Within the last year, I lost a childhood friend. He died a middle aged man of "old people" causes, perhaps brought on by lifestyle choices. He was a star athlete in high school and college. A beast of a man. If anyone was indestructible it was him. More recently, I lost a brother-in-law who died …
The Death of Christendom
Not so long ago, here and across the Atlantic, Christendom reigned to a point that it was so commonly assumed that folks wouldn't even have called it Christendom. It was the centuries long time when cultural, societal, political and religious norms blurred together to form a consensus of sorts. Certainly, North America, Europe and some …
On Not Being Religious
One of the most hurtful things someone can say to me is to call me religious. You see, religion is a most human construct. It's where we go when we've run out of justifications for allowing ourselves to think as we wish. Religion is self-centered. It focuses on how to make oneself jolly. It is …
Pursuing Passions
One of the greatest harms a grownup can do to a child is to trample on that child's passions. However, one of the next greatest harms a grownup can do to a child is to teach that child that pursuing a passion is the same thing as pursuing a result. So often, we adults tend …
Letters
Does anyone actually write letters anymore? It seems like everything is communicated by text or email with even phone conversations becoming an endangered species. Idk what this is doing to us or our language but u have probably noticed the same thing. Btw, we even seem to have to provide the emotions in abbreviated, written …
Hope: The Unsung Hero
"But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they shall be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. " I Corinthians 13:8,13 NIV The Apostle Paul's love chapter is one of the …
What Dogs Have to Teach Us
"Hmmm. Smells like poop. I think I'll roll in it. " "Oh. I love fresh toilet bowl water. " "I think I'll chew up this shoe. Even though master seems mad when I do this, I bet this time it's ok. " Do dogs have anything to teach us, these friendly, slobbering fur balls of …
An Easter Reflection
Thoreau said, correctly I'm afraid, that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” And I don't presume that he meant to exclude women from that observation. I'm not sure precisely what he meant but I think that nearly all of us feel quietly bound to certain circumstances in our lives with little power …
Welcome
Welcome to Reflections of a Flawed Man. My name is Daniel Blake and I truly am a flawed man, in a number of ways. First, I think all humans are flawed, at least to a certain degree. And just to prove it, these days we are given the opportunity to show our human frailties with …
reflections of a flawed man 