The Full Catastrophe

31 Oct 202231 Oct 2022

One of my dad's favorite old movies is Zorba the Greek. One of the best quotes from the movie is this: "I'm a man, so I married. Wife, children, house,…

Right Livelihood

6 Dec 202112 Dec 2021

I've known since I was a very young child that I wanted to do nothing but read. I've also known since I wasn't much older that I wanted to be…

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…

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…

The Devaduta Kingdoms

9 Oct 201921 Oct 2019

Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick.…