meaning making
Siesta time, after cooling off. We walked to Walnut Creek and made it back before temps hit triple digits -- but still sapped from the heat index! Four days of 100+ in a row and no end in sight according to forecast. Will be getting our walks in earlier and earlier from now on!
Mom is in good shape! She's 83 now. And look at who is peeking out between us - the Virgin Mary. A couple days ago Mom sat at the dinner table with me, keeping me company while I ate a sandwich. She started crying. "Momi, why are you crying?" I asked. "I still remember you… Continue reading A Mother’s Love
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. [It] cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals." Martin Luther King, Jr. This movie scene from Gandhi still gives me goosebumps. The background to this scene: British imperial overlords outlawed India's domestic salt production. Colonial India was compelled to… Continue reading The Sword that Heals
This week it is being reported that the lost tomb of Miguel de Cervantes has been discovered in Madrid. Cervantes, who died in 1616, is considered "the father of the novel." The news reminded me of a passage from The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha that inspires me to look at my own life as an… Continue reading Cervantes on Taking a Leap of Faith
Introducing Ares, a five month old Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff). We said goodbye to Ronin, the Great Dane, a few months ago. Ronin lived to be 11 years old, which is a ripe old age for a Dane. After doing some research, Erin wanted his new puppy to be a Cane Corso - a breed… Continue reading Ares
Happy National Coming Out Day to the international LGBTQ+ tribe and straight allies (yes, allies “come out” whenever they publicly declare themselves to be supporters)! People are more likely to support equality under the law and related human rights if they personally know someone who is impacted. Coming out as one's authentic self is a powerful… Continue reading Happy National Coming Out Day (Oct 11)
I'm reading King, Warrior Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette. The below are my current models that epitomize the archetypes for me; the people that I think about when I call up the energies of the archetypes: Lover: Ellen Degeneres I love Ellen's ability to connect with people… Continue reading Lover, Magician, Warrior, King…some exemplars of mine
Twelve years ago, Erin and I met and started a courtship. This photo is from our date # 4 adventure. We went to the Texas Renaissance Festival, perhaps the largest such faire in the country. Erin was eager to introduce me to his favorite high school hangout spot. I was flush with a heady mixture… Continue reading Renaissance Romance
What is the name of an adventure you are currently on? What stage are you in? Joseph Campbell describes the archetypal monomyth of the "Hero's Journey". The monomyth is a design pattern for human experience. Understanding this pattern can increase awareness and resources available in one's own adventures. It also deepens the experience of these… Continue reading Roadmap to the Hero’s Journey
We laid Dad to rest this afternoon at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. James Francis Minor was 82. Dad was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam wars. When he retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant, Dad followed up his military service with a career as a civil servant for… Continue reading Goodbye, Dad