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Author Archives: John Swinburn
Perspectives
I thought, last night, of ways to explore stories from a thousand perspectives, each reflecting off another so that the images created by the light refracted through multiple prisms would be far clearer and more precise than even an three-dimensional image. … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
3 Comments
Lurking
As I sit here at my unfamiliar writing desk, in unfamiliar surroundings, thinking unfamiliar thoughts, I wonder about the point of this exercise. I wonder whether a few days of self-imposed focus will do any more than focus on knowledge I … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Circling
A lot rides on the validity and reliability of introspection. For starters, one’s self-image and self-respect depend on the view from inside-in, not to mention the view from inside out. And it goes on from there. Knowing who’s speaking when it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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The Leaving
You leave, hoping the leaving will provide answers you haven’t found where you are. You search, expecting to find clues on the open road or maybe down a side street in a forlorn town whose future, from the looks of it, … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
2 Comments
This I Believe
The weather is clear and cold, cold enough to dissuade me from my planned early-morning walk. I won’t allow it to keep me away from my task all day, though. Later, after church, I’ll find a suitable trail and commune … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
3 Comments
Millstone
But whoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. That—from Matthew 18:6 … Continue reading
Posted in Emotion, Friendship, Philosophy
4 Comments
On the Record
As of this morning, I’m down nine pounds since January 1. I wish I could go out walking so I can keep the momentum going (and I suppose I could, if I were willing to slog around in the rain, … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Health
2 Comments
Broken Spell
Stegner sat in the only chair in the room, a swivel rocker covered in fabric. He stared intently at the armrest, the pale blue background of the threadbare cloth decorated with hideous brown and green dancing bears. It was something his grandmother might … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Stream of Walkishness
I have a difficult time containing my urge to go from zero to eighty with no intervening speeds. I’m talking here of my recent revival of walking. I don’t like the idea of slowly getting back into it; instead, I’d prefer … Continue reading
A Personal Conundrum of the Full-Empty Glass
Some people believe I write from the perspective of a person whose glass is half empty, a negative viewpoint that paints the world with a dark brush. They would rather I write as if I view the world as a half-full glass. … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Writing
3 Comments
Headspace and Breather
I just completed my first “Headspace” session, one of ten introductory freebies offered to expose prospective clients to online guided meditation and related ‘stuff.’ A friend’s daughter-in-law recommended Headspace to me. Though I’ve done a bit of meditation in the past … Continue reading
Posted in Health
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When Loss is Gain
The early stages of an exercise routine, coupled with a healthy change in eating habits, give quick results. The results I experienced during the first six days of 2016 are almost too good; if I were to expect the same pace to … Continue reading
Posted in Emotion, Happiness, Health
3 Comments
Images and Meditations
If my creative juices refuse to flow this morning, at the very least I can put this blog to some practical use. So, I decided to make a permanent place for the records of my three minor morning strolls so … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Walking
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Too Cold to Think and Walk at the Same Time
This morning, as I sit before my computer, the images do not come. Words elude me. The creativity I had hoped would spur me to spill ideas and intriguing language through my fingers and onto the screen remains hidden under … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
4 Comments
Chirping Chirping Chirping
The sound was faint. It was responsible for awakening me, but once I awoke, I heard it. A distant “chirp.” I swung my feet over the side of the bed, slipped on my flip-flops (my favorite indoor footwear, in spite … Continue reading
Posted in Noise
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Abandoning Sloth
For the past four mornings, I have awakened before sunrise (as I always do) and waited until the sky was sufficiently lit by the pre-dawn sun to enable me to go for a walk without stumbling off a precipice in … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
4 Comments
An Artist
She has the hands of an artist, hands that conjure beauty from raw clay and molten glass. She has the heart of an artist, a heart so fragile it can be broken by the cries of a world in turmoil. … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
2 Comments
It Is What You Make It
Every day, a series of decisions you make upon waking shapes the way you start the day, which in turn tends to mold the remainder of the day. As the day unfolds, you choose how to respond to the consequences of your decisions. External factors … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy
2 Comments
A Million Pieces
I’ve been in a bad mood for forty-two years, give or take a year or two. It might have set in when I was eighteen, but sometimes I think it was when I was closer to twenty. Yet when I think … Continue reading
Posted in Anger, Frustration
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Whispering
One can see whispers before one hears them. They are not conspicuous, but if attentive, they become visible. They drift like thin smoke, creeping through the air—barely luminescent vapors concealing vague murmurs of hidden truths or innuendo. A whisper conveys familiarity, a breathy sharing of heat and … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
3 Comments
Resolutions: A Follow-Up
Yesterday, in my “Held Accountable” post, I wrote about New Year’s resolutions and argued for worthy commitments to change, suggesting others encourage and support the people who make such resolutions. I even set forth my own 2016 resolution. Later in the … Continue reading
Posted in Resolutions
2 Comments
Good Deeds
Doing a “good deed” does not always leave one feeling warm and fuzzy. Several years ago, my wife and I drove to Llano, Texas, where we stopped at Cooper’s to have some Central Texas BBQ. I don’t recall exactly when … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
3 Comments
Held Accountable
I am among those who, in years past, dismissed the idea of New Year’s resolutions as exercises in futility. Why? Because I had made them and failed to accomplish what I had resolved to do. Furthermore, I didn’t feel at … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Resolutions
3 Comments
Struggles in Wakefulness
I didn’t celebrate at midnight last night; I saw no compelling reason to stay awake for the new year. So, at eleven o’clock, I decided to go to bed. At three-thirty, I got up. It’s now approaching four-thirty. I’ve been … Continue reading
Posted in Insomnia
3 Comments
My Final Post
This is the very last post I will make on my blog for the year 2015. The year just ending was not bad, not bad at all, but certain aspects of this fragment of time could have been better. I … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
4 Comments