In the end, we are all all sculptors, aren't we? One could reasonably argue that our lives are like the blocks of stone Michelangelo refers to in the quote below. May the new year bring us all the patience and wisdom to discover the statues that live inside of us.

The Pietà is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist.

Artist: Michelangelo
Location: St. Peter's Basilica
Genre: Christian art
Dimensions: 68.5" x 76.8" (174 cm x 195 cm)
Created: 1498–1499
Subject: Pietà, Blessed Virgin Mary, Lamentation of Christ

Source: Wikipedia

For your listening pleasure...

Just add a '66 convertible t-bird (aqua) with the 8-track playing, Susan Sarandon driving and Geena Davis riding shotgun. I would so sit in the back seat of that car.

Here's an excerpt from this excellent article...

Although a democratic society cannot function unless its citizens are able to rationally debate one another, rationality is missing from American politics. We assail our political enemies with intractable opinions and self-righteous anger. An ugly bitterness pervades everything. Meanwhile, our country is slowly but surely committing suicide.

This begs the question: How can we solve this crisis? Because the capacity to debate requires the capacity to think, I believe the answer lies in philosophy.

Why philosophy? Because the study of philosophy, the "love of wisdom," creates and nurtures thoughtful minds, minds that can -- as Aristotle suggests -- entertain a thought without accepting it. With a philosophic worldview, a Republican who despises any tax increase or economic stimulus could at least consider the notion of tax hikes or Keynesian economics. A Democrat facing antithetical ideas could do likewise. Thought rather than anger could become the default response to opposing worldviews.

Indeed, philosophy can do a great deal to lessen the anger that is growing like a cancerous tumor in modern America. The tools exist in both Eastern and Western thought -- in the Stoic exhortation to accept the present as it is, in Buddhist meditation, in the Humanist's transcendent appeal to reason, in Kant's categorical imperative. Philosophy can help us inculcate virtue for, in the words of Socrates, "knowledge is virtue."

Full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-shammas/for-a-better-society-teac_b_2356718.html

• Philosophy Books (Gifts)
• Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Philosophy on Wikipedia
  
• School of Athens (legend of philosophers and thinkers in the painting)
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Click to play

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun they rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud's illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at allMoons and Junes and ferris wheels the dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real, I've looked at love that way
But now it's just another show, you leave 'em laughin when you go
And if you care don't let them know, don't give yourself away
I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all
Tears and fears and feeling proud, to say, "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange they shake their heads, they say
I've changed
But something's lost but something's gained in living every day
I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

~ Joni Mitchell