Clare Consultation, LLCMeanwhile, on Christmas Day 2010
Meanwhile, deep beneath this winter ground a reliable impulse moves the seasons. And at the center of these long nights and fleeting days eternal wisdom radiates in the celebrations of people. Celebrations of dignity surviving enslavement, celebrations of just enough lamp oil, and celebrations of a baby born to an everyday woman — mother and child enduring beacons of faith and essential good will. Amidst these miracles of change and constancy the… Read More
Intersections
Walking south on NE 28th Ave. under my new umbrella (the other one blew out in yesterday’s storm), I came to the corner at Flanders St. A man in full raingear – the heavy orange plastic stuff – stood on tiptoes behind an enormous canvass sign. The sign was as orange as the man. Although a square, it was situated as a diamond to warn oncoming traffic of the roadwork ahead. The… Read More
Only a Person
Yesterday evening I walked into the little Whole Foods in my neighborhood. It was actually more like late afternoon on a typically chilly, misty and too-soon-dark December 1 in Oregon. But, I needed B vitamins and am always looking for a motive to get a bit of walking. I walked into the warmth of the store, headed toward the supplement area and turned a corner to see an older Tibetan man adorned… Read More
Gratitude and Coherence
“Often I can hardly hear what another says because of the internal noise that goes on in the judging of them.” David Brandon Zen and the art of helping. I’m reading about rhetoric – about the way words are used both to make sense of and to form our realities. I could be reading a novel or watching a movie. It is after all, the Thanksgiving holiday. Still, I’m captivated by the… Read More
Taxis, TSA & the Imprecision of Communication
Tuesday night I was in a Taxi in San Francisco. My companion and I sat in the back seat comfortable after another in a two-day series of divine dining experiences. Earlier in the evening we had walked downtown sidewalks under a sky defined by elegant angles of glass and steel reaching to frame the gibbous moon and Venus where they glittered in their particular harmony. We were looking for the Mexican fusion… Read More
Just Listen
Yesterday I came home, grabbed the blue nylon bag I use for light trips to the grocery store, and took off in search of … well … Rice Dream. Really – borderline hippie; soy, dairy and gluten free. It’s my latest answer to the love song of my sweetest tooth. To walk to the grocery store, I take the back steps and follow the sidewalk around to the front of the house. … Read More
Stories on the Night After the Election
Jarred the grocery store guy told me a story last night. We were talking about his work – he’s something of a mid management type with responsibility for ensuring the identification and obstruction of shop lifters. “Yeah. I can recognize them because I’ve been there. I wasn’t there long and I’m not proud of it, but that’s a big part of how I know them when I see them.” Jarred is in… Read More
Gay Teen Suicide: Yes, Listening is a Matter of Life or Death
I’m from Texas. I haven’t lived there for 22 years, but I am from Texas. And I love very much about the State. There are also things – particularly things political, educational and environmental that get me a little crazy about my homeland. Then this week I found a you tube video that made me so very proud to be from Texas – proud of the elected member of the Fort Worth… Read More
Generations of the Social Network
I’m on Facebook. So is EX:Change. This is all because I have a daughter in her early 20s. She lives across the pond – far away from Oregon. I, of course, want to keep up in all the ways that work for her. Mostly we Skype, but FB, her I-phone, a smattering of e-mail and (very occasionally) the international postal network all come into play. Given my generation, being on Facebook may… Read More
Columbus Day: Do You Know Where You Are?
Yesterday I sat again across a small table from Dr. Dapo, one of the 100 voices of EX:Change (EX:C blog, “What’s in a Name?” 4-13-2010). We had seen one another on Multnomah Ave. several weeks earlier. I was walking fast toward the Max Station and Dapo was driving in the opposite direction. He honked and we stopped traffic for long enough to promise to find yesterday’s tea and coffee. Dapo (as he… Read More