Posted by Brad Osborne on August 29, 2012 · 3 Comments
In the small village of Takenaka, there was a small monastery led by a well-revered Taoist Master. With him lived and studied twenty monks and one nun whose name was Eshon. Eshon was very pretty, even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Over time and with no encouragement from Eshon, several monks … Continue reading →
Filed under Taoist Parables · Tagged with admiration, being in love, emotion, free expression, individual, infatuation, Life lessons, love, openess, personal growth, relationships, secret love, sex, Tao, Tao Te Ching, taoism, taoist, teachings
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 27, 2012 · 2 Comments
I remember attending the 50th wedding anniversary of my grandparents. Even as a young boy, I seemed to understand the rare and “golden” event this was. I am not sure I had any handle on what being married required, but I was certainly amazed that anyone could do anything for fifty years. Ah….they must have … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with 1941, being in love, couples, emotion, feminism, golden anniversary, longevity, love, marriage, need, paradigms, personal growth, relationships, romance, Rosie, sex, significant other, social taboos, society, spouse, staying in love, staying married, wage earner, wedding anniversary, women's rights, World War II
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 26, 2012 · 4 Comments
I have always written in one form or another because I have a deep love for words and language. I got this from my Mom and I love her for it. I would think that most “bloggers” and writers share a similar joy for being able to express intangible ideas and feelings in written language. … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with bloggers, blogging, blogs, expression, history, imply, measured, non-verbal, pen, phrases, responsibility, responsible, sword, the written word, timeless, verbal expressions, voltaire, word craft, words, writers, writing
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 25, 2012 · 6 Comments
In the Qi Dynasty, a group of Court Ministers, highly established in their careers, were talking at an Imperial gathering and decided to go visit their old Master, now retired. They longed to show their sensei what they had achieved in their lives and bask in his pride for them. How happy he would be … Continue reading →
Filed under Taoist Parables · Tagged with achievement, citizens, common good, individual, life, Life lessons, personal growth, pride, quality fo life, society, stress, Tao, Tao Te Ching, taoism, taoist, tea, teachings, work
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 23, 2012 · 1 Comment
One fall morning, Tanzan and Ekido, two Taoist monks, travelled together down a muddy road on their way to Edo. They were returning to their Temple, after seeing to the business of their Master. A heavy rain continued to fall as they made their way. They rounded a bend in the road and came upon an … Continue reading →
Filed under Taoist Parables · Tagged with kindness, koans, Lao Tzu, Life lessons, monk, parable, parables, parception, perspective, philosophy, small kindness, Tao, Tao Te Ching, taoism, taoist, teachings, travel, treacherous area, wisdom
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 21, 2012 · 1 Comment
I love my smart phone/laptop/iPad . But, again I find myself struggling with technology or, more precisely, our need for it. Our latest generation of personal devices (by which you all immediately know I am talking about cell phones, laptops, iPads and other tablets) are generally including the ability to video chat. I point out your … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with communication, connecting, connections, emotion, Ipad, non-verbal, personal device, sexting, smart phone, Tablets, technology, verbal expressions, vidoe chat
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 20, 2012 · Leave a Comment
The “pursuit of happiness” is often referred to as a constitutional right; however it is not mentioned in the Constitution. It is, in fact, derived from the Declaration of Independence. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are referred to as each individual’s “unalienable” rights. But these rights are not conferred to us by government. … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with change, citizens, citizenship, common good, constitution, constitutional ammendments, Creator, Declaration of Independence, free choice, freedom, happiness, individual, laws, pursuit of happiness, rights, society, unalienable
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 17, 2012 · 3 Comments
We seem to have many swing states in the midst of great debate over the requirement for photo IDs in order to vote. It seems to mirror our important American tenet of democracy stating, “one person, one vote”. Any other view on the number of votes an individual can cast would completely undermine a government … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with by the people, candidates, change, citizens, citizenship, Civil liberties, democratic, elections, electoral college, Fraud, government, individual, mainstream media, media, of the peole, partisan, political parties, politics, rates of voter fraud, rights, society, Struck by lightning, vote, voter, voter fraud, voter rights, voting
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 15, 2012 · 2 Comments
As campaign rhetoric flies rampantly from both camps, we will consistently be hearing the term “middle class”. I could spend time lamenting the fact that we live in a “classed” society, but historically there has always been a socio-economic division in any society. I am sure, even at the dawn of man, there was some … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with average income, candidates, census, change, citizens, citizenship, common good, democratic, elections, government, individual, low income, median income, middle income, political parties, politics, republican, society, vote, voter, voting, wealth
Posted by Brad Osborne on August 13, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Let me start by saying, I fought for the constitution, its amendments, the flag….all that good stuff. But when I was growing up and learning such things in U.S. history class, I think I bought naively into the very general explanation of the 3rd Amendment. It was the easiest to remember; “No soldier shall, in … Continue reading →
Filed under General · Tagged with 3rd ammendment, by the people, citizenship, common good, congress, constitution, constitutional ammendments, Founding fathers, privacy, ratification, ratify, rights, society, US History
commonsensiblyspeaking 