Every Day Zen
“The house of cards still stands,” I say to my primary care physician, and only then wonder, “is that an apt metaphor?” She nods her head, as she continues to read my MRI report. I’ve already heard from my neurologist who favors monologue over dialogue. Nor is he one for metaphor or talking about arthritis.... Continue Reading →
Today’s #LongerView, “All Right Will Never Be the Same,” is a drive through Georgia, one that I take frequently, but not usually in the way I did in this post. It does involve the medical profession and the unexpected. I hope you enjoy the post. As always, I provide the swinging bench. Aim for Even... 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 →
I used to be good with detail(s), and I’m still not bad, but now my associations are fluid, my memory free-ranging, the history I lived blended. I can think RFK and write or say JFK. And that is what I did in commenting on a thoughtful blog post regarding the 50thanniversary of RFK’s death. The... Continue Reading →
“There’s just so much wrong with you” a rheumatologist once told me. Finally, I thought, we are getting somewhere. Yes, we were. He dropped me as a patient. And it was freeing, at first, believing nothing could be done when there is just so much wrong. Some aspects of my health--diet and lifestyle--improved, but what... Continue Reading →
Fewer things I like better than metaphors, turning them inside out and upside down to discover what lies in the mix. In all of its intelligence, my Mac dictation finds contradictions nearly impossible, or perhaps it is my writing of them. I give my Artificial Intelligence (AI) pause, and sometimes, a pause turns into a... Continue Reading →
I call my life practice keeping it even, meeting each day's energy one dose at a time. It’s an ongoing balancing act between letting go and looking more closely. No experience stays any longer than necessary. But is it a cheerful practice? I never considered the question until Pema Chödrön offered yet another challenge. “Apply... Continue Reading →
It takes me a while to realize I am still wearing my computer glasses. I had no idea the prescription would work for driving. It is a misty-gray, north Florida morning, anything but gloomy, full of mystery, and 100% humidity. I want to drive to the sea and so I do. Soon, my window wiper... Continue Reading →
