my funny cartoon that is true about me..and maybe you

I just got my scanner hooked up...months and months of ennui and procrastination and now finally..

so here is a cartoon that was hanging around my house that expresses my usual state of affairs...and the capital...is Keep Trying..

aaargh..bad joke...I guess April Fool's Day must be near!!

The mystery and beauty of rushing water

The temperatures heat up, snow melts from below, the lawn appears and there is water everywhere. I go for a walk. Down by the creek the melting snow is rushing by. At the falls there is a torrent of water, rushing, rushing over the frozen falls. For weeks, it was impermeable, frozen into subtle jade like formations with shades of light blue and gray mixed. ( see photo) I watch the torrent of water cascading over the falls and feel such joy.
The old frozen ice is worn away and washed away... rejuvenation is starting..I linger, watching the frothy foam spell into mysterious shapes and then meander down the creek as darkness falls.

There by the bridge I sit. The water rushing by comes through the dark shadows and mysteries that form under the curve of the bridge. I am captivated by this moment and feel it's vigor...and what do I hope for...as I watch this darkening, rushing power of water swirl by..yes,,,what do I hope for...what change..it is not defined, but I can feel it's form..it's mystery...

The current of the water rushes by in melodious song. I hear its tune. I feel a part of this rushing current of change and renewal...and yet its dark shadows chasten me too...I see the rushing of time going by...and all that I cannot not change, in my life or those close to me... now, here I sit...the creek is full and rushes by...This moment, it is enough to hold onto it...to feel its fullness and wait for the wisdom that comes from looking upstream and down.........

Bikkur Cholim/or How to visit someone in the Hospital.

Note: I published this on my other blog. I repeat it here and over time will add in some practical advice that I have noticed over years of being with someone in the hospital.


It's winter and here I am at Abbott Hospital again.It smells just as I remember and I know my way around. I hardly need to ask for help. There have been so many times and so many visits.
Today I am here visiting an old friend who I have not seen for years. I heard through the grape vine that he was in the hospital after major surgery. Ostomy and colonoscopy.Long words that mask a very long condition for him.
I think I've been in this room before, or have I? All the rooms blend into one long memory.

There he is, tubes and bandages.It's been a long road for him. We connect at once and regale each other with true tales and philosophical ramblings that come to the crossroads of tears and laughter. It's easy to go down either road. The road to laughter is wet with tears and the tearful road makes us really crack some good jokes.
Life has handed him these complexities and it's been tough. He is no stranger to pain and pain is his companion.
Yet he laughs and we make bad jokes.

Bikkur Cholim is the hebrew word for the mitzvah of visiting the sick. There is the feeling that through visiting the sick one can take away one sixtieth of their illness.
I enter his room feeling overwhelmed by the problems of my life. Family, finances, future...what? what? what? I ask.

I leave feeling light and happy. Somehow my problems have been put into perspective and I feel like I have wings.

There is a mystical light that shines through our most difficult situations. It is not easy to find, but it is there. It is like the streetlight on a snowy night, shining out and illuminating the hidden spiral of insight traced in the snow. You have to really squint to seet it...It is so hard to see, but just look, it's there.
You really can walk that inner road, yes, you can reach that inner destination. Just look, it's there.

Difficult moments have their own brightness and illumination. Not by the light of day, but the hidden light of intuition and insight. Look up. Look in. It is there.

** *** * * * * ** ** * * * * ** * * * * * * * ** ** ** * * * * * * ** * * *

I can't clean my House, but I can start a Blog!!

I welcome you to this whimsical, philosophical blog. On it I will share some experience's I have had over the years, with an eye to bringing humor and hopefully insight to the adventures that life brings us.