Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
The other night I had a dream. I was running — from what, I don’t know; to where, I can’t say — but running as fast as I could. The end was hazy. All I know for sure is that I never got away. I never do. I’ve had some version of this dream all my life. But my guess is I’m not alone. If … Continue reading Mending the BIG Memory
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust My own voyage of discovery has taught me to fix my eyes not on the peaks and valleys of life, but on the horizon where the mind is opened, the heart is restored, and the soul comes in contact with — awe. This past year tested … Continue reading The Power of Awe
Sometimes a childhood event can become so defining that it is replayed a thousand times over the course of our life, reminding us of what we already know but somehow choose not to remember. Let me share one such moment with you. I grew up on a street that bordered a gully that we knew as Wolf Creek Ravine. I crossed the bridge over this … Continue reading Descent Into Fear
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
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ∼ Lao Tzu Contentment? What is contentment? As a younger man I would have choked on the admonition to rejoice in the way things are. It took a long time for a butterfly to find my shoulder. No illustration better describes … Continue reading Finding Contentment