Thought Stream

Writing in 1883, Henry George perfectly describes the complete opposite of what our society has become in 2026. In a way it's not our fault. We were never really wired to live like this. Forced from the commons first into the service of Kings and later into factories at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution we've always known by the rising ache of our souls this was a socio-and psychopathic culture. We are, at the deepest levels of our evolutionary coding, creatures of the s

It's so easy to look out at the state of my country, my world and despair. To retreat to Netflix and cynicism in defeat. Or to curl inward, stuck in a never ending defensive crouch, bracing against the next horrors I tell myself I am powerless over. But as a writer I have to ask myself is this a compelling story? As the heroine in my own tale, would I read that book of my life should this be what I surrender to? It takes me constant daily effort to battle these impulses an

When I created my protagonist, Harper O'Neill what is now almost a decade ago (2018), I chose two words as the kernel of her character: protector and compassion (a close relative of kindness). Every major character in the series has a file of images, history, and quotes like these that define who they are. Re-reading Marcus Aurelius this morning this passage leapt off the page and demanded it be added to Harper's character file. Historically, every faith shares some version