Fun with Writing

7 Mar 202129 Mar 2021

I ended up having fun with a writing contest. A $20,000 prize? Requirements include a surprise $20,000 as the crux of the story, and a little black notebook as a…

Discipline vs. Talent

28 Feb 202128 Feb 2021

One of my writers' group members is a later-in-life writer. He's had a bit of a crisis lately, wondering if all the hard work is worth it. He's been worried…

How the US Falls Apart: One Trade at a Time

24 Aug 202024 Aug 2020

Central Virginia is six COVID cases away from losing 80% of its hospital imaging capacity. I wish I didn’t know this. I wish this weren’t true. I wish I were…

Altered States III: Illness

10 Aug 202023 Dec 2020

"What's real?" --Judith Personal note: This was written back in August, five months after the start of coronavirus lockdown in our area...and three months after George Floyd. Frankly, I've been…

Right Concentration

9 May 202019 May 2020

“Do you have the patience to waitTill your mud settles and the water is clear?Can you remain unmovingTill the right action arises by itself?”--Lao Tzu Recently, my 11 year old…

Right View

22 Mar 202024 Mar 2020

There are a couple ways to view what's going on right now. One starts funny and ends sad. The other starts sad and ends...okay. And not okay as in "meh."…

Right Intention

3 Feb 202020 Apr 2020

I have to take a bit of a time out from talking about all the dark stuff in my life to talk about something more important: cats. Yeah. Cats. But…

Short Bright Night of the Soul

31 Dec 201931 Dec 2019

It's another long dark night of the soul. It's three in the morning and I still haven't slept. There's no dramatic reason for this that I'm aware of. I'm not…

Things to be hopeful about

19 Dec 201919 Dec 2019

I've been seeing a lot of things in the news to be hopeful about. None of them have to do with politics. (Well, okay, one of them does, but not…

Right Effort: Gratitude

18 Nov 201918 Nov 2019

I've heard for years that I should cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude will supposedly: lead to a longer, healthier life; ease stress; improve all my relationships, especially my relationship…