FIRE
I live in a fire prone area of California. Seems like everyone in California does… We had the Kincade Fire five miles from our small Napa Valley town. We chose… Read more FIRE →
What is Consciousness?
“Our perception of the world around us, and ourselves within it, are ‘controlled hallucinations’ that the brain uses to help keep itself alive” By: Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and… Read more What is Consciousness? →
Change
What does change mean? Do we ever change? What is it that changes, if anything? Looking deeply into the concept of change, what is it? A leaf changes from bud, to spring green, to summer green, to autumn rust, to shriveled up. It goes through change but in reality, it is still a leaf. Buddhism talks about impermanence as a fact of life and therefore, everything changes constantly. Like the leaf. And our challenge is to yield to that. I’d like to think that I can implement change. Change that I think… Read more Change →
New Year and ?
Again. Again. A new year. Starting over. Starting afresh. Such pressure. Such possibilities. This year, though, is different. It feels different to me. For many reasons: New President (and a lot of unknowns) which pushes me to re-think my own habits, patterns and expectations. Our quest for hope with Obama the last eight years may very well turn into a sense of fear the next four years. And I refuse to feel fear. I want to stand up tall to my own fears, so I can stand up tall to… Read more New Year and ? →
Marked
I’ve not been myself since the election. Probably only rested a few hours during the election night. Did get some restful sleep last night but still feel out-of-sorts. Mostly, I’m confused, confused as to what is happening. Perhaps, my California bubble burst and I realize there’s a big bad world out there. A world of opposites, a world of conflict, and a world of hate. That sounds awful and I don’t want it to be true. At the same time, I know that anger is often born by sadness. Both… Read more Marked →
Two Sides to Tribal Behavior
A tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient and not integrated into the national society. Sounds an awful lot like the… Read more Two Sides to Tribal Behavior →
Small Town Living
I live in a small town. I live and work here. My husband lives and works here. We bike to work. We walk to town. We seldom leave but when we do we take our one car. Perhaps to visit my mother or brother 3 hours away or perhaps to visit our daughter 2 plane hours away. Our sons are further away: 6 hours by plane, so we go once a year. We are privileged but not rich. Not like the people who have second homes in the hills. We… Read more Small Town Living →
Depression
These days I feel depression. It happens here and there. Suddenly my mood drops. From one day to the next. Being fine one day I wake up the following morning and feel depressed. It’s weird. Because my situation hasn’t really changed. I still get up to write. I get up to take care of my cat. I get up to do some laundry. I get up to do some light cleaning. I get up to do grocery shopping. But my mood is different. I have lost purpose. I look for… Read more Depression →
