Life sometimes travels in circles, compelling us to confront similar challenges over and over. Maybe the core problem with breaking free from these recurring themes is that the goal—whether consciously or unconsciously considered—has not been met; perhaps the necessary life…
Serving up ritual
We all develop habit patterns that make a routine out of potentially uncomfortable tasks. One of my habits is to get up early—usually between 4:00 and 5:00 am—let the dogs out, feed them, and then bring coffee to my wife.…
Radical acceptance.
I recently learned from a friend of a term that gave a label to a concept I had been practicing for the last fifteen years: radical acceptance. The definition is, in short: when one stops fighting the reality of the…
Dawn
Dawn’s ray tickles sentience, warming animation to being, heralding the day’s welcome home. The tapered beam flickers, defining form, before merging with the infinite wave. Watch the birds twirl from limb to wire and back again, dancing to love’s grace.…
Freedom
First, I wanted happiness, permanent and sincere, a glimmering fantasy from an ivory tower of perceived wholeness. Then, I wanted peace, to be at ease with some unnamed demon yet to emerge from my shadow. Now, the image forms absent…
Breakwater
Breakwater As a young lad, I felt compelled to “run the jetty” whenever I came across a breakwater. No matter where I was—New York, Massachusetts, or Greece—if there was a jetty of giant cluttered boulders jutting out into the open…
So, this is how it’s going to be
Last summer, my daughter, son-in-law, and their two adorable, rough-housing black labs joined us in Washington State for an extended visit. When our two golden retrievers first met the black labs, they immediately started playing, eventually taking their melee of…
Naked truth
One of the final short pieces in my latest book, Beyond Identity, is titled Puddle Sprayed. It is a fun essay that speaks to being sprayed by the business end of a seagull after exiting a grocery store. At its essence, the…
The perfect time
I received an instant message the other day from a college friend, John, living in Massachusetts and not spoken to in years. Sometimes such “out of the blue” communications are initiated for no articulable reason; other times, the break in…
Trauma
A friend recently gave me a book about living with trauma, hoping that a comprehensive self-examination of all yesterday’s life stresses might help me with Parkinson’s disease today. The book, The Transformation by James Gordon, introduces many practical tools, some…