In the Morning a Fall Day
How is it that death can be so exquisite? Really this time of year is hallucinogenic. The October sky brilliant a lazuli lapis blue. Maple trees turn a fire engine red. And the big pumpkin in the pumpkin patch glistens brilliant with morning dew. This is a hallowed season, a …
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On the Threshold: Bedside with My Mother
As I arrive at the small room where my mother has been bedridden for eight days, I pause in the doorway and peer in to catch the day’s first glimpse of her. It is a moment filled with expectation, a kind of existential awe and… trepidation. What state will she …
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Saying Goodbye: from Surya Little
This morning, as my feet trod the dirt and rocks in the arroyo along the back side of our home—our dog Haro trotted ahead. We were surrounded by tall trees and the peace of silence. As my prayers echo through me, saying my last goodbyes to my beloved mother-in-law, Suz. …
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A Kind of Vision Quest: Bedside with My Mother
Sitting with my dying mother is possibly the hardest thing I have ever done. The only thing that comes closest is the 4 days I spent without food or water in the Arizona desert on a vision quest. This passage is equally grueling and exhausting, a test of faith and …
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Wow: Bedside With My Mother
My mother labors to speak. Given the ravages of advanced dementia coupled with the paralyzing effects of “long Covid”, her words are weak and warbled. Yet I am struck by her determination to make language work. As I sit by her side on the small stool by her bedside, I …
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Being with my Dying Mom: Bedside with My Mother
It is amazing how death brings such clarity to life. Bedside by my mother, the hustle and bustle of the world collapses. There is no urgency here, no insistence, no need now to go from point A to point B. My mother has entered a kind of underground tunnel full …
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Ultimate Solace
It is peculiar how from a young age we seek fulfillment outside of ourselves. Lured by the promise of satisfaction, people assume that some material thing, someone, or some experience will provide happiness and freedom. And in a world full of instant gratification—online gaming, notification of likes, impulse shopping, sports …
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Being Everything and Nothing
Some today advocate for flying spaceships to outer space to set up shop on Mars. The belief goes that the resources on this planet have been gobbled up and now it is time to build a whole new way of life. How absurd! The realm we live in is pure …
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Be Enduring Peace
In the topsy turvy world we live in today, lawyers, influencers and politicians bicker and quarrel. They point fingers at one another as fear spreads throughout the land. In the midst of discord, it is best to lie down under a big tree and learn from the ground below. On …
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Take Time to Pause
Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, you have to take time to pause, to be silent inside and not move around so much. With the state of the world topsy-turvy, and everything moving so fast, stay low to the ground, reflect, read a bit, stare off into space. …
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