The Briar Patch Philosopher

"The Briar Patch Philosopher" is a collection of wise sayings that are simple to remember. One of my favorites that I learned from my dad was, "Even the good will of a bad dog is worth something." We all face bad dogs in our work places, in our families and with our friends. By getting the good will of bad dogs on your side, you make the dog's biting you very difficult. Another of my favorite sayings from "The Briar Patch Philosopher" is, "Suffering leads to patience, patience leads to perseverance, perseverance leads to character, character leads to strength, strength leads to courage, and courage produces a happy life." We generally fail to understand why we suffer mentally, physically and/or emotionally. But once we learn what suffering is teaching us, then we can go through it and come out of it better than we've been. Life is a relatively simple game to play. All we have to do is to strive each day to be better than we've been the day before. You can use this philosophy to achieve almost any goal. In the briar patch of life, you'll encounter thorns, hurts, disappointments, various trials, danger and missteps all along the way. Also, in the briar patch of life, you'll find the true virtues that are necessary - courage, endurance, patience, faith and wisdom. If you're willing to run through the briar patch and the fires of everyday living, and you rely heavily on courage, endurance, patience, faith and wisdom, you can have a happy, successful, prosperous and meaningful life. I've always told my children, "You can learn from the lumps on my head, or you can put those same lumps on your head." The easiest way to get through the briar patch is to learn from the wisdom of others. The most-difficult way to get though the briar patch is to run through the storms, fall in the holes and get hurt, sick, disoriented and discouraged like many do. If you pay attention, the route to wisdom has the right answers for all questions before they're even asked. Wisdom can tell you which road to take, what type of employment to seek, and whether or not to test an idea or try a new business. Wisdom also can teach you when to keep your mouth shut, when to charge into danger with reckless abandon and how to be courageous. To become courageous, you must face and overcome any fear you have about anything. Once you obtain courage and face life unafraid is when you'll find true happiness. Like anyone else, I don't always do the right thing. However, these sayings help me to recognize my mistakes and often prevent me from making the same mistake again. I'm not the briar patch philosopher. I'm just the rabbit who's gone into the briar patch and tried to learn from all who have ventured into the briar patch and come out on the other side. Hopefully like me, you'll learn some wisdom to live by, gain some strength to endure and find the courage to put a smile on your face from "The Briar Patch Philosopher."

True reminiscences and humor blend harmoniously in this fun book about an Arkansas boy and his experiences. Press Woodruff describes himself as a man "whose life has been one of calamities, hard luck, accidents, and fun." What perfect ingredients to create this backwoods humorist! You'll enjoy hilarious stories woven from the real events of Mr. Woodruff's life, and will laugh out loud at the hysterical cartoons (drawn by Walter Sinclair) and photographs that fill these pages. If you need cheering up or just want to get a kick out of life, this backwoods philosopher knows just the solution.

The philanthropist and philosopher Strachan Donnelley (1942--2008) devoted his life to studying the complex relationship between humans and nature. Founder and first president of the Center for Humans and Nature, Donnelley was a pioneer in the exploration and promotion of the idea that human beings individually and collectively have moral and civic responsibilities to natural ecosystems. In this wide-ranging volume, Donnelley traces the connections between influential figures such as Aldo Leopold and Charles Darwin, as well as lesser-known but original thinkers that he met during the course of a full life -- ministers at his church, friends with whom he fished, and colleagues who shared his passion for research and writing. He grounds his work in classic philosophers such as Descartes, Spinoza, and Whitehead and reinterprets their writings about the natural world to develop a conservation-centered philosophy, which he dubs "democratic ecological citizenship." Edited by his daughter, Ceara Donnelley, and Bruce Jennings, Frog Pond Philosophy illuminates the dominant strands of Donnelley's intellectual identity as a philosopher, naturalist, agitator, and spiritualist. Despite his often grim depiction of the current state of the environment, Donnelly never surrenders his faith in humanity's ability to meet its ethical obligations to conserve, respect, and nurture the complexity and diversity of the natural world. His vivid and personal essays, rooted in everyday experiences, offer a distinctive perspective on questions of urgent contemporary importance.

American Theological Inquiry (ATI) was formed in 2007 by Drs. S. Gannon Murphy (PhD, St. David's College, Univ. Wales, Theology; Presbyterian/Reformed) and Stephen Patrick (PhD, Univ. Illinois, Philosophy; Eastern Orthodox) to open up space for diverse Christian academicians, who affirm the Ecumenical Creeds, to share research throughout the broader Christian scholarly community in America. ATI reaches thousands of Christian scholars throughout the United States, particularly specialists in theology. Though ATI is a new journal, scholars who publish with ATI benefit from exposure to a vast, non-insular network of one of the broadest Christian academic communities possible.

Briar Patch was not written to just "tell a story". It is instead a very humorous anthology, set in a fascinating place with unforgettable characters. Scenes jump from person to person as the sixteen characters interact in a small town setting. Briar Patch is reminiscent of Al Capp's Dogpatch, however, Briar Patch is adult humor with an entirely new cast of characters that literally jump off the page at you.

Here, Western environmental philosophers and some of our most distinguished representatives of Asian and comparative philosophy critically consider what Asia has to offer. The first section provides an ecological world view as a basis for comparison. Subsequent sections include chapters by leading contemporary scholars in Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Buddhist thought that explore the Western perception of Asian traditions--the perception that Asian philosophy is a rich conceptual resource for contemporary environmental thinkers.