In pop culture, I often hear people say "it's complicated" to indicate their relationship status. Usage has expanded to cover just about any aspect of life. Everything, after all, is complicated in the sense that there are a million moving parts and facets acting upon each moment. Yet, many also contend it is simple. Either… Continue reading It’s Not Just Complicated, It’s Downright Slippery
Yesterday I went to a healing sound meditation event at a local park. The day was cool but sunshine beautifully filtered through the trees and only a light breeze swept over the small fishing pond. Just enough movement to keep the sage smoke traveling over the group. It was not a Buddhist event, yet I… Continue reading Z is for Zen and My (Currently?) Favorite Zen Author
Is there value to life when it all leads to death? What actually provides value in this life? These are questions I don't know the answer to. Hence, I am calling them a koan, a starting point for meditative inquiry. I have come across several takes on the story of Buddha's enlightenment. In case you… Continue reading V is for Value: A Koan
Yesterday, I wrote about the Tower tarot card. One challenge of it is not viewing the difficult changes in life as necessarily bad. I've also been doing a good deal of Buddhist readings and recently came across several articles about viewing the "bad" or hard things that happen to us as a teacher to help… Continue reading U is for Upsides to Life’s Crap
Lately, the concreteness of what can be known has been on my mind. It's something I've pondered on and off for many, many years. I will probably continue to contemplate the boundaries of knowledge for the rest of my life. Everyone (probably) knows what these questions are like. Why is there suffering and pain? How… Continue reading Q is for Questions that are Left Open-ended
I recently spent a good deal of time in the car with my husband. We were traveling to see my mom and then driving back, all in a long weekend. It gave us time to catch up on some podcasts. We listened to the first several episodes of the current season of Invisibilia. It's a… Continue reading P is for Patterns and Questioning Just How Predictable We Humans Are
Third time might be the charm for my adventures with gabapentin. After a comedy of errors and the annoyance of slow responses from my doctor's office that took over two weeks, I finally got a prescription for 100 mg of gabepentin. I am taking one a day and experiencing a good amount of pain relief… Continue reading Gabapentin, Take Three with a Side of Hopelessness
