Day 1974: Real

Here’s a real definition of “real.”

re·al
rē(ə)l
adjective
1.actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed.
“Julius Caesar was a real person”
synonyms: actual, nonfictional, factual, real-life
2. (of a substance or thing) not imitation or artificial; genuine.
“the earring was presumably real gold”
synonyms: genuine, authentic, bona fide
adverb NORTH AMERICAN informal
1. really; very.
“my head hurts real bad”

Here’s the real inspiration for today’s post:

What’s your real reaction to that?

My head hurts real bad when people

• deny climate change and
• otherwise deny what’s real to me.

It’s time for some real quotes:

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing?  Did I let go of my resentment? Did I forgive?  Did I love? These are the real questions.  I must trust that the little bit of love I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.  — Henri Nouween

Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow.  The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.  — Abraham Lincoln

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.  Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.  — Mahatma Gandhi

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.  — Confucius

Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit.  —  Hosea Ballou

There is no real beauty without some slight imperfection.  — James Salter

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.  — Buddha

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.  — Albert Camus

Real magic in relationships means an absence of judgment of others.  — Wayne Dyer

Nothing ever becomes real til it is experienced.  — John Keats

The world is like a reverse  casino.  In a casino, if you gamble long enough, you’re certainly going to lose. But in the real world, where the only thing you’re gambling is, say, your time or your embarrassment, then the more stuff you do, the more you give luck a chance to find you. — Scott Adams

The truth is, as most of us know, that global warming is real and that humans are major contributors, mainly because we wastefully burn fossil fuels.  — David Suzuki

Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too.  They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win. — Stephen King

People like to say that the conflict is between good and evil.  The real conflict is between truth and lies.  —  Don Miguel Ruiz

Well, real estate is always good, as far as I’m concerned.  — Donald Trump

To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.  — Douglas Adams

Nothing is so strong as gentleness;  nothing so gentle as real strength.  — Saint Frances de Sales

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.  — Marcel Proust

To keep it real, I try to have new eyes every day.  Here’s what I saw with new eyes yesterday:

Now I have a real dilemma: whether to share a real video of the Cookie Monster singing in the voice of the real Tom Waits …

… or this real video of my real son Aaron and his real friend Cameron from years ago,  in which lasagna and Michael make real surprise appearances and Aaron keeps it real in the moment.

I’m looking forward to real comments about this real post.

Finally, here are some real thanks from me to all those who helped me create today’s real  post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 1863: Pain

How many people reading this are in pain, physically or emotionally?

Please do not add to that pain with painful thoughts or shame about past actions or inactions.

As a friend posted on Facebook recently, pain is not a punishment.

If pain is not a punishment, then what is it?  Let’s see what wise people have said about pain.

Fear is pain arising from anticipation of evil. — Aristotle

It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.  — Julius Caesar

There is no coming to consciousness without pain. — Carl Jung

Pain is never permanent. — Saint Teresa of Avila

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay the most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promises only; pain we obey.  — Marcel Proust

The great art of life is sensation, to feel that we exist, even in pain. — Lord Byron

I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.  — James Baldwin

Pain reaches the heart with electrical speed, but truth moves to the heart as slowly as a glacier.  — Barbara Kingsolver

All of us have ways in which we mask and cover our pain. — Iyania Vanzant

Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. — Joseph Campbell

Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other. — Laurence Sterne

Pain is the most private experience, but its causes, whether natural or man-made, demand public accounting. — Nancy Gibbs

To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it! — Charlie Chaplin

If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is “art” for? — Ai Weiwei

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. — Bob Marley

Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends. — Tom Waits

It pains me to leave out some of the great quotes about pain.

This Tom Waits/Cookie Monster mashup helps relieve my pain:

If that doesn’t relieve your pain, here‘s some Bob Marley:

I always take pains to thank those who help me write these posts and — of course! — YOU.