Rabbit Trails and Spiderwebs

In Times Like These “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” or so the poet says.  Part of the problem that we confront is that we are new to this part of history, so it feels unknown and scary. When you are confronted with the “unknown” it is called chaos, and out of that comes truth and awareness that is new to you.  It is found when a child is taken to meet a new friend and they are wary of all that is new.  It isn’t new, really, though it may be to the child or to us.  This may be the year of the internet millionaire or the Covid small business death, but it is your year.  Alone in the way that it is yours, and yet collective in that many can tell the same story.  It is the time of our lives. Your story is simply that, your own.  From the beginning of your life through the teaching and experiences that brought you too today, it is specific. Good or bad, long or short.  Well-seasoned, with history as perspective or simply the musi...

As I type this it is early August in 2020. The year has been unlike any before it in many ways. Currently there is a river in China that has been flooding for 2 months and there are several million people displaced. There is a serious concern that the largest dam in the world will fail and flood many more cities and destroy the lives of many people. This is the time in which we live. While there has been great upheaval in the world regarding the Covid Virus, it is transforming the lives and dreams of many that expected the stasis of their lives to continue. It has revealed many points of previous stress that would maintain that load until the “last straw” showed up and the system changed. I won’t say it “failed” for that would imply that something broke. Nothing broke. Much has been revealed that was considered “normal” that was simply something we took for granted. CS Lewis said, “to the common Christian the strength of their faith is nothing more than a warm meal and a safe ...

It was a good time.     The time to hear the call had come.  The time to heed that call was real, as well.  It was a good time.  The call was to go to a place that was unknown.  It would be an adventure, but that would mean unknown things would lurk in the shadows.  But it was time.   There is a time and then there is a place to go to.  It is a destination, with a purpose.  The trouble is that you are not certain about the full understanding of that.  There is a Buddhist story about the river that you put your foot into that by the act of taking that step, the river is changed from the river that had not had your foot in it.  It is this same thing, that by acting on the call the call takes on a new form, because you are now a part of that adventure. It is still a good time to listen to that call.   The trip to adventure is an adventure as well.  You may have heard the tale of life is a journey.  It is this i...

In the Dark I wrote this as a description of people going through the process of recovery and starting again.  We all move through that at our own pace, and can't know the cadence of another.  Enjoy. There is a place underwater that the light stops penetrating.  It is different depending on the part of the ocean that you go to, but the point of no light is still there.  To go to this part of the dark water with a sub and turn on the lights you will find some creatures that thrive in these waters.  The individual adaptations will be just that, individual.  The types of actions are also very specific.  The pictures of these creatures are amazing. To get to a place that is so deep that light is gone is quite of journey.  The path to this level requires more than a casual step into a part of life that is not generally frequented.  Mostly it is avoided.  The parts of this depth that are different is that the pressures are trul...

No Problem We all know that certain times and events come into the lives of our families and ourselves, that force us to ponder the issue of Justice.   We start as children with the innate understanding of “fair” and it does not subside until we pass.   You have heard or have said the words, “That’s not fair!”…. Sometimes with tears and loud exclamations of anger.   Occasionally the words will just be words and the solution can be found simply.   Other times the answer is never known.   When these come in succeeding waves of the unknown point, the missing “why”, we get to the place of crying out in the darkness.   This is real and if you have been spared then I am glad for you. Most of us have stepped into these waters.   We feel the coolness of the water and constrict at the knowing.   Perhaps the magnitude is yet to be revealed but we know it in it’s current form and can guess at the way it will develop.   But perh...

The touch It is everywhere.   I walked past the entrance to the airport and the display is on parade.   The touch.   Not the “may I help you” touch of a friend when you have fallen.   Not the touch on your arm or back as you describe a difficult time.   It is the touch of intimacy that comes with both the parting and the return from a trip that is written on the face and found in the embrace of a loved one.   Genuine and forced, hopeful and fearful. Anticipation and dread.   All of these and so many more emotions are on display, if you will but look.   The trips are varied and the reasons many, but the parting is the same; personal.   Some went through the ritual at home and arrived at the airport alone.   Already on the journey, with the memory of the parting in the past.   Some were clamorous with a gaggle of kids dealing with separation anxiety and others were silent as the divorce is still fresh.  ...