Acceptance—What The World Needs Now With the senseless killing of Black men by white police officers in the United States, at a rate which has not been seen since the racial unrest of the sixties, to the ISIS bombings in France, Yemen, Turkey, Afghanistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, and Brussels, etc., to the endless bloodshed between …
Why Is Life Worth Living?
Why is life worth living? Okay, for me, I would say...well, Groucho Marx, to name one thing, and Willie Mays and the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony and Louis Armstrong's recording of 'Potato Head Blues', and um, Swedish movies, naturally. Sentimental Education by Flaubert, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, those incredible Apples and Pears by …
Preparing For The Unexpected
Preparing For The Unexpected I love books. Even though I no longer work at the library, nor is my collection of books as large as it once was, I still love books for the knowledge and information I gain from them. I love them for the journeys and adventures they have taken me on. As …
Happy Birthday To Me!
My beautiful dear friend Rebecca sent me these words from Samuel Ullman in celebration of my seventy two years of living. YOUTH Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, …
Beliefs: Part I
Beliefs: Part I In the battle of beliefs. Who wins? Might? Wisdom? Gods? Beliefs are always right of course, at least to those who hold a particular belief. Why would anyone believe something they do not believe is true? We are conditioned to believe what we believe. The course of this planet's existence following the …
Beliefs: Part II
Beliefs: Part II Every act is a statement of your beliefs. What you believe is so ingrained with the consciousness and with the body that you and its reflection are one. A man cannot be separated from his beliefs any more than he can be separated from his soul. A change of belief can occur …
A Dialogue On God Part I
The great difficulty with language is that we use it in our attempts to explain things for which no true explanation exists. In the Hermetic writings of the third century it was written, "If you don't make yourself equal to God you can't perceive God: for like is known by like." Anything I say about …
A Dialogue On God Part II
What do you believe God is? God is a concept not a being. God is the black face of the universe, the stars, the planets, the solar systems, the dragonfly, the elephant, the mouse, the spider, the man and the woman but these are only the life forms we know exist. There are obviously countless …
Acceptance And Forgiveness
A little over fifteen years ago when I started these pages, I asked the question What have I learned that I can give? I am continually amazed at how much I have learned as I continue this journey of introspection into my life and place in the universe. I have no idea if my ramblings …
Life’s Greatest Transition
You are going to see wonderful things that no tongue or pen can adequately describe. Well, when you return to earth again, do you suppose you can make people believe the story of your experiences? Never! Be thankful if you are the possessor of a secret joy yourself, and do not attempt to impart it …
A Matter Of Time
The time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time. — Bertrand Russell Time is all I have but I can not claim ownership because I do not know when it will run out. Remember Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz? The wicked witch gave her until the sand completely ran out of the hour glass to …
A World Of Lies
Constraints on the abuse of power are being weakened internationally and nationally. This cannot continue. Those who can must speak out plainly – and truthfully – or be complicit in a world of lies. David Miliband (July 15, 1965 -) The other day when starting to write this essay, the original title was Truth, but …
A Magical Christmas Morning
A Magical Christmas Morning Tonight is Christmas Eve. The cat is curled up at the foot of the bed, the gas fireplace heats the room and I have just climbed into bed. As a child and during my early adulthood, my Christmas Eves were spent doing all those last minute tasks before the big day. …
A Hotel Citizen
A Hotel Citizen "I am a hotel citizen." It has been nine months since I moved to the fifth floor of the Hostal Los Molinos (Hostal The Mills) in Loja, Ecuador. It was my initial intension to use this location only as a landing base for my permanent return last December until a more suitable …
Why Ecuador?
