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
One of the activities I engage in everyday when possible is a walk along the Tomebamba River near my home in Cuenca, Ecuador. During this walking meditation my mind wonders along with that of the river. I love the sound of water. When the river is high, it blocks out the sounds of the city …
Continue reading "Rollo Del Tomebamba XXI — Beauty In Death"
It’s all very strange. You can be walking along, not thinking of anything in particular. Suddenly you’re reminded of a lost love. Charlie Brown (Charles Shultz) If you had not died when you did,so many things could have been shared.As it turns out I became a librarian.I had some love affairs butnever fell deeply in …
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 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 …
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 Speck Of StarDust I saw in a dream… Last night a speck of stardust fell through my closed eyelid and lodged itself, unmovable, into my existence. I woke this morning at a lost for words to describe the experience of this dream. What word could explain or extrapolate this feeling I am? Words would …
Dream of Dying It is difficult to distinguish reality in a dream. Last night I fell into a sub-zero chemical vat. I fought my way to the side and pulled myself out as the freezing death worked its way up my body. Colleagues froze in fear, as the outcome was certain. She cried, as I …
What Matters? Ten things that matter most to me in this life are: Love — It is the most precious of gift of all. Nourishment — Air, Water, and Food — These are necessities. Life must have access to clean air, clean water and food to sustain itself. Free Speech — Ideas must never be …
One of the activities I engage in everyday when possible is a walk along the Tomebamba River near my home in Cuenca, Ecuador. During this walking meditation my mind wonders along with that of the river. I love the sound of water. When the river is high, it blocks out the sounds of the city …
Continue reading "Rollo Del Tomebamba IV – The Raging Waters"
This Hollow Emptiness In My Soul At a time like this I want to write about the joy of your life and not my pain. I want everyone to share your wisdom, hear your laughter, know your devotion to Jehovah, but all I feel is sorrow and devastation. I want to share stories of our …
O’ To Be Human I am not sure if my being human was a choice, an accident, or predetermined by fate but I am grateful in either case for the gift of life in this human form. I needed these years and experiences to understand why I am here. As much as I identify with …
If I Should Die, Before I Wake Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time? — John Updike I am more conscious of death's inevitability as I age. Knowing death can come for me …
Life, Death, And Creativity I do not know if creative people have a more difficult life because of the stress of the creative process or we just hear about the tragedy of their lives more often because they are in the public's eye. When I think of creative people like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Winehouse, Robin …
Take Me Death Like a ghost from times passed You creep up silently behind me. Unwilling to confront me eye to eye. You remain hidden in my blind spot. Then you tap me on my shoulder And quickly disappear back into your hell, As I turn around to find no one is there. Why do …
The Crushing Weight Of GoodBye She told him what had kept her away was Death. But he rejected that excuse—for Death, he said, can never come between lovers. — Maguib Mahdouz I never thought the last time we said, “Good bye,” would be the last time. If I had known, I would have done it …
Life’s Greatest Gift What keeps me alive is found between the images, between the words, between thought, the emptiness of feeling, and in the emptiness of the body...there arises the fullness and significance of life… —Basarab Nicolescu I have received so many gifts, appearing as presents from you. The still, shadowy, vapor filled clouds you …
Alive On The Edge Of NowHere! There is no death. What we think of as death is merely one of life's greatest transitions. — Marie Corelli I am here, alive on the edge of nowhere with a mind full of almost forgotten memories in an aging vessel of an uncertain duration. I have lived my …
A Measured Perspective I did not sleep well the night before and I was in a funk upon awakening. I attributed this unusual occurrence to the full moon and just went about my day. During my morning walk on the beach, I realized today is the day my mom died, one year ago. My body …
Gone It is the knowledge of the genuine condition of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reason for living. —Simone de Beauvior Gone from sight but not from memory. In my mind, a picture of you remains. Although, now, more than a body, I cannot touch you. Although, much …
If You Had Ten Minutes To Live... Who would you call? What would you say? Why aren't you doing it? Most participants in the one day seminar on “Death & Dying” presented by Stephen Levine and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross had instant answers to the first two question. Everyone would call a loved one and say, “I …
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
