On The Fly

In this episode,  The Friday Morning Pause: When My Brother’s Bookshelf Called Me to Stillness We live in a world allergic to stillness. Our mornings begin mid-sprint—thumbs scrolling before our eyes even open. The impulse to jump into the digital chaos is immediate. But sometimes, stillness finds you . It was early Friday morning. We’d arrived late the night before, stepping into the cool air before the day turned hot. Half-awake, I reached for my phone—emails, headlines, social feeds waiting like a morning buffet of distraction. We were in Cuba. No Wi-Fi. No 5G. No password. Just stillness, disguised as inconvenience. Instead, I caught sight of something unexpected: a small stack of books on my brother’s TV shelf. My brother and his wife are powered by perpetual motion. They are the definition of overscheduled and overstimulated. Yet there it was: Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday , quietly mocking my scrolling habit. The irony was perfect. I put my phone down—a small, delib...

In this episode, Why We Need Awe More Than Ever Yesterday morning, I slipped into the cool stillness of my backyard before dawn. The air was crisp, the silence deep—broken only by the faint rustling of leaves and the familiar calls of birds waking early. Then I looked up. A thin crescent moon hung low in the east, with Venus just above it like a shining jewel. The sky was clear and full of stars, and for a moment, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time: Awe! For thousands of years, the heavens have carried on their steady dance, untouched by human noise. No ruler, no election, no breaking news has ever changed their rhythm. And yet here I was, tempted to reach for my phone—to trade the eternal for the urgent. Instead, I stayed. I watched the moonrise, the sky slowly lighten, and the world around me stir. Ducks passed overhead in a loose V, hummingbirds zipped past to visit their feeder, pausing mid-air as if curious about me sitting so still. Little by little, the static in my mind f...

In this episode – Calm Your Mind . . . Do you often find it hard to fall asleep because your mind is preoccupied with the tasks you must complete at work, chores you might have forgotten to do around the house, or a missed phone call? In other words, how can one calm their mind and find peace? Chapter two of The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale is titled "A Peaceful Mind Generates Power.” In this chapter, Peale stresses the value of clearing your mind of all thoughts and how it can help us face life's challenges. He offers several techniques to cultivate inner calmness and tranquility, including prayer, meditation, and affirmations. In this chapter, the author suggests a technique to cultivate inner peace by taking a few moments at different times throughout the day to focus on a carefully curated set of serene thoughts. As I studied this chapter, a particular section caught my attention and made me reflect on an experience where I felt a profound peace. Dr....

From The Desk Of Patrick Ball Cherished friends, During this COVID-19 lockdown, social distancing has allowed us to return to the basics; reading, writing, and arithmetic. Me, I'm learning to read music, write out chords, and work out the math ematical patterns to play guitar. Music is a very calming influence. It's also a lot of fun when you can recreate a recognizable tune. And now, to add to the confusion, I'm learning to play the ukulele. Check out Ukulele Mike on YouTube. What have you been up to lately? One primary skill that has gone by the wayside is writing a letter. The acceptance of email, text messaging, and Facetime videos has made it too easy to throw a few emojis or partially spelled words in a message and hit send. Being a valued friend, I'm using this ancient medium to close our social distance gap. There is something therapeutic about the process of putting your thoughts on paper. But the real question is this, Is it worth mailing a sin...