Anger

When my children were young, I often told them to pay attention and not spill their milk – then almost immediately spill my own. I also told my children that getting angrier or more upset than the situation ordinarily warranted was usually a sign that there was...

Humbled by Mortality

Every-so-often, I read something that brings my whirling monkey mind to a dead halt. Savory tastes of masterful writing roll across the folds of my brain, like the layered flavors of a fine wine. When art addresses themes of life and love with fresh variations, I...

All I Want

When you were young, did you ever scour the Sears, JC Penney or other Christmas catalogs, dog-earing pages, circling wishes, and telling your parents, “All I want for Christmas is…” followed by a long prioritized list? Ah, I was that greedy child but at least knew...

Freedom and Goldenrod

A month ago, I wrote about atonement, asking my daughter Jessica to go for a walk and making amends. That conversation, rescheduled due to Jessica’s sick cat and other obligations, happened this past weekend. In between, on her recommendation, I read my daughter’s...

Restlessness

Completing a months-long project, meeting a difficult goal, walking out of a final exam, filing a major brief, an institution-wide evaluation or a huge end-of-the-year report, and you feel elated, yahoo, relieved, whew, right? Not me, unless you include tired,...