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This is what should be done

by someone who is skilled at being good

and wants to feel genuine peace:

Be capable, honest and straightforward,

Be easy to talk to and easy to instruct --

Be gentle, and humble.

Be content and easily satisfied

have few duties, live lightly

hold peaceful thoughts, be confident

and modest. And be unswayed

by the emotions of factions

nor have a greed for admirers or folks who’ll follow you.

Take care to do nothing for which the wise

would later rebuke you.

And think like this: “May all creatures be happy and safe,

May they all have happy minds.

Whatever living things there are –

whether feeble or strong,

long or short, whether stout

or of medium size, whether quick or green,

whether big or little, whether seen or unseen

whether those living near or far away,

or those being born as well as those

only seeking to be born –

may all these beings be happy,

may they all have happy minds.

Let no being deceive another

Let none despise others

nor wish harm, in anger or with hatred,

upon another.

Just as a mother protects her only child

with her entire will and being

so let us each cultivate a boundless friendliness and love

toward all living things

Let each of us radiate limitless love

toward everything in the world:

above, below, beside, and across – unhindered

with no ill will or enmity."

Do this whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down:

develop this attitude!: this is how to live nobly.

Let each of us not fall into useless thoughts

but be virtuous -- and be endowed with an insightful heart,

and discard the lust for satisfaction

so that we may never again come

to be born into pain.

—"Karaniya *Metta Sutta," or "Sermon [Hymn] on Lovingkindness," by Siddhatta Gotama, the historical Buddha (translation/compilation by GG, based on original and translations by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Ñanamoli Thera, the Amaravati Sangha, Piyadassi Thera, and Acharya Buddharakkhita), 

* ["Metta" is a Pali word meaning "lovingkindness." It is an attitude of mind that can be cultivated through an activity called "metta bhavana." "Bhavana" stems from the root "bhav" -- "to grow" or "to become" -- and can be translated as "cultivation." Metta, according to the teachings of Siddhatta Gotama, the most recent Buddha, is one of the "divine abidings," one, that is, of the four most supremely satisfying and wholesome states of mind a sentient being can achieve. To cultivate metta, one holds an attitude of friendliness and good will toward all things.

Metta directed at others or oneself can be felt across time and space.]

also science & morality 

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"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvellous, intoxicating."

Weil. Gravity and Grace, p. 62

"The Line to See the End of the Crisis," Jaime Lluch, found at el silencio, on flickr

The Gateway Arch of St Louis by Eero Saarinen

shot from I-255 northbound several miles east of the city, late afternoon june 20 2010

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over the mississippi

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Brian's 17' sea kayak after second coat of resin
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dwarf prairie dropseed, lower and upper left, and liatris, tall and upper right, both native and gifts for the yard from kris dykstra, danskos from a time in vermont 

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salva anche tu gli animali

A moving commemoration of Neda, nearly a year since she was shot by the Basij in Tehran during the protests.

iris in the morning

May 30, Big Smoky Falls, Wolf River, Section IV, near White Lake, Wisconsin
maintained by the Menominee Nation

shot from my kayak after descending, backward, another part of the falls