The cooking is rocking along to Bob Marley’s mellow groove, on this fine winter’s day. “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory”…. “There’s a natural mystic blowin’ through the air…” “Soul captives are free.” The sweet potato pie, turnip casserole, pumpkin pies and banana bread are done, ready and
Continue readingAuthor: jtoddring
Writings of J. Todd Ring: Balance: Solitude and engagement, stillness and action
“When I observe the ruts in a road, I inclined to think, how much deeper the ruts in the mind.” – Henry David Thoreau “If necessary, let us forgo one bridge over the river, go round a little there, and throw at least one span over the greater gulf of
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Simple joys
A warm fire, the quiet joy of peace and solitude, a bowl of home-made carrot soup, and Bach; with Voltaire waiting for me to pick up the thread where we left off… Life could not be better than it is in this moment. JTR,January 20, 2014
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Night
I love the night – every bit as much as I love the day. And fortunately, in the country, you can actually experience the night, since it is not drowned and blotted out by the lights of the city, which pour a grey-white noise over all, and hide the majesty
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Seclusion
I feel like Strider, living in voluntary exile. And that is more than alright. Seclusion is sometimes a good thing. More can be done in solitude than in the midst of a crowd – or, at least, more of what really matters. And the solitude has become delicious, in any
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Waiting for a saviour
Well….it’s up to God. (Spoken in the tones of Eyore.) And this is said, under-breath, by most, at all times, no matter their religious beliefs. How disgusting. How pathetic. How virulent – and diabolical. But it can only be even slightly understood if we take a moment to reflect on
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Keep it to yourself, it’s my life: On solitude, simplicity and trust in yourself
(A rough draft. I don’t usually release any writing that has not been proof-read at least a few times. Even though I rarely edit, I still like to look it over, and more than once. But for now, this one is an exception. Forebear the typos and other errors, my
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Leek and potato soup: simple, hearty and delicious
Articles on food and cooking are rare on this blog, but occasionally I like to share some musings on this realm. Food is such an important part of our lives; and simple, healthy food can elevate our mood, boost our energy, heal our bodies, calm our stress and sooth our
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Authenticity, freedom and compassion: To thine own self be true
“What if we choose not to do the things we are supposed to do? The principal gain is a sense of an authentic act – and an authentic life. It may be a short one, but it is an authentic one, and that’s a lot better than those short lives
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The rise of Bitcoin: and the challenge to the global domination of big money
The following article was written on October 25. I wanted to read it over once more before publishing it, then got busy with other things and forgot about it. In the roughly six weeks that have passed since the writing of this article, the Bitcoin prices have gone from roughly
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Corporate claustrophobia and sheer frivolity
Manic, rude, cut-throat and insane – yes, corporate culture is just lovely. No wonder two thirds of the people have one foot out the door – and the other third are looking for an exit. See the films, The Corporation, Office Space, and Brazil, if you want to better understand
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: New studies show babies have basically decent impulses and are strongly driven by moral imperatives
More research shows once again that compassion, empathy and mutual aid, and an instinct toward cooperation, are innate in human beings, confirming what the great Russian biologist and anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin had already amply demonstrated over a hundred years ago, in his monumental work, Mutual Aid. My but our
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Lion’s Roar: Cutting through illusion to the heart of the matter
“There is no difference between theism and non-theism, basically speaking. Declaring an involvement with any kind of ‘ism’ turns out to be a matter of self and other. In fact, the whole question of self and other can then become very important. But if you really pursue any spiritual path,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Writings of J. Todd Ring 2013-11-12 19:39:07
Even “the wastes” of nature are never wasted, and never a waste. Time spent among chandeliers and caviar may be a waste; time spent chasing money or seeking status may be a waste; devoting one’s precious, short life to the accumulation of material things may be a waste; but it
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: No more excuses
There is no question: this generation will be held responsible for our actions, and even more, for our inaction. Apathy, complacency and denial are morally unacceptable. In fact, at this time in human history, they are nothing less than complicity in the worst of collective atrocities. We must act now.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: More cooking joy
In the past week I’ve learned how to make nine new dishes – so joyous! Nothing compares to home cooking. Banana bread and zucchini loaf Both gluten-free, scrumptious and super-nutritious: with gluten-free flour, eggs, stevia, and loads of fresh-ground flax as well as chia seeds (From an improvised recipe from
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Meditative Brain
The Meditative Brain.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: NAFTA, “Free Trade” and the TPP: Fast-Track To Full Corporate Rule
“Twenty years ago, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law. At the time, advocates painted a rosy picture of booming U.S. exports creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and economic development in Mexico, which would bring the struggling country in line with its wealthier northern
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Strong winds, big waves, and the interconnectedness of life
When the waves are high, from my backyard I can hear the lake, which is just a few hundred feet away. It sounds like a great, strong wind, or a freight train in the distance – or a tornado. The strange thing is, the sound of the waves does
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The crux of the matter
The problems in the world have nothing to do with a lack of intelligence. They have everything to do with denial: and in particular, not just a denial of certain issues and social and ecological realities, but, more essentially, a denial of our own common sense. (See the great sociologists
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