Every Day Zen
Rumi says, “as you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” It is not troll-free nor has it ever been. Trolls have always been available to distract and sow discord. Theirs is not a world of substance but nothing stuns a troll like silence. If there is no reaction, if no one “bites... Continue Reading →
The dust of days, so often overlooked in favor of the clean slate, especially at the beginning of a year, 365 days not yet lived. It’s not without its inspiration, this charcoal slate with pine border, edged perfectly, and full-length piece of chalk ready to make dust, powdered words. To live only by clean slate... Continue Reading →
It is a November wind that grounds me, as fall grows into winter, when darkness is greatest but light, in its slivers, wins the year. Increasingly, this is the most challenging time of the year for me. It’s less the darkness and more the coldness that has come to characterize North Florida winters. Ripe for... Continue Reading →
Like most people, I take an occasional break from Facebook and Twitter without having to announce it. I am more observer than participant so my absence is not noticed. People who know actually know me stay in touch. Social media is not an in-the-moment, completely present experience. It’s persona, rather than being present. It’s a... Continue Reading →
Today’s #LongerView, “The Undertow of Thought,” is about bringing the meditative state into every day, rather than escaping into the somewhat seductive and oh-so-subtle mental wandering we do: the what ifs and if only. It’s like an undertow, as we learn to swim with rather than against it. As always, I provide the swinging bench.... Continue Reading →
I am a reader of Louise Erdrich, usually during difficult times, not for solace surely but for life at low tide. Hers is no fictional escape but story, hard and raw, word by word. “You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to... Continue Reading →
When you are trying to change the questions, you have to realize that many people are quite resistant to such a change. They like the answers they have. Stanley Hauerwas Q&A Answers, boxes of questions cornered. What to do and not, each easily rising to a reason d’etre until change comes creeping in fury.... Continue Reading →
It’s a soggy, sunny Sunday morning in North Florida with 74% humidity, the warmth of an oven without the offer of fresh bread. The yellow-black of the Tiger Swallowtail and burnt orange of the Gulf Fritillary butterflies weave in and out of vine-laden live oak and longleaf pine. Within the green vine-blankets are oval glimpses... Continue Reading →
I am now 60 plus 6. It’s messy but comfortable. When I began my sixth decade, I had an inkling of awareness so I put it in a box, all wrapped up with corners taped neatly. Its bow not yet pulled. Not a strand of ribbon out of place. Unopenly adorned. On any day, an... Continue Reading →
