With the Apparent Effortlessness of Gods – Lance Armstrong

“CHARTRES, France — Bradley Wiggins  has one thing to say to critics who call this year’s Tour de France boring: Get used to it. The doping that fueled past Tours was thankfully being driven out of the sport, Wiggins said, leaving riders to make ‘marginal gains’ by getting enough sleep and staying hydrated. ‘If people want to see those incredible 220-kilometer lone breaks in the mountains, maybe it’s not realistic anymore,’ Wiggins said after essentially wrapping up his Tour de France victory with a dominating win in the final time trial on Saturday.

‘As wonderful and as magical as they were to watch, I remember watching as a kid in the 90s, Virenque and stuff, you know, but maybe the sport’s changed now,’ Wiggins said, referring to ex-doper Richard Virenque, who won the race’s King of the Mountains award a record seven times. Wiggins, who has said he never could dope because he would lose everything if he was caught, said a lack of stunning feats in the mountains was a sign that cycling has changed for the better.” – Associated Press, July 21, 2012

Lance Armstrong (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t know whether or not Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs to win his seven Tours de France.

A Gospel According to John Gallagher—Chapter 5

The Story Will Tell You:

A GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN GALLAGHER

(This is an ongoing Gospel. I’ll be adding to it from time to time. You’ll be able to find the additions under the Category “My Gospel.”)

“Everything is a miracle.” —Thich Nhat Hanh, On Mindfulness

“All theology, like all fiction, is at its heart autobiography.”— Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey

Chapter 5

Birth Announcements

Angels bring the news to shepherds out in their fields. This is really good news. It’s more common for religion to belong to the powerful in a country. God is on their side, so you better be good citizens, for goodness sake. Instead, Jesus’ birth is announced to people with very low social standing. Jesus’ birth is a declaration that God belongs to everyone.

Ithaka – A Poem of Journey

(My friend, Jim Friedrich, introduced me to this poem. When I think about all the twists and turns of my life, I find this poem speaks to my journey with gentleness and eloquence. Even now, sharing this poem with you, I have a deep feeling of gratitude.)

Ithaka by Constantine P Cavafy

When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.

I Am Nothing

So, the Priest walks into the temple, stands before the altar, falls to the floor, and says, in a loud voice, “I am nothing. Nothing.”

The Assistant Priest walks into the temple, stands before the altar, right next to the Priest, and also falls to the floor, saying in a loud voice, “I am nothing. Nothing.”

Meanwhile, the Janitor, sweeping up in the back of the temple, says, in a soft voice, while continuing to sweep, “I am nothing. Nothing.”

The Priest turns to the Assistant Priest, and says, “Look who thinks he’s nothing.”

Caballo Blanco’s Last Run – The Micah True Story – NYTimes.com

Caballo Blanco’s Last Run – The Micah True Story – NYTimes.com.

How to be true to your call while living in a world that mostly knows how to measure money.

When I Achieve This, I Will Be Happy – Fixated Hope

Fixated Hope works like this: First, you set up an outcome for how you will achieve happiness. “If this outcome (job, relationship, health, recognition, etc.) is achieved, I will be happy.”

There are three possible results waiting for you.

Farewell Levon. Farewell.

Reblogged from 4488: A Ridge Blog:

Levon Helm is dead.

The Band is the greatest musical group this country has ever produced, and I'll stand on your coffee table and say it again. And I'll be wearing boots when I do so.

Levon Helm is dead.

I am not a patriot by any conventional definition, but I believe in so very much of what America has given to the world, and so very much of what America has meant to the world.

Read more… 189 more words

One of the great voices has died.