“In such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.”- Camus
For audio version click here In the fifth century, St. Daniel , a stylite priest, lived on top of a pillar near Constantinople. He came down one time in 33 years. From his roost, “he preached sermons, dispensed spiritual advice, and cured the sick who were brought up to him. He also gave prudent counsel to Emperors Leo and Zeno and the patriarch of Constantinople.” Above the thick and shifting crowds, clear of enclosing tenements, he could meditate and […]
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For audio version click here Ten of us in a loose gaggle, plus two dogs, noisily walked the hard sand closest to the surf, all family — brothers, sisters, a nephew, three wives and Tommy and Sam, 4 and 2, shining flashlights down and spotting ghost crabs, pale as the sand, scuttling away and occasionally challenging us with upraised pincers. The little boys wore green and red glowsticks on strings around their necks and alternately […]
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For audio version click here In the past two weeks have you too been made sick and exhausted by the screams and screeds of the fanatical believer? A pox on the fanatic. A curse on the rioters in the ‘Arab Street’ and on the Islamophobes who stoke their fire. A curse on all those near and far of any political persuasion or cause who bear the fire in their hearts that tells them that they have been […]
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For audio version click here I’ve returned from the gym and worked for hours cleaning the lawn of branches, then raking and mowing and sweeping; Wolfie wants his long walk too. When we hit the woods together, my head feels as light and empty as a drained glass. I’m not thinking an anxious thing. Finally, I can just see, and what I see falls into me. The sky is a sharp-edged blue, a storm-cleansed blue. We […]
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