Sunday, September 21, 2014

Grandmas On Our Street


Some days are more difficult than others. Yesterday was one of those.

I felt stuck, lost, and frustrated that I don't seem to contribute in any visible way. Then I remembered our neighborhood grandmas.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Are We There Yet?

People often ask, "Why did you quit your career?"
I don't know if I have a good answer. The short answer is: passion for authenticity.

Also people asked, "Why did you move to Taiwan?"
Well, it's not an accident. Before the move, we figured that the food is good in Taiwan, they have a great national health care system, the people seem nice, and one of my parents liked the idea; plus,

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Impermanence

(Image borrowed from the Web)
Back in 1989, Don Henley wrote a song that has stuck with me ever since. (Full lyrics here) "New York Minute" brings the human condition into sharp focus:
Everything is impermanent. Everything.
This is not just happening to everyone else. It's personal. Henley points that out with every scenario in the song. His opening to the last stanza has become a touchstone for me over the years.
What the head makes cloudy
The heart makes very clear


I tend to over-think things, often heading down a path that leads me away from the goodness right in front of me. l seem to think that I can logically predict what comes next. Rarely have I been proven right, and if I do apparently get it right, "everything can change in a New York minute."
Good or bad, whatever is happening right now can change in a New York minute. That's not just a message of desperation. It's also a message of hope.
When I fully appreciate impermanence, I more easily recognize the richness of this particular day.
May my heart make that very clear.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

I Wander

Convict Lake, California
Experts offer life improvement tips and tricks all the time. After having read quite a bit of their advice, I've discovered that they almost always contradict each other. It's almost as if "one man's poison is another man's medicine." 

So rather than fussing with other people's ideas, attempting to replicate their life lessons, I concluded that I am better off finding my own way.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

New Band: "Supercramp"

My newest band is called "Supercramp." We already have a Greatest Hits album. Here are the songs:
"Grime of the Century," "Food's Overture," "The Logical Gong," "Even in the Quietest Monuments," "Bleakfest in America," "Ruddy Well Blight," "Take the Wrong Way Home," "Goodbye Strangler," and "Give a Little Sh!t."

Our place in history is most certainly ensured.


Monday, September 1, 2014

The Big P

I'd like to think after all these years, I've figured out what my purpose in life is. The Big P, that is.

The same day I stepped out of my IT job, I twisted my angle in my own garage. It seemed highly unlikely that such small accident would keep me from walking for almost six months. When the speedy recovery wasn't happening, I had no choice but to be patient with myself. I meditated, read an insane number of books, watched baby birds hatch and take their first flights, counted lemons on the lemon tree, got good at recognizing humming birds by sound, even talked to the roses...