the multiple objectives and humbly accept the friction that pertains to the overlappings of purpose by recognizing one human’s plea of coming from a good place, and being all-forgiving or invincible. It seems impossible for one to be all forgiving if one is human… but maybe to lead a good life, one’s goal is to perpetually fail in the uphill struggle rather than indulge in flat debauchery.

The Cathy Winter Layer Cake Amino Acid Theory of a Complete Love

This is a scientific research article, composed only of logic and of carefully documented case studies by a completely rational human being.

Okay, let's take the final line of the final verse of Cathy Winter's song, "Long Time Friends". Here she is in all her glory: I'm not so sure that I can find/Just one heart to blend with mine/So I'm looking for some long time friends. Now, what are some possible implications of this line? There is this concept of having a "soul mate", that you can go out into the world and find a single other soul to complete yours. Cathy is not so sure she agrees. There are a lot of layers to life, a lot of subtle complexities that we can begin to become privy to if we are open and observant enough, if we are truly good listeners. Every person, place, and being you interact with adds layers to the cake of life, and let me tell you, this is a rich ass cake. Each layer is sweet and satisfying on its own, but when you're able to enjoy all the layers is when life becomes unbearably good.
This gives me a certain sensation that the long time friends Cathy is looking for, are in some ways comparable to amino acids forming a complete protein. There are several essential amino acids that our bodies need as building blocks, and you must combine these to form a complete protein. Long time friends are the amino acids. A complete love is the complete protein.
Experiencing love, pure love at its finest, might best be achieved by devoting your time to baking the richest layer cake, to building the best complete protein.

Survey results so far: What is the purest form of love?
-> Person to animal
-> The love that comes from helping another person
-> Love that does not expect love back
-> Acceptance
-> Joy that makes you feel that what you're doing is good and complete. Let's not get too spiritual here, though. Dogs may get this joy from licking their crotch.
More survey results to come.

While we're waxing philosophical... Here are Father Rick's three important pillars for inner health.
1) Feeling secure and that life is overall predictable
2) Feeling important and that life overall has a purpose
3) Feeling worthy and that overall life is welcoming

Father Rick is pretty smart. Here's another particularly excellent idea of his:
"Of interest to humanists and anthropologists, to philosophers and theologians, is the instinct, in the face of adversity, not just to survive, but to thrive with passion and flair"
Let's harness this instinct in the non face of adversity as well =0)