“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” There is always a curtain. There’s a lot going on that’s concealed, the necessary underpinning of what we experience as “normal” life. The supply chain for example operates unobtrusively, silently, efficiently. In times of social displacement, in the grip of anxiety which comes and goes,…
I participated in a video conferencing philosophy discussion group last night. Given the images, screen facsimiles of acquaintances, along with audio, it was an enjoyable session. I greatly miss the face to face, embodied dialog of the pre covid-19 era. It is unclear if or when we will return to the traditional mode of…
Yesterday, I departed the house for my doctors office to keep my quarterly checkup appointment. Motivated by the insistence of the insurance company that I be seen by my Doctor quarterly, I decided to keep the appointment. I have risk on both sides, indeterminate health risk by moving around in public areas, and financial…
Since the beginning of civilization religion has been a mainstay for humanity to get through life. That is, until recently. More is to be said about the decline of traditional religion in our day to day lives. In our world reason is ascendant. We look to our own resources of knowledge, the methodology of…
A magnificent morning. The social distancing, self quarantine precaution against coronavirus does not mean that sunlight, green grass, the budding trees cannot be appreciated. Indeed, for me this is the foundation of religion. I am alive. We are alive. We, the human community live, in relation to the cosmos, sky, land, the red tulip,…
Saturday. Today if I am fortunate I will find a Bonsai, a miniature tree trained to grow, beautiful, in a dish. You’ve seen them. The cultivation of Bonsai is an artform perfected in Japan, originating in China. A Bonsai is a fragment of nature, confined and cared for, in order to disclose the beauty…
The morning is magnificent. A strong sun bathes everything with life-giving light. Delicate vine plants, promising to blossom throughout the summer months ascend to the trellis, with perceptible growth by the day. In company with my daughter I visited Home Depot yesterday. Our mission was to purchase some plants, and to buy the foundation…
It is raining outside. A gray day, but timely for the spring vegetation. Nature is more reliable than human nature. I say “more” because there are interruptions in natural processes, sometimes severe ones such as the little ice age (1303-1860) which brought cold and wet summers, failed crops and famine to Europe. Human nature…
The day dawned with spring sunlight streaming through the trees. I left for a short 5 minute drive to the outpatient lab for a fulfillment of a blood work order. For a diabetic the quarterly blood panel work up discloses the balance of health, or a possible downward spiral… I was met in the…
Today, Saturday begins almost as if the abstraction, the day of the week label is useless, without significance. The routine of work, the necessary expenditure of effort with others, to meet basic needs, — having been interrupted by a quarantine, any day seems like any other. The distinction is lost, of work schedules texturing…
