Month: December 2016

The Alternative is Death

In a year where we have witnessed some very public deaths of people with whom we have a cultural connection, e.g., Prince, David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, and in a year that many of us have lost people close to us, I have a hard time feeling any shred of sympathy for people who are begrudgingly […]

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Inadequacy in the Season of Excess

We’ve all heard these before: “Be grateful for what you have.” “The secret to having it all is knowing you already do.” “The  best things in life aren’t things at all.” While we can intellectually wrap our minds around the merits of appreciation, simplicity and non-materialism–perhaps even try to get our children on board with these […]

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There are No Coincidences

While I am not someone who tends to believe that anything is preordained or controlled by fate, I do hold fast to the idea that there are no coincidences. Sure events “coincide” all the time. But I am referring to those things that set people back on their heels and lead them to say, “Wow, […]

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To Be “Understood” is the Greatest of All (Unattainable) Human Achievments

As an existentialist, I accept as a philosophical axiom that my experience is not only wholly individualized but also fully removed from the wholly individualized experiences of others. While there are moments of shared experience, the cognitive frameworks that make us each who we are by intellect and personality and which we implement to assess […]

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The Gift of Self

As I was practicing yoga today, I thought, “You don’t need to compare yourself to others, they’re already doing it for you.” And then I came home with my head all full of thoughts to find my spouse. In the past when I have reflected on some of my less stellar moments as a a […]

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Seasonal Aching

Although my children rejoice at the sight of the first snow accumulation of the year, for me there is something haunting and unsettling about it. In addition to the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion that winter has arrived, there is an accompanying feeling of dread. This foreboding is in two parts: macro and micro. The external, […]

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