Year: 2022

Wisdom from the East

There is a pocket-sized booklet of quotes from such notable dispensers of wisdom as the Dalai Lama, Lao Tzu, Suzuki, Matzu and Jiddu Kaishnamati and others. Now these are not necessarily household names, but their quotes perpetuate the myth that wisdom only comes from the Eastern Zen masters. It sorta makes some sense that anybody …

Shackled to a Screen

“Lay no foundation upon which you build yourself a cell.”  Father Abbot Zeno, Zen Buddhist  * * * ‘Tis the season to be jolly, the carols sing. Christmas is near. And here I sit getting acquainted with my newest body part, a knee. Maybe the Christmas season is not the best time to replace failed body …

Recollections of Thanksgiving

“There’s nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor…that it was from the hand of God.”    Ecclesiastes 2:24 Thanksgiving…the very concept conjures up evocative nostalgia. A silent bell tolls in our hearts, reviving the infused pilgrim spirit inherited from the Plymouth Plantation. …

My Dog has a Secret

Secrets…we all have ‘em. They’re disguises we hide behind. My dog Bogey has been acting strangely lately. He must have a secret he’s not sharing. I know this because his eyes give him away. Just when I think I have picked up on some clue, they dart away. Prying out secrets from dogs or humans …

Slang it to Me

If it weren’t for cliches, could we communicate?  * * * Cliches…we’ve over-used these time-tested platitudes. They’re rusting out, about to bite the dust. Acronyms and euphemisms of verbal arcana are the new Esperanto. I’ve cobbled together a few of the oldies. They tell it like it is. Our culture is bloated with idiomatic jargon. We belly up to …

New Wine, Old Wineskins

Fermentation starts, the wine bubbles, the wineskin stretches. Lookout. * * * Biblical illustrations paint pictures. They issue warnings, and metaphorically speaking, yesterday’s wineskin is no good for today. A new one is needed. The elderly couple stands on the street corner, waiting in the drizzle. He looks at his watch, comments, “Should be here in …

A Faustian Bargain

“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 *** How much manpower do you suppose it takes to keep the fires of hell raging hot? Peter was a fisherman, and fishermen are prone to exaggeration. He must have felt the heat …