The latest essay
No Act of Kindness Is Ever Wasted
Aesop's mouse gnawed a trapped lion free 2,500 years ago, repaying mercy with mercy — a lesson Saint Paul and Jesus pressed on us about kindness we seem to be losing.
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The Long View
Reflective essays on poetry, wisdom and the timeless truths worth living by.
Several times a week · About the author
Recent essays
- Thank Goodness for Campfires A nose-to-nose moose at 12 in Kakadjo, a skunk mistaken for a raccoon, and the pull of flames that connected people around fires a million years ago.
- Dickinson, Keats, Shelley, and Blake: Timeless Poems About Hope Emily Dickinson at 61 called hope "the thing with feathers," while Keats wrote "To Hope" at just 19, joined here by Shelley and Blake.
- What Is Courage? Timeless Lessons from St. Paul and Churchill Churchill, a combat veteran and escaped POW, called courage the first of human qualities because it guarantees all the others; fear is a reaction, courage a decision.
- Faith and Change: The Enduring Lesson of Stephen Grellet Stephen Grellet, a king's musketeer sentenced to die in the French Revolution, escaped to America, heard a voice cry "Eternity," and spent his next 60 years ministering in jails.
- Why Theodore Roosevelt's Call to American Ideals Still Matters Today Born 168 years ago this month, Roosevelt argued in his 1895 essay "American Ideals" that a leader's deeds shape national character long after the man is gone.
- The Scout Law: Twelve Words That Still Guide Us Today In 1908, Baden Powell wrote twelve words scouts still live by: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, brave, reverent — and dishonor meant expulsion from scouting.
- What We Can Learn From The Inklings' Lost Art of Conversation In 1933, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien joined a club that met at an Oxford pub to argue over religion and politics without anger, judgment, or a single word of offense.
- Joshua Chamberlain: The Faith Behind a Civil War Hero Trained for the seminary, Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge at Little Round Top on July 3, 1863, holding the Union line after his men ran out of ammunition.
From the column
September 202614 essays
- Integrity and Freedom: Why Character Still Defines True Leadership
- Longfellow’s “A Day of Sunshine”: Finding Joy in Every Season
- Why Wonder Still Matters in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- Alvin Toffler’s Warning – Do Not Trade Judgement for AI
- About Resilience
- The Joys of Fall: Robert Frost and the Beauty of Autumn
- Why Reading Books Still Matters More Than Ever
- What History's Bravest Leaders Teach Us About Facing Fear Today
- The Quest: Serving Others Before Time Runs Out
- Robert Frost’s Wit and Wisdom: Timeless Lessons on Life
- In the World, Not of It: Staying True to Timeless Truths
- Labor Day: The Timeless Value of Hard Work and Purpose
- A Poem to Lift Your Spirits: Longfellow’s Arrow and Song
- Finding Hope and Beauty in Wordsworth's Timeless "Daffodils"
August 202611 essays
- The Enduring Advice of Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac
- The Happy Warrior: Lessons in Self-Control From Colin Powell
- Longfellow’s Seaside Memories and the Whimsy of Youth
- Theodore Roosevelt's Timeless Lesson on Courage in "Iron Times"
- Carpe Diem: What Robert Frost Really Meant About Seizing the Day
- Marcus Aurelius and the Lost Art of Staying Composed
- Sonny’s Smile: Lessons in Good Cheer from a Maine Logger
- Theodore Roosevelt's Enduring Lesson: America Is No Accident
- The Bald Eagle: America's Enduring Symbol of Strength and Unity
- Tennyson’s Timeless Truths: Poetry That Still Comforts and Inspires
- Faith and Courage: The Enduring Legacy of America’s Military Chaplains
July 202616 essays
- Ben Franklin’s Silence That Helped Spark a Revolution
- Edmund Burke’s Timeless Warning About Preserving American Liberty Today
- Theodore Roosevelt on Ulysses S. Grant: Leadership Lessons That Still Matter Today
- Why Trust Is the Foundation of Great Leadership and Effective Problem-Solving
- Colin Powell’s Leadership Lessons: Why Kindness Was His Greatest Strength
- Finding God in Robert Frost's Poetry
- Why Reading Is More Important Than Ever
- Earned, Never Given
- The Blue Angels
- Before the Moon Landing
- Two Cent Piece
- The Week...After July 4
- What is Selfless Service?
- Time to Step Up
- James Madison, America’s 4th President
- The Real Jefferson