Entry 1.14.17: Returning

I've been returning to myself, lately. I recognized some time ago that I had gone very far away from who I once knew myself to be, and the lethargy, illness, and stress of being lost inside caused me to rattle the cage until I was out. I wouldn't say "free", because freedom is a state …

What We Can Learn from the Autumn Garden

The autumn garden in late afternoon sun.Spring gardens get the glut of our attention for their buzzing, dripping, luscious display of new life. The bright green of new leaves bursting from buds and the many-colored petals surround us, echoing bird songs and the scratching of other newborn tree-dwellers scampering up the bark and home. It's …

On the “Useless” Emotion of Guilt

On the third night of a weekend retreat on Buddhist grounds, somewhere in the state of New York, I asked a question of my teachers: what is the antidote for guilt in Buddhism? A soft-spoken nun named Chen-Ma laughed a bit and spoke into her mike after a measured pause: "In Buddhism, we consider guilt …

Weathering a Storm of the Heart

Heartache is a creature discomfort unlike any other known to us humans. Unlike the usual sadness or despair we experience over things like a lost job, lack of parental support, or not having as many social opportunities as we'd like, matters of lost or damaged loves are particularly and broadly wrenching and tend to send …

Crashing: Thoughts on a Bus

On the bus, I looked out the dirty window and wondered how many people out there wanted to survive themselves like they want to survive the world. As I stared out the window wondering, a truck knocked into the bus three blocks from my stop. The truck driver got out and yelled at the bus …

Snow Day in Brooklyn!

This afternoon I filled my travel mug with coffee, laced up my snow boots and walked around Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill in Brooklyn. This is what I saw: The buildings are old and lovable with their many shades of weathered red brick, fortressed in by high, steep, often crumbling front steps and scraggly branched …

Walking Through Blizzard Juno in Central Park

Yesterday the city of New York was wrapped up in a blanket of giddy cheer because almost every municipal worker, chain shop keeper, and commuter knew they were going to be home, in snow-globe like surroundings until Wednesday. Mayor De Blasio granted the first snow day of the year and since the announcement came at …

‘Still Alice’ and the Empathetic Eye

According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in three seniors are diagnosed with Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia. There are currently 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, and a new patient is diagnosed every 67 seconds. Given the striking number of families this disease affects, the discussion about a cure and preventative methods is …