Posts from the “Critical Thinking” Category

Present, coffee.

Chris Moore

Posted on May 17th, 2013

Our time is often difficult, always finite and fleeting. Days come and go, dropping off the calendar at an accelerating pace. That pace is the hardest thing for me. Midnight and dawn both come too early. I wish I could stretch the night out, while delaying that moment when sunlight spills across my peaceful, jittering eyelids. These are the sort of melancholy moments when the last drink is imbibed and the alarm rips you from the best part of that dream. Time to get to work. This explains my love of coffee. It’s a bit of an antidote to the runaway day. The obvious answer is that its stimulating characteristics give you the jolt necessary to rouse the body from slumber, or extend the…

The way

Chris Moore

Posted on May 16th, 2013

Daniele Bolelli is one of my new favorite people. He’s a martial artist, professor of comparative religious studies, and a fine writer. I first discovered him when I stumbled upon his book On the Warrior’s Path, an excellent philosophical look at the martial arts. But it was actually his podcast, The Drunken Taoist, in addition to some other ‘cast appearances that really caught my attention. Daniele has a gift for placing spirituality and religion on their heads, so to speak, taking them head on with his unique, eccentric perspective. I might add that he has a distinct and captivating Italian accent that seems to give him license to say whatever he wants, how he wants. Trust me, even your hyper-religious, passively aggressive Grandma would…

Everything is under control

Chris Moore

Posted on May 15th, 2013

Losing control seems to be the scariest thing. Despite all the effort, planning and best of intention, sometimes all you feel is this resistance. Occasionally someone will play it perfectly, but most of the time two things will happen. The lazy mouth-breathers will insist that they tried their best, only to march happily down the path of least resistance right afterwards. In contrast, those boiling over with piss and vinegar will fight. They will clinch their bloody teeth, backs arched, fists clinched, ready for another round. That’s impressive, and a quality that is so priceless later in life. But for now it’s only a teaching tool. A really effective sparing partner perhaps. The force – the thing we’re up against here – has the…

So obvious

Chris Moore

Posted on May 8th, 2013

Sometimes the obvious things escape our attention. Years ago a friend stopped by the gym to train with me. I cannot remember exactly what we did that day, but it was likely some bench pressing and a long list of its derivates. This sort of workout is for two kinds of people; powerlifters who compete in this particular exercise (as I was at the time), and burgeoning meatheads who aspire for little more than being the biggest guy in the room (a fair description of this friend of mine). On second thought the two might be one in the same. I recall having a good time that day, so I extended another invitation. “Hey man, that was fun. You should come back over tomorrow.…

Happy

Chris Moore

Posted on April 19th, 2013

“We are enriched not by what we possess, but by what we can do without.” – Immanuel Kant There I was, splayed flat on my back across the rug of my home office. I kept my eyes closed, my breaths deep, and my limbs stretched outward towards the corners of the room. It must be quite the scene. Picture in your mind the famous image of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian man, only now bald, quite large and far less nude. I know this isn’t the typical meditation pose, but it seemed like the most comfortable position I could adopt at the time. Well, I should say it seemed to be a far better option than sitting upright in the corner of the room for…