A Clutter of Emotion

I just recently moved. Changed my address and jump started my life again. The one thing that has complicated my endeavor has been the debris of my past existence. Kind of like clutter from another universe, it swirls and turns, it entices but it leaves us without culmination.

As for me, I'm not sure that I believe in saving sentiment. I mean, after all once something has happened, if you cannot remember it, than it is probably not worth remembering. However, tangible items tend to trigger a response. They are a physical reminder of a journey that has become cerebral. Therein lies the answer!

There is nothing like a move to unleash pent up emotions that have been cemented in time and weigh heavy on the soul. Much like bindings they can hold one suspended in time and imprison the soul in a frozen zone where life cannot respond. It may sound queer but there is a thing that happens in a move, whether physical or mental, and that is the trigger to purge. Raw emotions can, if left to serve, create a kind of reset button.

Much like life itself, shedding the past skin can aid its revitalization and regrowth. So as I move on I will still remember every instance of past pleasures and pains. But, put in their place, they allow me to enjoy the future ahead and make it a more perfect place to be ...

A Walk Through the Forest

The forest was dark and misty as I waked silently through it's cathedral like arch of branches. A feeling of loneliness crept over me and took hold of my being. I felt lost, alone and began to despair. When was it that winter had come and how long would it be before new growth would bring color to this desolate place?

Many times I had ran and played below it's lofty canopy and many more times had watched as the dappled sunlight illuminated the fragrant flowers and new born leaves while woodland creatures scampered. But now it was stagnant and somber.

At once I heard the Robin's song. A song of promise and a sight to behold. He sang of times both new and old. He sang of life and love, and hope, of seasons still to unfold. Remember, said he, when the old growth dies and interrupts the flow, the dead wood must be cleared to allow the new to grow.

For if in angst we turn our head and do not see the joy, that lay within the dormant seed it will never be ours to enjoy. So walk with purpose, walk with pride and keep your vision strong, for negatives that can occur will fester if left long.

So listen to the positive and let your spirit flow, the seasons of, and in your mind will make the forest grow.

Lamb or Lion

Looking out my window this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see a dusting of snow on the ground. A little bonus from the winter's retreat before the warm and gentle breezes of spring appear.

I know that most people look forward to the return of warm weather and so do I. But as a long time Midwesterner I have to say that I enjoy the wilds of winter as well. "There is a Time and Season for everything" as the saying goes, and I for one enjoy them all.

When I was a young boy I remember my grandmother telling me things about the nature of Mother Nature.  Things like how to tell when it going to rain, how to listen to the wind when awaiting a storm, and when to plant the seeds of spring. Grandma, being a farmer  early on, had an intimate relationship with nature.

One of her favorite saying was about March - lamb or lion. As the saying goes should March enter as the lamb then beware the lion when it leaves, or if the lions enters first then the lamb will follow with an early spring.

I guess I find comfort most times in the mere fact that nature can be relied on to set our pace for the year to come. This years it seems that, for the moment at least, we are back on course and that this early paschal lamb may in fact bring us an early spring as well.

But whether lion or lamp it is nice to know that I have survived another winter. So I will take comfort in natures gift and use it to help me plant my seeds of spring renewal once again.

The Mountain and Me



Every time I come to this place I am always mesmerized by the many changing faces of my mountain.

Sometimes a brooding giant laid heavy with clouds of snow and rain, sometimes a lofty spectacle of sun and wind again, but always solid in it's stance and ever more a friend.

To be apart of its silent synergy is a lasting love and to breath its lithe air combed clean by the pines is a delight indeed. Of granite made yet gathering within its embrace the many and varied desert flora and fauna it stands ready for the day.

How many times have it felt its strength in the morning hours when, awaking to the desert sun, it's beacon ignites and sets the valley on fire with its reflection.

How many more moments have I looked in aw at it's staggering peaks and rocky valleys punctuated by bristles of cactus and yucca, bringing a prickly softness to its otherwise austere face.

