I’m sitting in my mother’s library in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bach cello suites layering themselves onto (and into) our lethargic late afternoon conversation. Co-contemplating gratitudes, small mysteries, and end-of-life as two young mule deer wend through the cholla and chamisa, approach the window, co-contemplate us. The music is interrupted briefly as we stare back and forth through the ...
Midlife Scrapbook
Fearless
Fearless (Source: Geo Davis) Too often I initiate posts, step away with full intentions of cycling back, inadvertently orphan them, and then stumble upon them weeks, months, even years later. Lately some of my 3-year orphans have been finding me. And their timely returns are proving uncanny. For example, in March 2017 I was inspired by a blog post, "What Scares You?", shared ...
Reframing Failure
“Rather than considering Max Jacob a failed cubist, a failed surrealist, a failed Jew, or a failure of any sort, I propose to view his marginality as a front, a narrow boundary that belongs to none of the systems it separates yet incorporates them all, something which contains signs of each system, which announces the new yet retains traces of the old.” — Sydney Levy Perhaps it is wise and ...
Among the Beauties and Mysteries
Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. — Rachel Carson In recent weeks I've been fortunate to observe this architecturally exquisite home filled with one, ...
Dreaming While Middle-Aging
Dreaming While Middle-Aging (Source: Geo Davis) [NB: This post, more of a lyric essay or freestyle poetic riff than a journalistically sound response to Wajahat Ali's August 28, 2018 op-ed, takes liberties with quotations that may misrepresent the intentions, emphasis, and/or conclusions of the author. All quotations are excerpted from the original, but the nature of remix/mashup alters the ...
Do. Repeat. Excel.
Bear with me for a moment. I'm about to repeat myself. I apologize in advance. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle (Source: Excellence Is a Habit ) With so much new ground to cover, so many new ideas to voice, so many new images to birth, why, WHY am I doubling back? Why am I repeating myself? I really dislike repeating myself. It was a bit ...