by Phil Houseal | Feb 9, 2022 | All Articles, Philosophy
Feb 9, 2022–My first inkling that I was a product of “white bread” culture came in 8th grade. We had a student teacher assigned to our small rural Iowa school. He was from New York, so to us he might as well have been a Martian. The incident: He chided me in front of...
by Phil Houseal | Feb 2, 2022 | All Articles, Philosophy
2/2/2022–I can’t remember any answer I ever got correct on any test. But I remember every one I got wrong. It proves the lesson I read in a fortune cookie: “People learn little from success, but much from failure.” I’ll bet you can remember your own wrong answers....
by Phil Houseal | Jan 26, 2022 | All Articles, Philosophy
Jan 26, 2022–Many of us are reaching the point in life where we need to start shedding possessions. It’s time to clean out closets, barns, and sheds, and offload old clothes, tools, and boxes of Christmas ornaments. But while discussing this with a group of gentlemen...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 19, 2022 | All Articles, Philosophy
Jan 19, 2022–When I feel stressed about life situations, I use a trick: I imagine I am the main character in a novel. What would I want the protagonist to do next? Silly, but it has some logic. By putting yourself inside your own novel, it places you one step removed...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 6, 2022 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
Jan 5, 2022–Our assumptions are so powerful we defend them fiercely. Even when they are wrong. “Papa… I have a question.” When my 6-year-old grand says this, I know I am ready to have my assumptions challenged. “When we are celebrating Christmas day here, what...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 29, 2021 | All Articles, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
“The things we see every day are the things we never see at all.” G.K. Chesterton Dec 29 2021–I’ve not always appreciated the “little things” people do for each other every day in the course of doing their jobs. Given the adventures this past year of navigating...