This time I know it intimately, and this time I feel it more profoundly. In a few days I must leave its domain but I will feel it all the same. Whether in the desert or back in the plains, my mountain will be with me all the same.

You see, what I have discovered, and it was a surprise to see - I am the mountain because the mountain is in me.

High Flying Adored

Ah, to be in the air again! Winging my way to the sunshine of the desert and clearing my mind of all the mundane challenges of the past weeks is a wonderful feeling indeed.

This time however is very different. This time I feel as though I am traveling with my entire life in my pocket. I have often talked of change before but this time there is an urgency to it. As if time has whispered in my ear "it is your moment to shine again - cast off your earthly mantle and fly with me"!

Time can be either a formidable predator or a close and loving friend. Over the years I have experienced both. Now, in what I have come to call "my Fifth Act", I feel a certain freedom in the knowledge of just what I have accomplished. After all it is not every one who can say that they have survived over six decades, managed a successful business for over 35 years, survived three long time relationships, and written four books.

Now in my fifth Act, I have actually entered into a new a wonderful relationship and am fully expecting to begin life again, one more time, and with all the gusto I can manage. Armed with a loving partner and overflowing with the promise of tomorrow, I feel as light as the air around me.

So hello desert, here I come. Hello desert my long time mentor, make your magic one more time for me and cast your spell again. I am such a lucky person to have been privy to the best, and wors,t in life. So fortunate to be apart of it all. Pardon me but I really do feel "high flying and adored"!

Winter Doldrums

Now that the holidays have settled in and the slush of the winter's doldrums is upon us. The season of sparkle lies frozen under a drift of snow, liberally seasoned with a handful of road salt, and those dull sunless days have descended upon us once more. The only remedy is to escape!

Book that ticket to a tropical paradise or fly off to a grand ski soirée in Aspen or Biarritz. Where ever your magical, therapeutic destination might be, you can always count on it to stimulate and revive.

That is unless you are unfortunate enough to land in one of those new and random, climate change, "got ya" spots ...

That's right, the new year is full of new surprises! 60 degrees in Chicago in February, or 100 plus in Australia. Roll the dice and take your pick, cause where ever you go Mother Nature has a surprise in store for you. Unless of course, you go where I always go this time of the year - that's right. The desert! Where the weather is always unstable as the temperature can vary from 30 and frosty to 90 and sunny, but the pool is heated and the jacuzzi is always ready for a whirl ...

The perils of climate change are with us for sure, but we are adaptors aren't we? We helped make it, so why not try to enjoy it while we can?

See you there!

The Stealthy Beast Approahes

February is approaching like a stealthy beast. The hour is upon me that society has designated the official end to all things juvenile and anything involving fun or abandonment.

It is the dawn of my Medicare Birthday! A day to both dread and celebrate at the same time ... a time to reflect and regret, or maybe rejoice and enjoy?

The one thing that I have come to terms with over these past decades is that there no time or season that really defines us. In fact the mere fact that we have survived (and hopefully prospered) these many years is a major accomplishment, if not a miracle indeed!

It seems that I have always been here, where I am am right now, but not with all the conviction that I now posses. You see, there is a most definite thread in our lives that if kept strong and intact will lead us though life's happiest and most difficult moments as well. The essence of pure light that demands us to feel and be real - to live and love, and transcend all.

Before you think "how pompous he is" or " what does he know", let me just say this. I have spent my life as a student and then as a teacher. I have listened and learned many times over. I have loved and lost, have rejoiced and grieved. But the one thing that has sustained me, I think, is that rather ethereal and illusive moment when all becomes clear for an instant and the universe makes sense.

Now having said that, let me caution you to beware! Because if that moment is not captured immediately at the time of exposure it may be lost much as a photo and the next illumination may never occur.

So once again let me say - life is everything, it is joy and happiness, it is sorrow and pain, it is all that we desire and all that we disdain. It is the culmination of our soul searching for light and it is the beginning of our infinite plight.

Live life in the moment - but make that moment profound!