Today, May 29, 2018, the day after Memorial Day, I weigh as much as I have in recorded history. Since our system of weights and measures was standardized. Since the great Depression, the latest recession, and the birth of Impression-ism. It is a sobering number. I knew, as I stepped upon the scale as … Continue reading Weight, Weight. Don’t Tell Me!*
(This essay was originally published in my January, 2009 E-newsletter, during the recession. How easy it is to forget how scary those times were, how tenuous. Today, our world faces different challenges, as we always will. This has been slightly revised.) My first home was a barracks in Iowa, where Dad was going to … Continue reading Eating Sloppy Joe: Thriving In Difficult Times
Reposting this for Mother's Day.
“The question then is how to get lost. Never to get lost is not to live, Not to know how to get lost brings you to destruction, And somewhere in the terra incognita In between lies a life of discovery.” ~Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, p. 14 “I was lost in … Continue reading I Once Was Lost, but now…I’m Still Lost
“For millennia, [the] cry of the heart for embarking upon a meaningful journey has been answered by pilgrimage, a transformative journey to a sacred center.” ~Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s guide to Making Travel Sacred, p. xxv I am, for the most part, taking this summer off from work. Theoretically, this … Continue reading Starting the Journey
Over the last few years I have been exploring contemplation and ever-so-slowly developing an ever more contemplative life, one working toward having a more direct connection with the divine. Seeking the absolute in that way is what I believe is called "mysticism". Dogma and belief systems in general have been sticking points for me in … Continue reading Skip All The Dogma
The headline: Kearney, Kroth Address Optimists The Lead: “At the noon meeting of the Olathe Optimist Club yesterday, Tom Kearney and Mike Kroth spoke on their experiences last week at Boy’s State.” Best quote: “In his speech, Kearney reiterated the words of the 1969 governor who said, ‘I don’t believe in a black race or … Continue reading Reading the Local Paper
I wrote these lyrics for one of those kind of upbeat church service bands with drums, guitars, and such. It's probably sacrilegious but I don't mean it to be. I'm not a musician so I can't complete the song, but I still can feel the melody and the beat inside as I read this. Maybe … Continue reading I am the Prodigal Son
“One of the problems that comes from being raised in a patriotic and chauvinistic culture like ours is that we are bred from birth to believe in our own superiority (italics added). It’s not only patriotism that instills this conviction. Our religions, our ethnic back grounds, our educational and cultural training, and the media advertising … Continue reading I Am Better
“I live my life in widening circles That reach out across the world I may not complete this last one But I give myself to it. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke’s Book of Hours, p. 45 “Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power. It is simple. It is serene. It … Continue reading Circling and Centering
The Profound Bartender 
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