From birth to death, life is steeped in paradox. Like the diamond, we begin as fairly humble material. As human beings grow to physical maturity however, the depths to which one may be moved in acts of loving kindness is matched only by another’s capacity for venomous hatred. The creative expression of a Michelangelo and the destructive acts of…
Read More
Born into a world fraught with duality, none of us spring fully formed from the head of Zeus the parent. Instead we labor, step by step. We learn, the slowest alongside the fleet of mind; plod through our lessons from walking to speaking to writing. In a single day, an infant will gurgle with glee, howl with abandon. Blissful…
Read More
Transformation. We hear it, see it, maybe even feel it – but how does it pertain to us personally? Does it imply that our lives will completely change? Does it require us to alter the way we think and speak? Does it mean we’ll have to leave a marriage, say goodbye to old friends? There are all sorts of renderings…
Read More
This year finds us moving through the Chinese Year of the Water Dragon, the first in over sixty years. Any Dragon year is intense. It can be rife with change and thus potential strife. Dragon collects treasure in its cave. We are challenged to release material things as well as concepts and even emotional baggage which no longer serve…
Read More
We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures. Anticipate resurrection. ~ Terry Tempest Williams I’d love to tell you about meetings I’ve had with animals and wilderness, but I am wary. Reading stories such as the one I am about to relate…
Read More
THICH NHAT HANH answers a retreatant’s question on what to do in the face of suffering. Dear Thay, I suffer a lot and I know that suffering is part of my practice. My suffering comes from two main things. One is that I have a chronic illness, which causes me a lot of physical pain. The other is that I…
Read More