Trouble, trouble, trouble all about my soul As soon as my feet touch down I won’t be in trouble no more. -Cary Ann Heart, from “Trouble About my Soul” A few days ago on my morning walk, this song appeared on my playlist. A suggestion from my daughter, I’d never heard it before, but the song resonated profoundly—partially because I heard the lyrics incorrectly. … Read More Trouble No More
He had never been so anxious for the arrival of a woman he did not want to see. -David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest It’s difficult to find a more visceral description of the horrors of addiction than in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. Wallace’s character is frustrated with his addiction to marijuana, so he repeatedly tried to quit—which amounts to smoking up the … Read More An expansive life!
I’ve been watching stars rely on the darkness they resist. And fish struggle with and against the current. And hawks glide faster when their wings don’t move. Still I keep retelling what happens will it comes out the way I want. We try so hard to be the main character when it is our point of view that keeps us from the truth. The … Read More It’s Actually Very Good!
The soul selects her own society. -Emily Dickenson Loneliness is felt most profoundly when are alienated from ourselves, when we are disconnected from our soul. And though we may ignore its quiet nudging and whispering in our ear, our soul is always there–inviting us back into union. And just how does the soul do this? By, as Dickenson says, selecting her own society. The soul … Read More Letting the Soul Lead
Our job is not to expose the mystery; it is to participate in it. -Mark Nepo Mysteries can be very threatening. They shake our supposed firm footing and supposed understanding of ourselves and everything around us. And we often think that things have no purpose if we can’t categorize them or draw profound life lessons from them. In response, we expend … Read More The beauty of being
There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life. -Tara Brach We’ve all got them—fears, pain, triggers, bad memories, hopes and desires. This is part of what makes us human, and what has kept our species going generation after generation. It’s not the presence of challenges or even our dislike of them that … Read More Saying Yes!
In the critic’s vocabulary, the word ‘precursor’ is indispensable, but it should be cleansed of all connotations of polemic or rivalry. The fact is that every writer creates his own precursors. His work modifies our conception of the past, as it will modify the future. -Jorge Luis Borges, from “Kafka and His Precursors” Most recently, it was author Christopher Booker who espoused the … Read More Nothing New?
A man can be himself only so long as he is alone. If he does not love solitude he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is truly free. -Arthur Schopenhauer We are persistently inundated with external influences. If you live amongst others, it’s inescapable! We can’t avoid being affected by our family of origin, the … Read More Truly Free
If I only did what I could do I wouldn’t do anything. -Jacques Derrida Most of us are completely unaware of our potential. We limit ourselves in so many ways: by talking negatively to ourselves, by allowing others to criticize us, by comparing ourselves to others, and by setting unrealistic goals—thereby fulfilling our self-fulfilled prophecy that we can’t. But what if you … Read More I think I can, I think I can…
The purely righteous do not complain of the dark, but increase the light; they do not complain of evil, but increase justice; they do not complain of heresy, but increase faith; they do not complain of ignorance, but increase wisdom. -Rav Kook Sometimes the challenges in our country, community or family can feel overwhelming. And we wonder, what can I do?! I don’t think … Read More Light
If the self remains in its citadel, anxious to control and heavily defended, it declines in the sources of vitality. To lay the citadel open, however, is to court danger: a danger inseparable from the enhancement of life. -Roberto Mangabeira Unger, from “The Religion of the Future” I am visiting my university student daughter this week, and today had the opportunity to … Read More Dangerous Beauty
Nothing can ever happen twice. In consequence, the sorry fact is that we arrive here improvised and leave without the chance to practice… Why do we treat the fleeting day with so much needless fear and sorrow? It’s in its nature not to stay: today is always gone tomorrow. With smiles and kisses, we prefer to seek accord beneath our star, although we’re different … Read More Smiles and Kisses
