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Author Archives: John Swinburn
Eighteen
Reality can shake the foundations of one’s beliefs, shredding certainty. It pays to have an open mind. You never know when an army of persuasive leprechauns and seductive mermaids will come into your life riding, respectively, Harleys and hippocampi.
Posted in Ruminations
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Waving at Cars
I enjoy driving in rural areas where people wave at people in passing cars. My sense of human goodness is reinforced when people I don’t know express friendliness that’s not obligatory. It’s just a genuine appreciation and acceptance of another person. I … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness, Philosophy
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Seventeen
Memories etched with the charred embers from the fires of unfortunate experience should be lost in the ashes. But they tend to linger, giving fuel to painful struggles that scorch the soul.
Posted in Ruminations
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An Ongoing Fascination with International Breakfasts
Last night, I spent the evening researching a subject I wrote about back in November, breakfasts common in different parts of the world. Long ago, I concluded that people who claims certain dishes are the “typical” breakfasts in any locale … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Writing
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Sixteen
Acknowledging people you meet on the street can be a profoundly different experience from place to place.
Posted in Ruminations
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Those Eyes
Well, the ophthalmologist has spoken. My self-diagnosis of map dot fingerprint dystrophy was wrong. I would have failed the final exam in medical school, I suppose. The problem with my right eye, it turns out, is an early-onset cataract. Most … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Health
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Fifteen
Elegance is the quality of graceful dignity. It has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with empathy.
Posted in Ruminations
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Reflections
Look in a mirror and you’ll see a reflection. Look into the eyes in that reflection and you’ll see eyes that saw everything you’ve ever seen. Every smile, every scowl, every spot on the pavement, every bird in flight. Everything. … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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Fourteen
The only salvation is that to which you attest with your own stamp of absolute commitment and unshakable resolve. You are the only one who can correct the flaws of character that mar your honor and dignity. No external force can save you … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
1 Comment
Today is Different
Today was to have been a normal Tuesday, starting with breakfast at Debra’s diner with the woodworkers, followed by a few hours of making sawdust. But map dot fingerprint dystrophy (a condition in which the surface of the eye is dry … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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Thirteen
Every road leads to ruin, eventually, so choosing the one with the most enjoyable ride is a reasonable approach.
Posted in Ruminations
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Maybe I Should Eat a Lemon?
Sometimes I don’t want to write. I don’t want to read. I don’t want to watch television or movies. I just want to converse. I want to talk about things on my mind, things on another person’s mind. But the … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
3 Comments
Creative Cookery
One of the many things I love about mi esposa hermosa is that she is creative in ways that surprise me and that encourage my own creativity. Yesterday, as we discussed what we might do with the awaze paste I made, she … Continue reading
Posted in Family, Food, Love
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Secret Emotions
I sometimes wonder why people who are not open about their emotions keep them private. Is it simply because they are private people? Or is it because they are afraid of what others would think if they shared how they feel? Or were … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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Twelve
Thanks to a friend’s Facebook post, I read an excerpt from a book entitled The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace, by Jack Kornfield. The excerpt, called Meditation on Gratitude and Joy, struck a chord within me. There is so … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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Cold and Grey and Suitable for Soup
The morning is dreary and cold, with grey skies and, from what I can tell, light rain. Last night’s forecast called for sleet and freezing rain this morning, but I don’t see evidence of ice, though I hear an occasional noise that … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Weather
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Scars
Scars need not be ugly reminders of painful experiences. Scars also are badges of honorable battles fought and wars won.
Posted in Just Thinking
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Eleven
How would my life be different if I had red hair? I’ve often failed to ask myself that question at the most inopportune times. Well, I asked it this morning and I have at least part of the answer. My … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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My French Woman-Friend
I have a French woman-friend who I’ve never met face-to-face, only via Facebook and a few emails and texts. She invited me (and my wife) to her home for dinner whenever we get to California. She is a lawyer, a writer, … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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Release
Tension builds, tighter and tighter, like an emotional pressure cooker at risk of catastrophic release. Then, suddenly (or slowly) without warning, the pressure is gone. No explosive concussion, no sparks, no flames. Not even vapor. It’s as if I’m watching … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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Ten
I think it is more common to read about paroxysms of rage than to read about paroxysms of despondency. Depending on one’s emotional constitution, what’s common in print is not necessarily the more common in experience.
Posted in Ruminations
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The Sound of Wind Rustling in the Trees
I have added another word to my vocabulary, though I can’t guarantee it will stay. Thanks to my friend, Trish, I now know that psithurism (a noun) means, according to various sources, the sound of wind in the trees and … Continue reading
Posted in Language
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Nine
Imagine that you are walking into a shop where mechanics work on cars. Do you smell grease and oil and gasoline? Do you sense those smells as you read this? If you do, your imagination is in working order.
Posted in Ruminations
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What a Character
I am trying to imagine myself as an emergency room physician, a man who successfully deals with urgent and critical care issues calmly but with an extreme sense of urgency. At the same time, this man who has such remarkable … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Eight
Living where I now do, among so many of the aging and the aged, I frequently encounter people who seem to be content to live in a world in which change of any kind is viewed with suspicion and distrust. It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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