michael

The Sunday Comics It’s Sunday morning, February 26, 2023. Like clockwork, I feed my cat, make coffee – then next I’ll retrieve the Sunday Flint Journal from my front porch. I remove it from its plastic wrapper (protecting it from Michigan weather), and disengage the Comics section. Then I’ll sit down to read my three […]

It was my first visit in many years to a podiatrist. My PCP (Primary Care Physician) had informed me that Medicare would cover toenail trimming, so I availed myself of that benefit. I’d reached the age when bending down to trim my own nails wasn’t as easy for this non-limber body. And pedicures were somewhat

“There’s a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen “Anthem”[1] This year, this new year 2023, is not going to be an easy one either. We can tell already.Maybe there will never be an easy year in the rest of our lifetime.[2]Though maybe for our children… Many years ago,

Times and Seasons Many years ago I came upon this brief bit of Irish wisdom from an anonymous source. Five things a wise person should know: the day of the solar month, the age of the moon, the tides of the sea, the day of the week, the calendar of holy days. This sacred and

Part One – a Moment of Private Fear Just a couple days ago, perusing news and opinion on my cellphone news channels, I first allowed myself that gut-level realization we really could at any moment experience a nuclear attack and potential annihilation by one evil man named Putin. For some time now I’d been reading

Last Spring, Michael Meade, an acquaintance and favorite podcast writer, wrote a podcast entitled “Wise and Crosswise” which I revisit from time to time, and now share with you.[1] In my own imagination, (and actually some specific memory), I find myself on a path through a thick forest, my walking stick sometimes held in front

Sometimes, when it seems appropriate, I’ll share with a client the story from the Old Testament of Jacob wrestling with the angel all night at ‘the ford of the river Jabbok’. It comes from the Book of Genesis, chapters 27 through 33. Isaac, the son of Abraham, had two sons, Esau & Jacob. By deceit,

I came across these rules many years ago, as guidelines of value especially in relationship arguments. An expanded version goes like this: Whenever you feel the need (i.e. are tempted) to defend yourself, to explain yourself, to justify yourself – Don’t!  Don’t DorEorJ Because, if you do – NOTHING OF VALUE WILL HAPPEN. Now, at first this didn’t make much sense

Not long ago I came across an idea that chaos and creativity are closely related. And the idea stuck with me and continues to fascinate me. Two Creation accounts First let me consider two major creation accounts. For example, in our Holy Bible’s Genesis account, things began with the earth “a formless void” which could

I knew in my head and heart I had to write a Newsletter on that Tuesday, May 24, when a single teenage gunman murdered 19 school children and two of their teachers at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. That was almost 2 weeks ago, and each day, though through many private tears, I’ve pondered