Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
[This is an edited version of the post, “A Thoughtful Heart,” originally published February 27, 2016.] L “A heart weary of hate cannot learn to love.” I came upon this quote, credited to a Russian poet, in a New York Times article written by Mikhail Shishkin, “How Russians Lost the War.” He was decrying the manner in which the Russian authorities were ratcheting up … Continue reading Seeing the World with Clear Eyes
I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light. ~ Helen Keller How many walks? How many friends? I wonder. This past week I’ve had a tutorial on friendship. I watched in awe as two hundred friends gathered for my cousin Amy’s funeral as they came to give comfort to a grieving family. It was a moving scene, … Continue reading How Friends Sustain Us
Yet again, death has struck a member of my family — my cousin Amy, at 46. Death has visited our family all too frequently and all too early. My father died at 45, brother Steve at 59, brother Kevin at 62. We are a family of unfinished stories. Death leaves its mark when it comes unexpected and early. So many unspoken words So many unsung … Continue reading Passings and Epilogues
Forty years ago I met a “good one”: an old gentleman who ran a shoeshine stand in the Eastern Airlines Shuttle Terminal at LaGuardia Airport. I was never sure of his name but most people called him Pete. At the time the hourly shuttle between New York, Boston and Washington was among the busiest in the nation. Everyone was guaranteed a seat, No reservations needed, … Continue reading Tending to Your Own Business
“Doubt grows with knowledge.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Today we hear many voices speak with the ring of dogmatic certainty, where the ugliest of ugly thoughts are hurled out to every time zone. I find myself asking, how can so many be so sure of so much? Socrates once observed, “I know that I don’t know. But you don’t know what you don’t know and … Continue reading When Doubt is an Ally