Category: Personal Reflections

Lessons learned about life; pearls of wisdom I’ve gleaned through pain, failure and honest reflection

Crushed Compassion

Carl Setzer2 Comments

Huddled upon the floor
Sobbing and bleeding,
Raging flesh’s brutality
Crushes another. Yet
That is not enough. No.

We demand to know
Why this overwhelming force
Was courted, sought. Insanity.
Compassion, perhaps,
Died. Revive it I shall.

Carl Setzer

Why am I awake?
Rising from my restless mind.
Autumn’s touch comes soon.

More Christian, Indeed

Carl Setzer

Recently, one of my friends was given the following request: stay away from our church until he could be/act “more Christian”. Gads, such statements frustrate me. Really, what is that supposed to mean? I expect this is about being more cheerful, dopey happy, carefree nonsense. Bleh! People of faith wrestle with pain, sadness, depression, anger and anguish. God meets us where we are, not in this fantasy la-la land.

Yeah, we’re supposed to be battering the world with our hammers of righteousness, rubbing those wretched sinners noses in how revolting we sanctimonious babblers find them. Bah, I say; refusing that path as empty and vacuous, ultimately destructive. I stand with the broken, the sinner, the struggling, as best as I’m able, for that’s me, too. 

Thoughts on James Foley

Carl Setzer
Hearing the horrific news about ISIS’ murder of journalist James Foley gives me pause. What do these folks hope to accomplish? Do they really believe they instill terror in us? Perhaps they’re deluded such. If so, they really are pitiful. No, our collective response is one of horror and repulsion. I don’t know. Madness. 
Ultimately, it’ll solely serve to deepen our focus, our resolve. Sadly, it will also serve as fuel for those who vilify all Muslims, painting the entire faith with the broadest of brushes. I guess, ultimately, it will serve to delude these thugs, this taste of power. They’ll feel their power flutter behind the cowardly masks. And they will vanish, empty save for the horrors within their souls. 

Future think

Carl Setzer

It’s quite easy, in this age, to pooh-pooh the wisdom of time’s past. To laugh at the myths, history’s weak attempts at knowledge. Yet, we must be humble. We must wonder what elements of our “now” that the future will consider childishly superstitious. For there will be something, if not many things, perhaps nearly everything, will certainly seem foolish and naive.

My hope is that the future will see us as sincere, just naive, lacking understanding that they will take for granted. That our knowledge will grow exponentially, that we will put aside petty power and grasp the hope science offers. That humans will dance amongst the stars. As I stare up to the stars, I’m inspired. The potential is immense. May we expand beyond narrow self interest, embrace our potential, and soar

Don’t use the Internet to deal with wakefulness

Carl Setzer

I woke about an hour ago; mostly feeling a warm, semi-wakefulness. Then I ruined it. Checked email, found something to post to my Not Just Seattle blog (just re-purposing a press-release, easy!). Noticed that this site got nearly 2000 views yesterday, and tried to figure out why. Then started reading old posts. And, here I am. Reminded, yet again, that the Internet is NOT the way to deal with early morning wakefulness.

More of my websites

Carl Setzer

I started a WordPress site some time ago in order to explore the platform. Recently, I relaunched it as my poetry site. I’ve heard so very much about focusing your sites. So, I’m trying to do something with that. Besides that one, I also have NotJustSeattle.com, where I focus on the local. Soon, I’m going to port my tech writing to its own site. This will also, then, be my professional/business presence. I’ll move my portfolio there, too. Trying to find another name besides “Setzer Consulting”. Feels too bidding. I’ll try to have the URL for in to that.

So, please check out my other sites and stay tuned to see how things change.