Music and Stories for the Journey
I recently encountered the story of Rengetsu (1791-1875) — a Japanese Buddhist nun with an extraordinary story. She was the love child of a geisha and a high ranking samurai. At 10 days old she was adopted by new parents. As a teen she was called to serve as an attendant at Kameoka Castle, and
It seems to me that humans occupy two worlds at the same time. One is the external physical world, the other is our inner psychic world — the world of our inner consciousness. As we explore the physical world, we encounter other beings who seem to have an inner world like ours: fellow humans, and animals, such
Which raises the question: what’s the difference? Here’s my take: Wisdom is the ability to make decisions based on personal knowledge, experience, and deep understanding. It involves a holistic grasp of circumstances, including their moral, social, and practical aspects. It’s characterized by insight, ethical understanding, compassion, and the ability to see the big picture. It
There isn’t just one ‘Grail’ story, it was a story concept addressed by many authors over decades. A few of the more significant examples would include: The Perceval, le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail) by Chrétien de Troyes (c. 1190). In this long but incomplete poem, the grail was a simple bowl
Once upon a time, there was a farmer. The farmer had a stallion, and one day it got out and ran away. All the neighbors said, “Alas, dismay! Your stallion ran away! Aren’t you unlucky?” The farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.” The next day the stallion returned, followed by a filly. The neighbors said,
Sir Edmund Hillary, who with Tenzing Norgay was the first to climb Mount Everest, famously said “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” Others have expressed similar sentiments: Buddha: “It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.” Plato: “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” Napoleon Hill: “The
Once upon a time there were two towns: Erehwmorf (“fromwhere” backwards) and Erehwot (“towhere” backwards) and a highway ran between them. On this highway was an espresso stand, and the barista would chat with travelers who stopped for a grande, half-caff, double-shot, non-fat soy latte with a splash of almond milk and a pinch of
Once upon a time an angel was asked, “Please show me Heaven and Hell!” First the angel presented a room with a large round table and a pot of stew in the middle. It smelled delicious, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They were holding spoons with very long handles
Sadly, too many of us have experienced abuse as kids — physical and/or emotional. Statistically speaking, you dear reader, are likely one of them. So I have a story about a major chapter in my Journey. A story about how I face-planted into Tough Love for myself. First, the story, and then some observations on
Creativity isn’t just for ‘creatives’. We all need it. “What do I do with my life?” — we all have to create our own solutions, our own answers to that question. At work, with your friends and family, in almost everything you do, you are constantly coming up with solutions big and small that are