Literal Integration

My observations are born from conversations with people I interact with at work, at home, at the coffee shop, on a run, in transit —Life. Most of them could be fleshed out into whole ass essays but ain't nobody got time for that.

Keep up.

Michelle and I visited with our great couple friends and soon to be neighbors in Harrisburg. The two observations below materialized from breaking bread, and drinking drank with them.

Nothing Comes from Nothing

I understand this to be a quote by the Roman philosopher Lucretius, the Latin motto ex nihilo nihil fit means "nothing comes from nothing," and is used as a reminder that hard work is always required in order to achieve something.

Whether your nothing be' love, marriage, friendship, family or work — Win the day. At times we are so focused on the future that we lose sight of the day. Identify and remove the things that connect you to failure.

I Am a Human Being So Nothing Human is Strange to Me

Homo sum humani a me nihil alienum puto is a line lifted from one of the works of the Roman dramatist Terence. I was introduced to the quote while watching a Masterclass by Maya Angelou, her translation “I am a human being, I consider nothing that is human alien to me.” In the play Heauton Timorumenos, or The Self-Tormentor, the line was originally one character’s response to being told to mind his own business. Given its literal meaning, it is used as a call to action advocating respect for people and cultures that appear different from our own.

“I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me.”