Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
Pat and I recently made a major shift in our daily routine. For the first time in our life together, we have stopped watching the news on TV every night. This is a huge change, especially for Pat, whose TV news-watching habits date back to childhood. We made the change partly from exhaustion — the events of the past year had ground us down — … Continue reading Taking a Break From the News (by Marsha)
Marsha and I recently watched The Last Dance, a documentary on the final season (1997) of the Chicago Bulls dynasty. A team for the ages. A flood of memories poured in. I lived in Chicago during the years when the Bulls dominated basketball. Chicagoans actually looked forward to winter just to watch them play! People remember their lead player, the legendary Michael Jordan, but the … Continue reading The Glory of Not Having All the Glory
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
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