writing : blog
I Wonder I wonder what would happen if I treated everyone like I was in love with them, whether I like them or not and whether they respond or not and no matter what they say or do to me and even if I see things in them which are ugly twisted petty cruel vain deceitful indifferent, just accept all…
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Tess likes rocks. She is enamored of them. We find them in all her pockets. A recent walk to the park yielded these. She carefully laid them all out for viewing. The one she is proudest of? "LOOK AT MY CRYSTAL!" she shouted, running toward me. She held a tiny dot of a piece of glass up just in front…
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Simmering with Patience – Pema Chodron Excerpted from "The Answer to Anger & Aggression is Patience", Shambhala Sun, March 2005. "That’s what it’s like with aggression: you can’t speak because everyone will feel the vibes. No matter what is coming out of your mouth, it’s like you’re sitting on top of a keg of dynamite and it’s vibrating. Patience has…
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The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. -Eden Ahbez, "Nature Boy" (1948). Eva died yesterday morning at 9:30am. She posted this video message on February 11th when her death seemed imminent. It is not easy to watch, but important to watch. Would we could all face death with this spirit, from a…
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"Come over around six," Lisa said. David and I had just finished working with an amazing group of educators in Hastings, Nebraska, for two days. Lisa was one of them, the organizer of the event. "Around six, and we'll have some dinner with a few friends." We went back to our hotel rooms to crash for a while, and headed…
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Here I am, channeling Madonna as I provided the opening keynote at the recent American Counseling Association annual conference mind :: my brain and yours I love, LOVE the map of Europe. Experimental Cartography : The Map as Art. Texts without context. A fascinating read: “The Cult of the Amateur,” by Andrew Keen, argues that Web 2.0 is creating a…
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She had legally changed her name to Ai, which means "love" in Japanese. Last week, she went into the hospital with what they thought was pneumonia. She died just three days later of advanced breast cancer. The poet Ai is remembered here. My thanks to poet Keith Flynn for pointing me to her. Conversation by Ai We smile at each…
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I rode in a car to the airport this morning and kissed Mr Brilliant goodbye. I boarded a toy plane and sat in an exit row aisle seat and flew to Atlanta. I walked to an underground train and took it to another terminal. I stood still while riding up a very tall escalator to the surface again and walked…
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Happy 69th Birthday today, poet Billy Collins. Over 50 people have emailed to tell me it's your birthday, so I think I've done an adequate job of stalking you in the past. Yes, indeed I have. Today, however, it slipped my mind. How is this possible?, you're wondering, there in your poet slippers worn down at the heel, peeling a…
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You lose your grip and then you slip, Into the masterpiece. -Leonard Cohen [image from here]
Patti Digh is the author of six books, including bestsellers Life is a Verb and Creative is a Verb. She travels the world teaching others about mindfulness: to live fully, love well, let go deeply, and make a difference. Patti's comments have appeared on PBS and in The New York Times, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the London Financial Times, and many other international publications. She writes a thank you note every morning.
