Late Summer 2021
The oak leaves have their mature deep green, leathery appearance. The fog has a gray cast, rather than the golden hue it somehow gathers in the spring and early summer. […]
Ramble
Rehumaning
Yup. After about a week of being eaten alive by bugs; shredded and impaled by raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, Devil’s walking stick, locusts, and greenbriar; endured thousands of demands from hungry […]
Under Dinosaur Skies
Much about the times is difficult for me to accept, process, reconcile, and so on. The politics. The environmental rape. The selfishness of maskless morons. Racism. Nationalism. It has all […]
Feral
The dynamics of isolation are complex. As an extreme outlier on the introversion scale, as well as a practicing hermit, I’ve found myself alone for some significant time. I can […]
The Efficacy of Ego and the Dissolution of Self: Part 2
See Part 1 Considering humanity through history, it’s a big thing. What we call History- it’s characters and narratives- is a thin, subjective braid of what events and people have […]
The Efficacy of Ego and the Dissolution of Self: Part 1
See Part 2 When I grew up, I was most strongly influenced by my father. He was a thoughtful, quiet man, who believed his children were obligated to be the […]
Reintegration Blues
The COVID pandemic has killed, caused economic and social carnage, and continues to spawn variants with difficult to define powers. Yet, it has provided a near-obligatory opportunity for those who […]
Rooting
Plants have a distinct quality from people that is shared with more strictly segmented life, such as some worms and some invertebrates. In many cases you can lop a limb […]
The excitement never ends
March 22, a gorgeous Spring day. Cloudless clear skies, rapidly rising temps, and some outdoor work to do, but not much to worry about, so I thought. The much anticipated […]
On Grief: My father died twice.
My father’s death certificate reads about 5 years ago. I refuse to remember the exact day. It’s in the middle of March. Bloated with a ruptured intestine and with faint […]
Technology and Monasticism
… is the title of an unwritten dissertation. In my monastic experience, I’ve taken a tack that welcomes some tech and shuns others. I don’t think there’s a single approach […]
Postmodernism, quantum physics, and the unravelling of purpose.
Physics has been one of my favorite subjects since I was a kid and ignored much of second grade in favor of my science magazines. I started studying Physics and […]
How big is a soul?
I’ve always had an interest in consciousness, self awareness, and how the brain seems to have a sense of where the self ends and where the rest of the universe […]
Digital Bouquets
I enjoy occasions to give. But as I have aged, most people in my circle have all the things they want and to take up more space risks imposing oneself. […]
Keeping the Routine in Check
Good morning! Today I might just be able to focus on and appreciate my solitude. I’m finding that maintaining my weekly routine is frequently disrupted, and though I can maintain […]
Lessons from Evolution in the age of Media
The term, “meme,” doesn’t only mean a snarky cat photo. The term was coined by Richard Dawkins in his book, The Selfish Gene, and was meant to reflect a much […]
Medical failures and triumphs
Here I go. My long suffering from a pervasive autoimmune disease that’s left me with an arthritic spine from C5 to L5, torn up my gut for 50 years, bouts […]
In Line
Somehow, I managed to get myself a spot on the COVID vaccine list for a shot next week. I’ve been looking all over for a month, and my impression of […]
The Protean Loneliness Machine
Some time ago, just under 4 billion years, relatively early in the planet’s existence, some bubbles gained certain unusual capacities involving the regulated shuffling of electrons and sustained frothiness. Distinct […]
Connections
Social connections do a great service to an individual. Extroverts are happier and healthier than introverts, and often find it easier to integrate into the workforce. Being connected had advantages […]
Introvert
While examining why I might be be drawn to an eremetic life, it was clear that introversion was a significant driver. I do my best thinking, my best caring, my […]
Small
Nothing that I could write is of an order of magnitude large enough to be visible in the shadows of the grand and foul machinations of our government. Perhaps that […]
The making of a good habit.
Things at my business are a bit crazy. The business grows, and it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Usually January is dead (It’s a gardening business), but we’re in a […]
Sunday with Dante
Midway through our life’s journey… I found myself in a dark wood. ~Dante, the Inferno I have seen more than a single dark wood over the years. Bad choices, poor […]
It’s 2021
It is no longer 2020. I’m sure the new year will bring its own challenges, but I’ve made some good strides towards effective coping. New Year’s Eve, I was able […]
Making room for the rest of the week
Mondays are my days where I clear out business so I don’t have so much to worry about the rest of the week. Today, I picked up meds, took care […]
Christmas in Plague
My son dutifully came to visit me for Christmas. He could have visited his girlfriend’s family, or she could have come here, but I suppose they aren’t quite ready to […]
Winter
To celebrate the Solstice, managed a taste of Chartreuse, a liqueur made in an ancient French Monastery. Its flavor is derived from some 100+ herbs, and if anything can taste […]
Errand Day
I cluster my errands as much as I can so that larger swaths of solitary time are maximized. Today, Mo went to the vet for his persistent foot infection, I […]