Positive Vibes
A blog that explores authentic human connection
02/22/12A song in her heartA true survivor turned eighty yesterday. It was a celebration of my Aunt Jackie’s eight decades on the planet. I bought her a rock. On one side of the rock someone had carved a happy face. The other side of the rock had a face that was a wrinkle-browed frown. What I remember most about visiting her house as a child is chaos. The large three-story monstrosity was centered in a densely populated area of the city. There were Jackie’s nine children, all of their neighborhood friends, two wiener dogs and piles and piles of dirty clothes. I always felt like I was in the ring with a bunch of angry wrestlers fighting to the death, but somehow I was never touched in the fray. At a point the kicking and screaming disappeared into the fabric of the other activities... Posted at 02:09 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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02/09/12The crooked and the trueGrowth occurs in our biggest challenges. |
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01/31/12Burn the shipsWe all fall prey to habits and behaviors that keep us from our destiny |
01/31/12A new way to see the worldIn Quentin Tarantino’s seminal film Pulp Fiction one of the key charactors, Jules Winnfield, says something that always stood out to me, “I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard.” Jules has had a “moment of clarity,” a term he uses earlier in the film. He’s trying to make heads or tails of his past, his role in the present, and how he can adjust for the future. I had such a moment – back in February, specifically in regard to the way I judge people. I judge people every moment of every day- maybe you do. I critique people based on a wide variety of things: how they speak, how they dress, how clearly they express their ideas and emotions, how intelligent they seem to be. And that’s just for the people I don’t... |
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01/31/12Removing the shadow of selfWe came from a hard place. We were clever, witty and smart. That was our currency. We prided ourselves on our ability to see beyond and beneath the obvious. We were smart, products of the best schools in the country. We traded inside jokes and had little truck with anyone outside our circle. We were free of emotion, absent of attachment. We were the best the country had to offer. People knew our names and faces from New York to Los Angeles, from Chicago to San Francisco. We were paid well and treated grandly. People loved us. They hated us. We said we didn’t care. We lied. We reveled in the recognition. We were young. We were full of ourselves. We were good. We knew it, and there was something else. We weren’t very kind. With time, we all came back to earth. One... Posted at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
10/06/11Can’t Stomach CancerStomach cancer diagnosis leads to a change of life and a new beginning. Posted at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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05/12/11The Laughing HeartA shining light that shatters darkness |
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05/01/11Kill the mole!My dog continues to dig for moles… although he’s never found one. He can smell them… but he can’t seem to catch up with their current location. Moles are everywhere in our yard. I can’t see them but I can see where they’ve been. The evidence is in the raised tunnels and dying grass that they leave in their wake. They tell me that the reason I have moles is the abundance of grub worms. So it’s really a bunch of little ugly white worms that cause my lawn to be lumpy and brown. (Warning: If you are feeling uneasy… it’s because you are already onto the analogy that lurks in this underground ecosystem) Self defeating behavior is the “mole” in our actions. But it’s those little grub worms of... |
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03/31/11Long hall of memoriesIt’s here again, baseball season, my favorite time of the year, seven months of daily song. It’s not that I’m an avid fan of a particular team, though I do have a certain fondness for the Red Sox and Cardinals. The Yankees and Dodgers always interest me, and, just because it has been so long, I would dearly love to see the Cubs win. In the end, I don’t really care who ends up in the World Series. I just like baseball. Almost any game is good enough for me. I like the pace and peace of the game. It’s like Paul Simon said, “I always get very calm with baseball.” The great bards who have addressed baseball speak of its pastoral nature and perfect symmetry, and I suppose there is truth and... |
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03/08/11An Afternoon with RembrandtGrowing up, art didn’t play a significant role in our home. Oh, mom had a book on the impressionists and the house was sprinkled with small pictures of fruit and flowers. My father’s taste in art was vastly different and – to a young boy – far more interesting. Down at the garage where he and his brothers fixed cars and trucks for nearly everyone in our little town, there were pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Anita Ekberg and Jane Russell on the walls. There were also calendars with Daisy Mae girls holding box wrenches and oil filters. One time I nudged my uncle Orville and asked him why the calendars were old, not up to date. He wiped his hands with a shop rag, smiled and said: “Boy, we know the date. These ain’t about... |
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