Updated with a new Afterword. To be nobody but myself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else — means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight, and never stop fighting. E. E. Cummings Actor Elliot Page did an interview last spring with Oprah Winfrey on AppleTV+. It was his first TV interview since … Continue reading To Be Transgender is to Be Human
I’ve spent a awful lot of time watching Court TV this month with the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Wisconsin and the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial in Georgia. I can’t immediately recall two trials of this magnitude coming back to back like this, nor situations touching simultaneously on so many social, legal and political issues — to name just a few… the Second Amendment right to … Continue reading Courting Tragedy: Reflecting on the Rittenhouse & Arbery Trials
As of this writing, nine people are dead from the November 5th “Houston Stampede” with many more injured including a 9-year-old boy now in a medically-induced coma. This isn’t a total surprise. Rapper Travis Scott has a reputation and past convictions for encouraging this kind of thing. He’s reportedly even celebrated people getting … Continue reading What’s Happened to Concerts?
“Don’t fret. Everything’s going to be OK.” That’s a helpful advice for someone, isn’t it? Yeah, sometimes. But sometimes not. I read a commentary last week in the Wall Street Journal about “toxic positivity.” Elizabeth Bernstein wrote that “forcing ourselves or others to always be positive can be harmful to our well-being and our relationships.” She says that sometimes the worst thing you can say … Continue reading Mindfulness, Happiness & ‘RAIN’
I came across this excellent post today at ‘Pointless Overthinking,’ a great blog at WordPress where this blog also resides. I believe the article here speaks to a lot people’s experience. It certainly speaks to me! I hope you’ll find it helpful. “The Parable of the Second Arrow According to the Buddha, any time we suffer misfortune, two arrows fly our way. The first arrow is the bad event …” … Continue reading Escaping the Emotional Rabbit Hole
Two years ago David and I spent a truly delightful day at Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio, east of Cleveland. It was a beautiful, clear and crisp Sunday afternoon in October. I wasn’t retired yet and was swamped in work, so I never compiled and posted this blog entry. Better late than never! If you haven’t been there, Holden Arboretum is a treasure. A Trail … Continue reading Beautiful Holden Arboretum
