Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that is broken, the crownless again shall be king.” ~ by JRR Tolkien, The Lord of … Continue reading Exceptionally Average
Oath of Jurors: It is your duty to base your verdict solely upon the evidence, without prejudice or sympathy. I was recently called for jury duty and learned a thing or two about the jurors’ oath. Rendering a verdict solely upon the evidence, without prejudice or sympathy, ain’t that easy. I found I was a guy filled with his own peculiar brand of bias cleverly disguised … Continue reading Beyond Bias
Originally published February 16, 2016. “This is what I believe: That I am I. That my soul is a dark forest. That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in that forest. That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest in the clearing of my known self, and then go back. That I must have the courage to let them … Continue reading When I Learned to Listen
When I traveled to India last November I flew a polar route through Dubai. I was lucky enough to have sitting next to me a 29-year-old economist from the UK named Chris. He was going to Abu Dabi for a conference on famine relief and since we had a 16-hour flight, we struck up a conversation that was for me both fascinating and a bit disturbing. … Continue reading Letting Go
I recently met a long-time buddy for a belated birthday chat. We go way back, to my drinking days, when the nights were long and the days were blurry. We both have been sober a good while, so we can now share a good laugh at the bad old days and just be thankful we made it through alive. As we were readying to leave, … Continue reading Learning to Listen