Tag: death

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Ant or Grasshopper – How We Spend our Time

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I recently gave a short presentation on how we choose to spend our time, our life – planning for the future versus living more in the moment. The old ant and grasshopper parable came to mind. Are you more like the hard-working ant who struggled all summer storing food for the winter, or more like the carefree grasshopper who hopped and chirped the summer away?

We often hear about how we aren’t saving enough, whether that’s for emergencies or for retirement. Not to mention how nearly impossible it is to do that with most incomes not keeping up with costs, among other financial challenges. While I certainly don’t want to minimize any of that, I’m choosing here to focus more on the psychological side of things.

What are we saving for in terms of wants and desires? What are we expecting of the the future? And what are we giving up to get there? What if next week the ant and the grasshopper both have massive insect coronaries and die? Who will have had the better life? Would it be easier to save for the future if that future were guaranteed? Continue reading

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Together – A Poem

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I’m posting something a little different here. I wrote most of this poem after the death of a loved one a couple of years ago. I’d forgotten about the poem until I came across it recently and decided to finish it.

It’s interesting for me to see where my mind and heart was just a few short months post-death. It surprises me some, but in a good way. A little window into that time.

And while it was written for someone real, and under different circumstances than those in the fictional “Life’s Attic” (I touched on this in “Flying Time”) it reminds me just how similar death can be, whoever it is. Why we call it a loss. And that while it is that, that’s not all it is, not all is has to be.

Here’s to life!
 

“Together” by Elizabeth Ely

You have died.
Just now.
Or was it months ago?
Time has been so modified. Continue reading

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Flying Time

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It’s been a while since my last blog entry. I’d forgo the cliché of saying “how time flies” except it’s obviously too late for me to do that now. But there’s a reason clichés are clichés, they often hold a certain truth that can be universally felt. And maybe they become annoying to hear for that exact reason: “We already know it’s blatantly true without bothering to say or hear it.” Hmmm…I don’t think I want to think about how much time just flew by as I typed these non-words of wisdom…

The events of the last couple of years have been very life-changing for me, in that big-picture, how-I-see-the-world-and-what-I want-to-do-in-it-while-I’m-here sort of way. Funny how dealing with the death of loved ones, or other challenges of life, can end up making you feel more alive than ever. Continue reading

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Spring Cleaning for the Soul

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More thoughtlessly abandoned couches and old entertainment units. More fragrant flowers amid baby blades of grass. More birds chirping in that distinctly fresh and vital way. Springtime. Whether it’s the cleared-out overaccumulations of stuff, both literal and figurative, or all the sensory reminders of the universe renewing itself, spring feels… Continue reading

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Midwest Book Review Recommends Life’s Attic

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Life’s Attic has just been reviewed by Midwest Book Review. Yay! They review less than a third of submitted titles, so I’m very excited that they chose to review mine. Established in 1976, the Midwest Book Review publishes a number of monthly book publications specifically designed for community and academic… Continue reading

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What's Being Said About Life's Attic?

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Award-winning actress Kathleen Gati has just said some very nice things about my novel, Life’s Attic. I feel truly honoured.   “Just finished reading your book. WOW!!! It is truly a beautiful study of pure love, devotion, life, death and so much more. I savored every word and truly enjoyed… Continue reading

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Publishing of Life's Attic Getting Closer

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My novel, Life’s Attic, is being typeset as I speak (or type), and the cover art is being finalized as well.
~In the fictional West Coast town of Clementine, Leanne Porter is about to meet Jay Hanson. There’s just one problem. Jay has AIDS. Continue reading

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Titanic Controversy Set Aside for New Expedition

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The Titanic has long been the subject of controversy. From the myriad of mistakes and circumstances that tragically came together April 14, 1912 to the inadequate loading of lifeboats in the very early morning hours of April 15, 1912. From the different hearings and results into the disaster to speculation… Continue reading

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Forget Jail, Forget Nursing Homes, Take a Cruise

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The following joke/scenario thing reminds me of an earlier forward I wrote about which contrasted life in prison and a nursing home. It also brings to mind the old chestnut, “the truest words are spoken in jest.” Underneath so many of these little comedy bits are some pretty apt observations… Continue reading

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Agreement Reached To Save Gulf Turtles from Incineration

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Good news on the endangered turtle front in the Gulf of Mexico. Especially for the Kemp’s Ridley turtle that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said is the rarest and most threatened. Reuters reported Saturday that, “Environmental groups, BP (BP.N) (BP.L) and the U.S. Coast Guard reached tentative… Continue reading