During the past weeks of COVID, it’s been like someone took a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle and tossed the pieces up into the air. And for good measure burned the box with its cover image of what the completed puzzle looks like…. The pandemic has uncovered fault lines, predicaments of unsustainability and short-sightedness. The virus starts…
We’re all connected. What you do affects me. We’re all in this together. Everyone has a role to play, even if it’s just maintaining a safe distance to keep infections at bay. We’re all trying to make do. We are dealing with a do-it-yourself (DIY) response and learning on the fly. A disaster shakes things…
When I was a child, I remember Lent as a time for “giving up,” which generally meant refraining from consuming something tangible like candy or soda. Since we didn’t have everyday access to such treats, giving them up was not much of a sacrifice. The forty days of Lenten preparation are like New Year’s resolutions…
At times, the political system seems inhabited by 4th graders angling for playground supremacy. The children (based on maturity, not chronology) bully and name-call to establish dominance. Reflecting back on this year’s activities with our West Point class, I noticed the R identifier after our Congressman classmate’s name. What is the party designation needed post-election?…
When I told my book group that I had finished and uploaded my thesis, one of the members asked about my topic. After sharing that I had researched and written about end-of-life, Joanne asked if I was including near-death experiences (NDE). NDEs are mentioned by some people who have survived traumas, where in the midst of…
We celebrate Thanksgiving once a year, but we can be grateful every day. Even when things go wrong, possibly in a big way, there are things for which to give thanks. Gratitude can be a practice that we repeat regularly, rather than just a holiday or event. Nightly prayers for our grandkids end with them…
Are you living authentically? Someday, someone will reflect on that question. However, since the person will be speaking at your funeral, you won’t be there. We often wait until someone dies before we tell them how much they have meant to us. The word eulogy derives from Greek and means praise, although people generally associate…
