01/24/2026
For your contemplation
One good, reliable practice of self-inquiry is to see if any patterns, within or without, resemble the following:
"Of all our passions and appetites, the love of power is of the most imperious and unsociable nature, since the pride of one man requires the submission of the multitude.
In the tumult of civil discord, the laws of society lose their force, and their place is seldom supplied by those of humanity. The ardor of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries and the fear of future dangers all contribute to inflame the mind and to silence the voice of pity.
From such motives almost every page of history has been stained with civil blood.”
Edward Gibbon, from his 1776 classic, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”
While it is helpful to observe these patterns, what remains is to dissolve them. That requires self knowledge and, possibly, some mental health support. We all have patterns that undermine us to varying degrees. To dissolve them allows us to live a purposeful, meaningful, contented life free of limiting patterns, mistaken identities and harmful values, attitudes, behaviours and actions.
Peter Bromley
Applied wisdom for works in prgress
