"For the things of the world, the desire for physical pleasures, the envy for the things that we see, the pride in our possessions, are not from the Father. The world and its desires are passing away, but those who do the will of God remain forever."
1 John 2:16-17
"Greed, I say, is a great flood; it is a whirlpool sucking one down, a constant yearning, seeking a hold, continually in movement; difficult to cross is the morass of sensual desire. A sage does not deviate from truth, a brahmana stands on firm ground. Renouncing all, he is truly called 'calmed.'"
Gautama Buddha, Attadanda Sutta: The Training, trans J. Ireland, 1995
"Whoever loves money never has enough, and whoever loves abundant possessions is never satisfied with their income. So this is a meaningless vanity."
Ecclesiastes 5:10
"The moon shines in the open, not under cover. The sun shines in the open, not under cover. The teaching and training proclaimed by an Awakened shine in the open, not under cover. These three things shine in the open, not under cover."
Gautama Buddha, Paṭicchanna-sutta: Under Cover, trans Bhikkhu Sujato 2018
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and then put it under a basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see good deeds and glorify our heavenly Father."
Matthew 5:14-16
Stocks managed to extend their rally again today. Unless something seriously dislocates we can expect the stock bubble to continue being inflated.
I don't think I have seen anything quite like this, even at the worst of the Wall Street financial scandals. The pretense of legitimate price discovery was always covered by at least a fig leaf of official imprimatur.
Gold and silver recovered a bit after a final, vicious smackdown for those brave souls still holding Comex claim checks on a shrinking store of precious metals.
VIX is now flashing a warning into the weekend.
The Dollar is chopping around.
Bitcoin has slipped off its recent breakout attempt, and has fallen back down to key support. A further decline below 70k would not be constructive to the crypto narrative.
The levels of risk in both financial and geopolitical terms is astonishing. The world is most likely heading right into a global recession with the kind of stagflation that bites particularly hard.
And the flashpoints in the Mideast and Eastern Europe are sparking ominously.
Now we know what those who have gone before us have felt in turning points of history as those who would defy their mortality rage at their passing into dust.
Where are the snows of yesteryear?
Defy the madness, we who are no longer captives of this perishing world, and shine a light for the rest through the darkness.
Have a pleasant evening.
