Every morning I sit in my kitchen at the mahogany table my father built. At this time of year the sun rises to the left, out of the window’s frame. If I’m up early enough I watch the light change from mauve to peach to yellow, promising another flawless northern California day. I look through... Continue Reading →
If you are looking to get away from thinking about COVID-19, you may want to skip this post. After weeks of trying—and failing—to turn my writing away from the reality we’re all living, I decided to confront it directly. Doing so has helped clear a space for focusing on other things. Is it a love... Continue Reading →
The first time I took a hot yoga class, I thought I was going to expire in the studio. It's 90 minutes of 26 yoga postures in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). If that sounds insane... well, it is. So I'll forgive you calling me crazy for not only returning... Continue Reading →
The excellent dystopian episodic series Black Mirror explores the dark underbelly of technology, especially of the social webs we weave. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R32qWdOWrTo For longer than most, displaying my Luddite late-adopter tendencies, I used my cell phone only for phone-ly things: making calls. Even after getting a smart phone, I didn't do much more than text. Eventually,... Continue Reading →
I wrote four odes this week, after promising to write one a week, so technically I'm off the hook for the rest of the month. But don't be surprised if you hear from me again before March is over. To the public health officials Did you imagine this challenge when you signed up for this,... Continue Reading →
View over San Francisco Bay What I learned about my February commitment is this: I’m not built for fun. Which is not to say I’m not built for humor, or irony, or laughter. But I’m not built for oblivious entertainment, gratuitous pleasure-seeking, or pain-numbing highs. I’m built for reverence, ritual, and occasional rapture. I’m built... Continue Reading →
One of the exercises you can experiment with in pursuit of The Headless Way is pointing to the space where your head is not. I've made my living by words for many years. The older I get, the more inadequate language seems as a method of expression and connection. All language comes burdened with culture,... Continue Reading →
"I am a cat, and my life is non-stop fun." On order this month: more laughter People often tell me I'm too serious. I often think they're right. So, as part of my year of discovery, I'm going to devote the month of February to having fun. The concept of fun means something very different... Continue Reading →
I don't really do New Year's resolutions. I've made my share of year-end commitments over the years (write more, connect with book clubs). Mostly, these commitments helped me pay attention to things I might otherwise have forgotten about in the swirl of daily life. This year, I am making a public commitment and inviting you... Continue Reading →
