When I was 25, working as a news announcer for one of Boston’s major radio and television stations, a woman who’d recently graduated from college joined our ranks. She worked in the newsroom, as did I. She was African-American. We became sweethearts for a few years. Somewhere along the way she said to me that
For a long time I’ve been struck by how the word “smart” and any of its many synonyms is considered such a revered accolade. What can you call someone other than maybe saint that connotes a quality as desirable? Yet, I find so widely true Thoreau’s observation: the mass of men lead lives of quiet
You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. That sentiment by English poet and painter William Blake [1757-1827] has been a source of great comfort for me. I’ve also heard it as: “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” I can’t say I live in the
I’ve figured out the mantra that’s going to make me a saint one of these lifetimes. I’m sharing it case you find it useful. Well, I can’t say I actually “figured” it out. It came to me the way many of my better ideas arrive: in the wake of being especially unhinged.
Too long without meditation sends me into the hell of self-absorption, and thus separation, where resides the longing for death (not bodily, but the escape from acute soul misery). And why wouldn’t it? My world without the conscious presence of the peace that is the essence of the universe, even just the tiny bit I’m
In response to the recent obituary of a well-regarded public figure, published comments included, as you might expect, many effusive statements of praise for the deceased. A few went so far as to call him “a great man.” I’m sure I’ve seen or heard that remark countless times. In fact, I recall my sister using
What is life’s second most important question? The one that comes after “Who am I?” I play these games with myself as a way of exploring what’s going on at the deepest level I can think of. It’s a source of endless amusement. The thing is, I do have an answer. Whether it remains my
From my teens until I got sober at 45, no mantra defined my life more than “Nothing is too intense for me.” Ironically, it still does, though the meaning under it has changed quite a bit in 30 years, thank goodness. Back then it was a boast, an immature attempt to manage tremendous pain. What