I’m moving through a few weeks that are going to be hairy. My annual trip to Nantucket had arrows shooting at it from every which way – from any angle of resources it was the worse time to go, then JetBlue cancelled my flight; I had to spend the night in Boston, and buy an additional one-way flight to Nantucket, and my 3.5 day girl trip turned into a 2 day trip, and still I…
Perspective is what we all need a lot of in our life. I moved out of a house that I built and it had everything just so – bookshelves a plenty, cupboards a plenty, entertainment and art boxes all built in and all there to be filled with all my stuff. Then eight years later I was crying salty tears as I packed all that stuff into boxes to prepare myself for the next chapter…
The art of saying goodbye takes one last look, remembering where you were when you arrived and where you are upon leaving, it’s sometimes sad and sometimes not, sometimes happy and sometimes not, and oft times takes courage. Clothes drying on the line in the backyard The money tree Tommy gave me when I was building the LaLa with a weathered Kuna still attached The Virgin Mary statue Katell bought me at a shop on…
The world has gone bat shit crazy – Oklahoma wtf? and this heat suddenly in New Orleans – I fell asleep at the playground as Tin was on the jungle gym. Really? We live in uncertain times, so we need to learn how to bob and weave through this insane ride. Namaste.
We were invited to a pancake breakfast this morning and so as soon as Tin rolled out of bed, we rolled over to our friends’ house toting a fruit salad of fresh apricots and blackberries. While Tin jumped on the trampoline with the kids, I sat in the kitchen and talked about re-evaluation counseling with my friends who have been into it for over two decades. I listened with rapt fascination because I had never…
We all filed into the UNO Arena today to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak to us New Orleanians about resilience – um, we know a little about it already and I, know a lot about it, but I wanted his perspective. And he didn’t disappoint. He’s got a simple message – compassion, love and kindness, and save the planet, peace not war, and humor. Asked what to do with children that have been…
If I am somebody It is only by standing on the shoulder of giants: Took the boys to see the Drepung Loseling monks perform a ceremony after completing the mandala – guttural singing, horns blowing, cymbals tinkling and then the dyed sands were swept up and a procession led us through Mardi Gras World to the river (a truly New Orleans ceremonial experience) where the sands were loosed into the mighty Mississippi to re-imagine our…
Welcoming the Dalai Lama to New Orleans, a City Still Rebuilding Posted: 05/17/2013 11:51 am From a talk given at Temple Sinai in New Orleans on May 9, 2013. This is part one in a series. The Dalai Lama has come to New Orleans. If I were to speak with him, this is what I might say. Your Holiness, you are coming to New Orleans at a time of some optimism, some hope. Eight years…
I’ve been thinking of a dog – again – I know, it’s crazy to think of these things. Loca is out in the country grown fat and happy at cousin Brian’s house. I secretly love that she visits my Aunt Sue – smart dog. Since my mind is on dogs, I see them everywhere. The corgi that came up to me the other day smiling ear to big ear. And then yesterday, this guy walked…
Recycling a life is not new for a lot of people who have experienced war, tragedy, and near death. Here in New Orleans, I keep meeting people who are losing their hair and I wonder to myself if hair is not a casualty of the 2005 Federal Flood. The stress of Katrina is something we all felt we have been handling, but maybe we weren’t. For me this journey through tragedy has reaped more and…