Must we have evidence to know the truth?

I don’t think so. Some truths are absolute and I don’t need evidence to know they’re inherently true. Now if we’re talking about something like a trial then yeah, evidence is pretty important.

How much control does a person have over their life?

Not as much as we think we do. We make our choices and live with the consequences but I believe in the philosophy of whatever happens is what was meant to happen. That doesn’t quite jive with the concept of self-determination.

What is gravity and how does it work?

Seeing as I refuse to google this and my recollection of basic science is squirrelly let’s say gravity is like that enormous Looney Tunes magnet times a million. It’s sitting at the center of the earth and points 360°, holding everything with mass to the earth. There you go – science by Warner Bros.

Can a person be happy if they have never experienced sadness? How about vice versa?

I think these emotions are universal. One isn’t a prerequisite for the other, although experiencing happiness might give us a useful lens for seeing sadness as well as vice versa.

Please feel free to share a song, a poem, a quote or an image or photo to show what you were grateful for during this past week. (Optional as always).

Yesterday a number of leaders in our community – including mayors, the president of Elon University, business owners, and pastors – signed and presented an open letter urging county commissioners and the Graham City Council to relocate a Confederate statue standing in the county seat’s court square. We live in a particularly fervent “but our southern heritage” area of the country so this will be a difficult goal to attain but in all honesty even this level of public solidarity is progress. Maybe we’ll get there after all.

Sparks from a Combustible Mind hosts Share Your World.