These are a few of my favorite things words (in no particular order): Implacable - unable to be calmed or appeased Inexorable - impossible to stop or prevent (as in, a force of nature) Onomatopoeia - the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo , sizzle ) Ping-pong - the sound a ping pong ball makes; a game of table tennis Crepuscular - of, resembling, or related to twilight Flub : to mess up, bungle, or botch something, usually in s

My old colleague Margaret used to say this about detractors; they may complain or criticize, but they don't have to affect you or even merit a response. The saying popped into my head while meditating today. "Monkey brain" kept pulling at me (monkey brain is the tendency of our minds to wander while trying to stay focused). I have been disturbed by an interaction I had where I felt criticized for actions I felt were right and sound, and I kept dwelling on it. I was listening

It Depends on What You Mean by "Work" ⚠️ Caution: Speculation Ahead Humans are the only living entities that pray. I can vouch that even atheists sometimes think "please help me" to what feels like a giant void. When faced with a problem bigger than ourselves, there's nothing else to do but beg the universe for assistance. It doesn't make sense, but it feels inherent to being human. It's common for atheists to say they wish they believed in something. Who wouldn't want to thi

He Kindly Stopped for Me Recently I learned of two deaths; one was my friend's father, the other her closest friend. Death has not stopped for me or anyone close to me yet. The nearest I've come is an image I had in a daydream of my mother being dead. The image lasted only a few minutes, but it felt like the most painful cold I could imagine, stone teeth digging into me and icy shards surrounding every inch of my body. Now I know what's in my future—a dark cave I won't ever b

Eleven-year old Summer Lin was struck and killed by a school bus less than a mile from my house. The lyric in the title of this post is...

—Taylor Swift, Mad Woman Photo by Nick Nice I’ve been too hard on Taylor Swift about her new album, The Life of a Showgirl . I judged her...

"Comparison is the Thief of Joy" I agree with Teddy (Roosevelt), to whom this quote is attributed. When you're looking at someone else's blessings and craving them, you're not looking at your own and appreciating them. When you're assuming their hardships are nonexistent while yours are ever multiplying, your mind's eye is looking at a fun house mirror. Not fun, and not an accurate mirror. American rabbi and author Hyman Schachtel said : "Happiness is not having what you want

The Life of a Showgirl; the Death of an Era Tombstone designed by Xiaman Mason TL;DR: Eww With a Sprinkle of Ahh. What I loved most about...

With Just a Small Bit of Feces In It [Content warning: do not proceed if you don't know or don't want to know anything about a "love...

The pen is mightier than the sword, they say, but sometimes silence is even mightier: Oppressive silence Comfortable/companiable silence...

Author Unknown I know the exact pressure it takes to crack a rib during CPR. But last Tuesday, I learned a patient’s silence can break a...

Are We All Sinners? Four of the nine levels of hell from Dante's Inferno . Dante omits Sloth and Envy, and adds Heresy, Violence, Fraud,...

" I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather… not screaming in terror like his passengers. —Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts What...

Lies, White Lies, and Lies of Omission Either something is true, or it is a lie. Right? Not necessarily. Consider both these "false"...

From the Greek roots kalos (καλός) meaning "beautiful," eidos (εἶδος) meaning "form" or "shape," and "kyklos" (κύκλος) meaning "ring" or...

Daryl Davis and Grand Wizard (national leader) of the Ku Klux Klan Daryl Davis was a Black musician, activist, and independent thinker....

Source: Unsplash My best friend is making me a cup of tea. She's so thoughtful. Of course, she's going to leave me the dirty dishes....

If there is one constant in life, it is change. Kind of a mind-fuck, no? There are so many pithy sayings, equations, philosophies, plays,...

At the risk of triggering impassioned mansplaining from my solar physicist dad and astronomer big bro, I must proceed with a topic I’ve...

“Nothing worth having comes easy” — Theodore Roosevelt (paraphrased) Meditation can be described as "observing what is." It is a lot of...