Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
NOTE: I recently wrote a post inspired by The Lord of the Rings. Since it was published I’ve had a number of additional thoughts about this literary masterpiece, which I share with you now. ~ Pat Storytellers are gatekeepers to our conscious selves — where we learn everyone’s story is our story. Thank you to: Homer, for The Iliad and The Odyssey; Dante, for The … Continue reading Some Battles Are With Us Always
During a desperate moment in the Civil War Abraham Lincoln observed: Doing battle in the name of God is a very tricky business, for each side can quote the same verse to justify the slaughter of the other. So it goes with “an eye for an eye.” “But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for … Continue reading Beyond “An Eye For An Eye”
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~ Joseph Campbell I came upon that quote and as I lay awake in my hospital bed at 3 a.m. a few weeks ago. I wondered, how privileged am I for being me? And, more troubling, who exactly exactly am I? It had been a while since I’d checked in with myself and it seemed … Continue reading The Privilege of a Lifetime
“The longer you look back, the farther you can look forward.” ~ Winston Churchill During these times when democracies around the world have been under attack by angry, xenophobic extremists my political disposition has become cynical and depressed. While political fires rage all around me I’ve found myself strangely disengaged, treating it all like bothersome background noise. What kind of citizen am I when I refuse … Continue reading Finding Our Finest Hour
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” ~ Carl Jung For the past two months I’ve been battling kidney stones. Ugh. It has felt very much like living in the presence of constant shadow. There’s been no time in the past 50 years when I’ve been so sedentary. I’ve had nothing to distract me and have … Continue reading My Inscrutable Shadow