-
Solitary Blue Herons
Every evening at dusk, I ride my bike in Asbury by a lake that has two solitary Blue Herons. Usually, they are on the same side of the lake and often they are standing quietly in the water. Blue Herons nest and do have families, but after that they spend most of their time alone. They are carnivores, eating fish and turtles and other creatures. It is easier to catch food when you are alone. There are also two white Egrets by themselves, socially distanced from the Blue Herons. I can identify with both the Blue Heron and the Egret in their solitariness. For me there is no prey, but…
-
To Find a Voice
The World Food Program was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its response to the surge in global hunger across the world brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. David Beasley, the program’s executive director was found in the field — Niger– elated to turn the spotlight on the millions who struggle to have enough to eat. Niger is a landlocked country and prone to draught and famines. The people around him were clapping and dancing with joy. Oh turn your swords into “ploughshares.” The American poet Louise Gluck (pronounced Glick) won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I do not know her poetry well, but bookstores will soon be replenished of…
-
Job and Our Suffering
Last week at a small Bible study group of four women, we chose the Book of Job to study for the next few weeks. When I began to read it I wondered why I was so interested in studying a book full of relentless suffering. It was difficult just to read the first few chapters. Take a look at the above engraving by William Blake. This is how Job begins — prosperous — a big family, great riches and lots of animals. Shortly after we began the book, there was an OP-ED on Saturday, September 26th in the NY Times. The title was ” How Can We Bear This Much…
-
Things to be sure about —
Throughout this time of isolation, I have had my fair share of Netflix and Amazon Prime shows watched. Now I have stopped the binging and am reading more about nature, fiction, and keeping active biking, volunteering with animals and singing. It is evident from the shows I indulged in that no matter how imperfect families can be, the “hold” which is the love that a family has can be strong in the midst of change. My extended family stretches from PA, to NJ, upstate NY, and WA. state, but it is knit not only by DNA, but also common traits and interests. It is also bound by the beliefs and…
-
In flight
The season of migration is upon us. Some of it we see right in front of our eyes and some of it goes unnoticed. I’ve been reading Helen Macdonald’s book Vesper Flights. She opens our eyes to the unseen flights of birds and other creatures. These are magical essays predominantly about nature. Macdonald is an expert writer on nature and you may have read her best-selling book — H is for Hawk. Helen is also a poet. She shows us many aspects of nature which will move us beyond the boundaries of our present lives. In the essay called “High Rise,” we venture into the city of New York to…
-
Kindness must watch for me
I find myself unable to edit the blogs I write, so I send them back to the “draft” stage. It is as though I can only write in the immediate moment — the true present. It is also hard to find my true voice. My desperation comes out of anger, not depression. This poem by James Agee has rung true for me for many years, but now during this pandemic, this time of moral unrest and economic injustice, I believe it is particularly meaningful. Here it is both the poetic form and the song composed by Morten Lauridsen. Sure on this shining night Sure on this shining nightOf star made…
-
The Sun over my Shoulders
In the middle of the journey of my life, I came to find myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost. It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood was, so that thinking of it recreates the fear. It is scarcely less bitter than death: but, in order to tell of the good that I found there, I must tell of the other things I saw there. Dark Woods and fear I cannot rightly say how I entered it. I was so full of sleep, at that point where I abandoned the true way. But when I reached the foot of a…
-
The summer the music died
Four years ago I left Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and moved to a small beach town called Asbury Park, New Jersey. It is not for everyone, but somehow it has suited me well. If given the opportunity I might have picked Dutchess County where I had lived on and off for over 13 years, but the shore beckoned. Asbury Park is best known for its favorite son — Bruce Springsteen. He appears locally quite a bit, but my only encounter with him was at our son’s school the night of his induction into the Honor Society. Bruce was there as well, celebrating his daughter’s own induction. I smiled at this handsome,…
-
Individuation
Jungian analyst Anthony Stevens writes in Private Myths: “Individuation is the process, simple or complex as the case may be, by which every living organism becomes what it was destined to become from the beginning. The purpose of this individuation process is to increase the individual’s consciousness. In the first half of life, we make our way through the world, doing our best to develop healthy egos. The first portion of life is mainly external as we seek to meet our basic needs. “From Jung’s outlook, the second part of life can represent a turning inward toward a deeper part of ourselves.This inward turn starts the individuation process.” I find myself…
-
RIP Dapper Dan
I got home the other day from grocery shopping — you know the kind we are used to doing now, mask on and six feet apart. Things went well until I got a call from my neighbor Amanda. “I’ve got very bad news,” she said. My heart froze. I said, “Nothing has happened to Dapper Dan, I hope?” But our beloved neighborhood cat that I gave lodging to had been hit by a car. He was gone. Shock to the psyche: Whatever adrenaline courses through ones’s life system, for me, it was shock rather than grief. I couldn’t fully imagine why and how it had happened. For me, he continued…
