Truth
Growing up, to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, was a big deal in my family. Honesty is the best policy and keep your word were constant phrases. Lying was considered a sin and as a priest once told me: “sinners go to hell.” When I was young, images of an eternal life in a demonic realm […]
Doubt
This week, working on final edits for my memoir –Wandering … a long way past the past, I’m faced with important decisions. Do I accept my editor’s directive to split a long chapter into two, consequently upsetting the flow and creating a domino effect of juxta positioning other chapters? Do I agree on a change […]
News Fast
As of late, newscasts have been filled with all sorts of worrisome stories with words such as war, invasion, bombing, fatalities, bereavement, downfall, refugees, collapse, crisis, overthrow, ruin… This barrage of negative information from around the globe, with reactions, replay and analysis here in America, have triggered a certain disquiet in my life, spilling over […]
The Beauty of Color
With the melting of the winter snow and increased sunlight, green shoots are popping up everywhere. The buds on the deciduous trees are beginning to open. A few crocuses have emerged, along with a rare early spring wildflower or two. Although I love the stark beauty of winter when everything can be covered in a […]
Spring!
For many of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, spring is a special time. The snow melts and the earth thaws. The bitter cold retreats. Where I live, the deciduous trees blossom into a luscious lime-green color. Migratory birds return to nest and enjoy the north’s summer abundance. Hibernating animals wake from a long winter’s […]
Fasting
Years ago, when I lived in India, I used to fast one day a week as a way to maintain good health. When I returned to North America, I continued this practice for a couple of years, then switched to fasting one time every six months, and then once a year, before abandoning the ritual […]
Less is More
When I write poetry, I try my best to convey my thoughts and or feelings with the least number of words. Then, I save, close the document, and let it be for several days, sometimes even weeks, before I return to read it. When I do, I scale it down again, remove anything excessive; save, […]
A Winter Morning Alone
I found solace this week on a solo cross-country ski close to home. When I got to the trailhead, there were only three cars in the parking lot. I saw only one couple the entire time I spent skiing between trees and rocks and boulders, resting every now again to admire the view or appreciate […]
Daydreams
I learned at a young age that daydreaming about what I wanted or needed not only filled the empty void of my longing, but often satisfied it as well. The small settlement I grew up in did not have much in the way of merchandise stores so I used to spend hours leafing through the […]
It’s Just a Matter of Time
The legendary Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu (believed to have lived in the 6th century BCE), wrote that time is a created thing with no past and no future. Other philosophers have advocated for time being a continuous flow, with no stopping or starting point. Physicists have described time as a fourth dimensional reality and Einstein concluded […]
Carefree
Once, while in Nepal, a spiritual teacher told me that one of the best things in life is to be carefree; “being open from within, not constricted, or tight or bumping up against things.” But rather, to be relaxed, free, unhampered, without the need to achieve something or be someone special. He even went on […]
Change
Snow fell almost every day for two weeks, creating snow piles up to my thigh in places. I did get several chances to ski right off my front porch and snowshoed even more. Then, the temperature rose and it started to rain, all day and all night. By the next morning, temps plummeted and everything, […]
Being Thankful
There are people I’ve met over the course of the many years that I’ve lived, who seem to have a natural grace for gratitude; appreciative for each day, viewing their cup half full, not half empty. I am not one of those people. I have to work on gratitude. Many years ago, I read that […]
Cold
Deep cold in winter reminds me of growing up in a small rural town in northern Canada. One winter we had an artic front descend into our area and the temperature plummeted to negative forty for several days and one morning, the temps fell to over negative fifty. Half the town lost electricity. Schools closed. […]
Health is Wealth
A plastic cup with the words, “early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” written in bold black letters was my constant companion when I grew up. By the way, that quote was made famous by Benjamin Franklin, yet to be historically accurate, it came from the Greek philosopher Aristotle. […]
