There was a time when I equated aging with the unwelcome process of becoming old. During my youth, becoming old was something I watched happen to my parents and older family members. I hide behind the convenient notion that aging was something that happened to other people. I didn’t feel as if it was happening READ MORE
What to Remember about Mental Health
I wrote some things to remember about mental health to confront my own anxieties about life during a pandemic. It started as a private way of giving myself a good talking to and reminding myself of what matters most in life. I believe that the cultivation of mental health begins with an honest conversation about READ MORE
The Wisdom of Control
Unexpectedly, you find yourself on the foreboding frontiers of a pandemic. The threat of being hunted by an invisible predator never leaves you alone. It is disinterested in your needs, desires, or hopes. It does not care about you, your family, or your friends. Everyone is prey, a potential host, and a vector of transmission. READ MORE
Your Own Voice
Trapped inside the frantic cacophony Of modern life, Plagued by harsh, jarring sounds Of protest, outrage, and fear, You unexpectedly discover That the absence of your own voice, The one that has yet to be heard, Is a consequence of never allowing Your vulnerabilities To speak. The acoustics of everyday lifeExhaust your sensibilities.Voices of authority, READ MORE
Aging is a Fierce Advisor
You cannot remember when you first noticed it.What was the first sign?There was a time not long agoWhen the symptoms were not apparent,And you could not humble yourselfTo the wisdom it offered. But now you feelThe intensity, awe, and humilityOf that sacred energy moving through you.After all these years,You finally sense the presence ofThe wild READ MORE
Turn Away
Sometimes you must let goOf all the usual desiresThat conspired to lead you to this placeOf contingency, false urgency, and exhaustion Nearly sixty years have passedAnd as your body begins its retreatYou are still disappointedTo find yourself on that beaten and tired pathRemaining faithful to your conditioningAnd the rigid discipline of your own inertiaNever turning READ MORE
Anxiety as Faithful Companion
You have always felt the tension of its presenceStrugglingWith an opposing forceAn unnamed fearWith its dark ruminationsAs it arises once again from an unseen placeDeep withinTo, once again, take possession of your senses You have journeyed through the frontiers of lifeWith your anxiety as faithful companion.You has always felt,Even in your childhood,As if you were READ MORE
Refuse a Return to Normal
Now is the time for you to refuse a return to normal. You possess an innate desire for stability. You want the pattern of your life to stay the same. You strive to keep uncertainty confined. You attempt to force the unexpected into submission. You hide yourself from change. Most of all, you avoid contemplation READ MORE
Within Your Vulnerability is Wisdom
Vulnerability is the essence of your presence in this world. You will not live forever. You forget that time is your most precious resource. You live as though the day is disposable. You wait until all those false contingencies are resolved. You inhabit a life that is not your own. You worry that time is READ MORE