Up at the park, I recently saw a group of young women sitting on the grass talking, all of them at least 10′ from each other in a large circle. Saturday I was heading out of my neighborhood to do some chores and I came across a concert happening at a local intersection. There were […]
Although I am not a Buddhist, I seek wisdom wherever I can find it and Buddhism has many frameworks that I find really helpful. One of them is the “Four Brahmaviharas.” Pronounced bra-ma vih-har-ahs. These are four states of mind that can help us with our lives: lovingkindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. I came
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Last week I shared how my wife, musician Laura Baron, helped Graham Nash play his hit, Our House, on the guitar. Well, now it’s my turn. Though my story is a bit embarrassing. 30 years ago I participated in the Men’s Multicultural Gathering. 50 black men, 50 white men, and a handful of other ethnicities
In 1969 Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell were out and about after breakfast, and as Nash tells the story, “We’re going to get into Joan’s car, and we pass an antique store. And we’re looking in the window, and she saw a very beautiful vase that she wanted to buy … I persuaded her to
Last week Sita and I headed into the High Peaks Wilderness in the Adirondacks for four nights. We camped in the backcountry on the side of a mountain and about 100 feet from the North Fork of the Boquet River, which provided a continuous rushing and gurgling as the mountain runoff made its way over
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I will never forget that hike! I loved being a boy scout when I was young. I didn’t know it when this picture was taken but the next three days were going to wear me out! Off I went to carry that pack along the trail with about 30 other scouts, 4 troop masters, and
Heading to the Woods Read More »
I was in my early 20s, out late one October evening in rural Indiana with my dog, Chokma, an 80# shepherd mix, and a close friend, Dale. Dale was working as a journalist on a Hoosier newspaper and decided to run a story on a local legend, the Headless Switchman, around Halloween. At the time
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A common reaction when I tell people that we adopted Ruchi when she was eight from India, “Oh, she’s so fortunate.” The truth is we are all so fortunate. Those are not just words. My life has been immeasurably transformed in beautiful ways by my daughter’s presence from the first moment she was with us.
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From an early age, I loved both math and dogs. So this cartoon hits me thrice. Once, because I am always trying to learn new mathematical lessons. Second, because I recognize that puzzled look when my canine companion is trying hard to figure out what I am saying. Lastly, because I sometimes feel confused in
My second dog, Bleubelle, came to our home by accident. We found her on our porch, lost, just a puppy. In the first few days she was with us she chewed up all my plastic army men, causing me great sadness and upset. She found my heart nonetheless. When her owner came knocking on our
