Roger Meyer

Do you control your thoughts? It can be more difficult than you think. Where do thoughts come from, and what do you do with your thoughts?

Reading scientific definitions of thought is not very enlightening. Thought is intangible, like light and magnetism. We know thought exists, but what is it? We have ideas, opinions, memories, feelings, and emotions, all of which we ascribe to the mind and heart.

Many are familiar with the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which portrays an enemy called the Borg, a collective of cyborgs linked to a central controlling “hive” seeking to assimilate all lifeforms. Their ultimatum is, “You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.” Of course, the protagonists of the series do resist the Borg, and resistance is an absolute necessity in many areas of real life—it is not futile.

Both the Internet and social media are very useful tools—but even useful things can be misused to do harmful things by misguided human beings.

Conspiracy theories and all sorts of useless babblings abound in today’s marketplace of ideas. The Internet and social media, aided by the algorithms designed to multiply exposure to as many users as possible, fuel the spread of endless prattle, drivel, and distraction from truth.

Flash freezing, icy roads, snow blowing sideways, and blizzard conditions. Arctic temperatures, gusting winds knocking out electrical power, and canceled flights interrupting travel. Winter storm Elliott affected the majority of the United States.

To put one’s house in order can simply mean cleaning and organizing our home. It can also mean changing our behavior to get our life in order, sometimes with reference to making final arrangements before dying.