The most we can do is to write — intelligently, creatively, evocatively — about what it is like living in the world at this time. — Oliver Sacks
Stanley Kunitz is one of my favorite poets. He was seventy three years young when he wrote his poem The Layers. He died in 2006 at the age of one hundred and one years. The poem itself is a masterpiece of storytelling about transformations and because of his mastery of the art, it needs no …
Sometime during the late ninety's I read the Biography of William Blake (1757-1827) by Peter Ackroyd. Prior to this, my only connection to Blake was in college where I read his Songs of Innocence and Experience. I saw Blake as a visionary, poet, and gifted artist who chose to be detached from the affairs of …
It's time to write about freedom! I shied from this topic for a long time because it was not something I had experienced in this body before. I believed as Antoine de Saint-Exupery that freedom was "of the mind" because that was the only experience of freedom I have had. There is not an adequate …
The lowest depth of misery is the loss of a loved one. It was the only time I ever considered suicide as a viable option to life. It was not in my thinking an attempt to join with Kathleen in her realm as energy, but in truth, I was uncertain if I could go on …
It has been over twenty years since I wrote the poem Stand Undiminished. It started out as a dream, was shared with the community where I lived, and is a poem I learn from every day of my life. Its words are powerful and its intention felt. The poem blames no one but some feel …
Growing Old When, halting in front of it, I look at the reflection which is in the depths of my clear mirror. It gives me the impression of meeting an unknown old gentle man. — Hitomaro The biggest problem with growing older in my physical body is that in my mind I am still in …
Who are we, if not measured by our impact on others? That’s who we are! We’re not who we say we are, we’re not who we want to be — we are the sum of the influence and impact that we have, in our lives, on others. — Neil deGrasse Tyson Life is a continuum, …
I watched a film a while back named "13 Assassins." During the closing scene, the dying father and leader of the group of thirteen says to his son, "Live your life." These are powerful words particularly when coming from a dying father to a son who was trained as a samurai but never totally embraced …
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. I write because …
To be full of strength and vigor one moment and virtually helpless the next, in the pink and pride of health one moment and a cripple the next, with all one’s powers and faculties one moment and without them the next – such a change, such suddenness, is difficult to comprehend, and the mind casts …
Continue reading "I Am Not Me Anymore, At Least I’m Not The Same Me I Was"
The other day I was thinking about memories, why they occur, their frequency and triggers. I was walking along the river under my own contemplative spell when I was suddenly hit with a memory of a lost love. The trigger was the back of the woman’s head in front of me. She had the same …
I woke up early this morning because the roosters were roostering more and louder than normal. As I do every morning, I looked out my window to see if the mountaintops were clear. This is usually a good indictor of what the weather will be like for the day. This is the place I love …
I am an Aries in Western astrology. A triple fire sign with sun in Aries, moon in Leo, and rising sign in Sagittarius. There is very little earth and no water in my chart, mostly fire and air. Therefore there are no conflicting elements. In Chinese astrology, I am the Rat. A creature who enjoys being …
“You are the responsible one,” my mother would tell me when I would wine about having to reheat dinner for my brother and father when she left for work. “I know you will do it,” she would say. The responsibility of being responsible started early for me. I was eight years old. When mom and …
The only thing I know for sure, absolutely without question, is that one day my physical body will cease to exist. I will die. It is a fate that awaits all living organisms at some point no matter how long science may extend our life span. It is one of only two traits common to …
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do …
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 …
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. I only remember bits …
The Hour Of Man I wrote down the quotation below in my composition pad some years back before the time of personal computers, and although my research on the man who made the statement, Harold Maine, did not yield any results, I still find his words relevant today. Please see note below.* I want to …
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? 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 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 …
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 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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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? 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 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 …
If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation. —Jiddu Krishnamurti
When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses... We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. — John F. Kennedy
...If one looks long enough at almost anything, looks with absolute attention at a flower, a stone, the bark of a tree, grass, snow, a cloud, something like revelation takes place. — May Sarton
The truest philosophy, is not to long for anything in particular, but to accept everything as it comes, and find out the reason of it coming. — Marie Corelli
The most we can do is to write — intelligently, creatively, evocatively — about what it is like living in the world at this time. — Oliver Sacks
