Category Archives: Ruminations

If you have to ask what you can learn about being human by spending time observing the natural world, you have not spent enough time observing the natural world.

“Just kidding.” “I’m just poking fun.” If the qualifier is necessary, the comment being qualified is not; in fact, the comment being qualified should be retracted. An apology is in order.

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.

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.

Acknowledging people you meet on the street can be a profoundly different experience from place to place.

Elegance is the quality of graceful dignity. It has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with empathy.

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 →

Every road leads to ruin, eventually, so choosing the one with the most enjoyable ride is a reasonable approach.

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 →

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 →

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.

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.

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 →

If words were crutches, would we need to break our legs to use them? If crutches were words, would we use them to beat people over the head?

Opinions, unlike facts, are not subjects to standards of proof.  Consequently, they can be used as swords or as salve.  But, then, so can facts when misused to “prove” opinions.

Quiet is a state of mind. Without it, no thoughts can find their way to completion.

When invited into a person’s heart, don’t make the mistake of checking your calendar for availability.

Is love is the absence of hate, just as cold is the absence of heat? There is more to love than filling a void. It is a void turned inside-out, revealing the entire universe in what once was vacancy.

I’m sure studies have explored the reasons music so profoundly affects mood in some (perhaps most) people.  But, to my knowledge, no universal agreement about the reasons exists.  I suspect music touches something primal beneath our civilized exteriors.  I’d like … Continue reading →

Make peace with the past. Make love with the present. Make plans with the future.