Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
These long days of self-confinement have provided us opportunities to find new ways to bolster our spirits. One way I found has been in reaching out to old friends. One old friend of mine who’s brought a little light into my darkness has been Mark Pearson, a fraternity brother from my time at the University of Washington. Mark was a man who kept his own … Continue reading As Healthy As Our Stories (by Mark)
I’m stunned at the storming of the U.S. Capitol. it was an event so outrageous, so evil, so destructive, that it defies description. What has made it even more maddening for me is trying to say what it was really about, I mean really about. To answer that question I’ve had to explore my own history. I was 12 years old when John Kennedy was … Continue reading An Inaugural Address for the Ages
Last summer while on our evening walk Marsha and I were confronted by a frightened middle-aged man who warned us of a roving band of homeless people headed toward the park near our home, and aiming to set up camp there. The man was insistent and seemed to need for us to acknowledge the impending danger. In the mode of Paul Revere, it’s as though he … Continue reading When Make Believe Is Dangerous
May I strike my heart’s keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down my face make me more radiant: may my hidden weeping bloom. How we waste our afflictions!… They’re really our wintering foliage, our dark greens of meaning, one of the seasons of the clandestine year; not only a season: they’re site, settlement, shelter, soil, abode. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke Poetry … Continue reading Finding A Safe Place
I find my thoughts, recently, turning to Abraham Lincoln as he guided a broken country through the Civil War. There are so many Lincoln stories, some humorous, some poignant. The ones I’ve been reading illustrate Lincoln’s great capacity for compassion, forgiveness and empathy. Many people sought the President’s help. Few were as fortunate as Thomas Bullock, who recalled how he obtained a pardon for his … Continue reading A Time for Empathy