Author Archives: John Swinburn

Pay sufficient attention and you will witness words fall out of favor.  This morning, just after the clock struck eight minutes after four, one such verb came to mind: saunter.  I suspect that word is on the way out.  Perhaps it … Continue reading →

Today is my oldest brother’s birthday, so my thought today is for him to have a very happy one. Coincidental to that thought, I’m of the opinion that drinking a glass of excellent Belgian style red ale can be a … Continue reading →

I have seen or read several of Athol Fugard’s plays (the South African writer), though I don’t recall which ones, except I know I saw “Master Harold”…and the boys on stage.  I liked that play, but I hated what it said about humanity.  … Continue reading →

On September 26, I wrote a screed on the subject of time, asking an absurd question as to whether it possesses any physical properties. Since I wrote it, I have continued to ruminate about physical properties of time. I conclude the passage … Continue reading →

A common refrain in advice to young people—and increasingly to retirees— is to “follow your passion.” I may have said it myself.  It seems like such wise, sound advice until the search for the passion begins.  “What IS my passion?”  … Continue reading →

There are a thousand ways to tell a story and a thousand ways to hear it told. I am reminded every day that each of us sees this world through a different lens. We hear different sounds, although we listen to the … Continue reading →

Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. … Continue reading →

I sit here, this morning, remembering and regretting how I behaved.  It was long ago, but the recollection, and the results, are as clear as if it were yesterday.  It is impossible to un-live life’s moments. Good, decent people learn … Continue reading →

Who controls us is a question I cannot fully answer, not with any certainty. But I think how they control us is clear.  We are taught our roles are simply to consume what is provided to us and to accept decisions made for us.  Even … Continue reading →

Le jeu n’en vaut pas la chandelle. ‘The game is not worth the candle.’ The English translation is almost my trademark phrase…I’ve written about it frequently and I use it often.  It’s such an economical way to say the effort … Continue reading →

Faint sounds in the distance.  Whispers?  Dogs barking? Animals rustling through the underbrush? Birds shuffling through leaves of the trees, far enough above me to be invisible? If I devote my attention to sounds too distant or indistinct to hear clearly, my mind clears … Continue reading →