Category Archives: Meaning Making

Finding Contentment

Try reading Finding Contentment from our home page:  www.justathoughtbypat.com   When Marsha and I arrived back in Seattle last fall I felt a little like Rip Van Winkle waking up to a hometown I no longer recognized. When I first left back in 1971 times were tough. This billboard said it all: As most people know, the town has been booming, fueled by new technology that … Continue reading Finding Contentment »

The Passing of a Dark Night

  This quote from Joseph Campbell is heartening when I am in a place of deep struggle.  But doesn’t the “dark night of the soul” sometimes seem unfathomably long? When my dark nights descend upon me negativity feeds on me like a hungry mushroom, my world morphs into a small, dreary place, the sun never shines, and it’s perpetually 10 minutes before midnight.  These are … Continue reading The Passing of a Dark Night »

In Search of Inspiration

Like many of you, I’ve become traumatized by the plight of the growing refugee population.  By some accounts, they number over 65 million, 48 million of whom are children.  The global response to this crisis has been appalling.  Tens of millions have been left stranded in makeshift way stations, refugee camps or drifting at sea.  Refugees are being treated as the enemy, and since most … Continue reading In Search of Inspiration »

How Much Can We Change?

  My mother-in-law is holding Jada, her lovable little mutt.  It’s hard to believe, but this little dog is a descendant of ferocious wolves.  What a shocking transformation.  Just think of it.  The aggressive wolf temperament was transformed into the temperament of a sweet dog, and this evolution took place in just 35 generations. Isn’t it true that to one degree or another we think “hard … Continue reading How Much Can We Change? »