I opine about all manner of things on MTC. In some instances, I even know what I’m talking about. An average of three postings per week is a great deal for anyone to follow. Some (he smiles) may have slipped through the cracks. So, in case you missed it* (or missed more than one), I’m here to help.

In a few days you will see a baker’s dozen of top 2023 posts as identified through reader views. What follows are twelve posts from the past year — one per month plus a bonus essay in place of a December entry — which did not make that list but that I especially enjoyed writing or that conveyed thoughts which I felt you, the readers, would appreciate. Personal favorites, if you will. I hope you enjoy them.

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Winter

• Protecting the pearl of the Black Sea (January 26) still resonates with me because of the personal connections made with Ukraine during a 2006 tour as well as the insightful commentary of historian Timothy Snyder on why the world needs a Ukranian victory. His analysis rings as true today as when he wrote it.

• Things just take the time they take (February 15) begins with the simple fact that we won’t live forever. 4,000 weeks, to be exact, if we live to be 80 years old. We all know this intellectually, but we structure our lives and our priorities as if our time will stretch on indefinitely. The paradoxical reward for accepting reality’s constraints is that they no longer feel so constraining.

• If your practice of gratitude is sporadic, Turning gratitude into thankfulness (March 13) has four tips to help you be “radically grateful.”

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Spring

• As with much of life, Tennessee is a paradox. The authoritarianism in my home state is not new. It builds on a past but is moving towards a new low. However, I write in A country that was built on a protest (April 10) of how resistance to authoritarianism, also a part of Tennessee’s rich heritage, is alive and well throughout the state today.

• When we can’t be bothered to love (May 1) asks the question: where in our lives do we need to stop and find the time to love?

• D-Day and the ongoing fight against government by the few and for the few (June 5) remembers the 79th anniversary of D-Day with a reminder that the fight against fascism continues today.

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Summer

• If this was lost, let us all be lost always (July 224) is a reminder from poet Mary Oliver that attention is the beginning of devotion.

• Somebody changed the locks (August 19) came amidst new (at the time) allegations of changed locks and deception at Mar-a-Lago. I know, you’re shocked. In a musical twist on the news I turn to Dr. John, who knew that when the locks are changed, “something is definitely going on wrong.”

• As we hold the sunlight close during the change of seasons, views of wonder-filled sunrises and sunsets from my travels around the world filled At the break of day (September 7).

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Fall

• In A brilliant love letter to baseball (October 2), I review Joe Posnanski’s loving look at 50 memories (and more) that explain why we love the game.

• Moments of resonance (November 27) suggests that as humans we have learned how to fly but seem, in the process, to have lost the ability to dawdle. Hartmut Rosa writes that we should be focusing on “moments of resonance.” I love that phrase, because when things really touch us they resonate within us. Recognition of when we are happy is a first step. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, perhaps we should pause a moment, and then say out loud, “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

• As I wrote in A love letter to readers (bonus read from January 3), anyone who writes — whether they do it for a living or just for the hell-of-it — appreciates those individuals who read their works. I’m always deeply touched by the positive feedback from friends and strangers alike who send comments or notes concerning something I’ve written. Plus this post has 35 recommendations for books to read, suggested by MTC readers. If this isn’t nice, what is?

I hope one or more of these posts catches your fancy today.

More to come . . .

DJB

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*ICYMI for the social media savvy readers*

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Image by Marcel Elia from Pixabay