Contentment is: satisfaction, delight, gratification, grace, peaceful, appeased, delighted, thrilled, smiling, purring. Contentment seems like a passive thing; in some ways it is, because you can feel it without doing anything. But for the state of mind to be more than fleeting and occasional, it requires a great effort. Not necessarily at a checklist (although […]
My life is set up between two poles: the city, with social engagements, appointments of various kinds, lots of running around doing errands, and feeling like a small blip in the large apparatus of a major city and the country, a rural setting that is quiet, where I read, write, garden, cook, and live in
Shifting Seasons: Perspective, Autumn Thoughts Read More »
I love early morning walks in the city, before things get too busy. One of my favorite routes is along the Schuylkill River Banks. The Schuylkill divides Center Center from University City and has been developed into such a beautiful urban spot over the years I have lived in Philadelphia. On early weekday mornings you
Walking: River Route, Schuylkill River Trail Read More »
I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show on March 6, 2015. This year’s theme was about the movies, specifically Disney/Pixar movies from which several exhibits took inspiration. I enjoyed the show immensely and felt the quality of the displays were much improved from last year. One thing I have noticed the last couple of years is
2015 Philly Flower Show: Movie Fantasy Read More »
Inspirational fitness stories come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Bruce Grierson’s book What Makes Olga Run? is about a track star in her 90s. The book was published earlier this year, and Olga ended up dying in June at the age of 95, but it is one of the most inspiring stories I have
The ultimate obsession: aging well Read More »
Anger is: provocation, human, release, riled, fury, annoyance, healthy, indignant, creative, destructive, pique, alarm, necessary. Anger is viewed by our culture as primarily a negative thing, and as such we try to avoid it and shame it out of existence. The trouble is, it exists and serves a purpose in the overall scheme of the universe.
Epicureanism is a ubiquitous term, and yet I include myself in the presumable majority with little to no prior understanding of what it actually stands for. So it was interesting to find a book about epicureanism as an ancient set of ideas on how to live that can be applied to contemporary life and that
Balance Pleasure & Structure? Epicureanism Read More »
My Thyroid Cancer Experience Early this year I noticed a lump in my neck while shaving; it didn’t hurt, and didn’t cause any problems so I did what I do best- I ignored it. As time went on, I realized I probably should have it looked at, and even started to make the connection that
Thyroid Cancer Experience Read More »
A young man and woman, both raised in good, solid Christian families, fall in love and get married, embarking on a life they plan to live in service to God and to the less fortunate on our planet. They follow the models of the church institutions they had grown up with, and those churches had
The Courage to Be Radically Good: Faith Lost Read More »
Awareness is: alertness, appreciation, attention, consciousness, consideration, insight, knowledge, mindfulness, notice, observation, sensing Awareness is a state of being. You are awake to an idea, a concept, a feeling. You know it exists, yet you may not be a master of it, or even be familiar with it. Awareness is not understanding, but is