Why Ecuador? My first conscious exposure to Ecuador came in August of 2012, when the small South American country granted asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. I thought at the time how brave of this small nation to stand up against the larger and more powerful nations of the world including England and …
Seeing
Seeing It is not a race to see who can have the most experiences before we die because everything we do can be a new experience if we are able to see it with fresh eyes. My friend Arnie Nybak taught me that. During the two years I was his house companion, almost every day …
The Artist Of Being
The Artist Of Being The things I have enjoyed all of my life - reading, writing, thinking, and dreaming are not, nor have they ever been the driving force of my life. With reading my pace is deliberately slow permitting the bonding, the falling in love with each word as its image and my eyes …
Flags As Symbols Of Racism
Flags As Symbols Of Racism Flags are soaring symbols of pride and community, as well as emotional, incendiary sparks for those on the other side of the barricade. They are among the most immediate, primal, and communicative forms of design. They are made of icons and become icons themselves — even more so when they …
If I Were King …
If I Were King... With the arrogance of youth, I am determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, …
What Goes Up…
What Goes Up... Analysts will tell you they did not see it coming, the growing crisis in the financial markets, but who are they kidding? The brokers at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae saw it coming and pulled out their investments before the companies crashed. The executives in the auto industry saw the pending doom …
Living In Different Worlds
Living In Different Worlds "When in Rome, do as the Romans." We have all heard that expression and for most of my travels I have made it a practice to sample the local flavours as much as possible. Snails (escargot) in Paris, snake in Hong Kong, and crawdads in New Orleans, but I could not …
Why I Write
Why I Write I was not born a writer. I write because I am a lover of words. I like to breathe life and meaning into these symbols of thought. I want to lift the word from the mind or page, give it air to make a sound, then shape and mold it into meaning. …
Never Kiss And Tell
Never Kiss And Tell I have lost most of the memories of my youth. Some forgotten memories will remain forgotten. Some might be recalled or triggered by an event in the present moment, and then there are those memories which will remain imbedded forever in my mind. The first and only time I kissed Debbie …
Feasting On My Life
Feasting On My Life Sometimes, I need a little help from my friends...and when I do, I often turn to poetry. Another one of my favorite poets is Derek Walcott. I keep a copy of his poem Love After Love in my rainy day box. I am grateful each morning I awaken to this life but …
Artist Of Life
Artist Of Life I wanted to sing like Johnny Hartman, paint like Picasso, dance like Mikhail Baryshnikov, and write like Camus, but I did not. I was not given at birth their unique talent to do those things. It might have been their genes or a gift from the gods. I do not know. I …
It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love
It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love I was saddened to hear of Rod McKuen's (April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) passing a few year ago. It was because of his words that I fell in love with poetry. It was because of what his words inspired in me that I am a poet today. …
If You’re Not Outraged…
If You’re Not Outraged...You're Not Paying Attention To What Is Going On Around You! Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. — Martin L. King Jr. The movie Network was made over thirty years ago. I remember seeing the out take of Peter Finch's character, Howard Beale, leaning …
The Golden Age
The Golden Age This is not something anyone can tell you for if they do, you probably won’t believe them. In my 20’s, I thought I knew everything, and I did from my perspective as a twenty something year old. I was the first in my family to graduate from college. I had survived the …
Land Of The Free
Land Of The Free Almost seventy years ago George Orwell published his futuristic dystopian novel, "1984". The main character, Winston Smith, works in the Ministry of Truth where he rewrites history according to the Party's platform. Winston is a citizen who is overwhelming frustrated by the totalitarian control of the government over its citizens. Everyone …
The Road To Ecuador
The Road To Ecuador I never made it to Vilcabamba. When the shuttle stopped in Loja, the voice in my head, my guide through life, said, "Get off here." I did and the moment I walked through the town entrance, I fell in love with the city. I was under the castle's spell. While walking …
Reading
Reading Reading is another one of the four things, along with writing, thinking, and dreaming, I have done for myself most of my life. I have always found books to be easier to be with than people. A book can engage me the way few people can. People generally want to be right whereas a …
Alchemy Of Love
Alchemy Of Love "You write a lot about 'Love'," a friend recently commented. "I do," was my response. "Why?" "I write about love because it is what I am, what I am learning, and what I want to understand more of before I leave this world." And then, in the style of Almitra, the High …
What’s In A Name?
What’s In A Name? A friend recently sent me a list of The 100 Most Beautifully Unusual First Names. I was not surprise to see my given name listed. There have always been those who complimented my name when introduced, but I have never felt comfortable with my given name. It never felt like my name. …
