First Things First

I was browsing through some old magazines the other day, looking for something to read and I came upon an article that would fill a few minutes:  First Principles Study of Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Tetragonal PbMoO.  It was either that or People Magazine.

First principles.  Yours?  Do you have “first principles?”  Of course you do.  Everyone has “a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from with others are derived…an accepted or professed rule of ACTION and CONDUCT.”  We all have principles, even if we’ve never identified and articulated them.  Principles define who we are, how we view the world, how we interact with each other.  Principles are crucial to a balanced, thoughtful life, and to the existence of a just and caring nation.

I’m sure this conversation will cause you to sit down and ponder your principles.  What are the first priorities in my life?  What is fundamental and primary.  My request of you, as you formulate or review your first priorities, is to include somewhere in your list these words:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment (principle).  And the second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments (principles) hang all the Law and all the Prophets.”

These two principles are the foundational stones of life.  Plain.  Simple.  End of story.  These two principles give birth to extensions and practical applications that keep us balanced and strong.  That’s where we come in.  You and I are the developers of secondary principles that demonstrate the essence of the first principles.  Big responsibility.  Yes.  Big opportunity.  Oh, yes.  Life giving ways to live in community?  Without a doubt.

“Teacher, which (principle) is the greatest?”  “You shall love…”

So, this is beginning to sound like a sermon.  Enough.  I have reading and thinking to do.  It’s a toss up between Electronic Structure and Optical Properties or the Life Structure and Living Principles from the Ancient Voice.    Hmmm.