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Emotional Intelligence – how to feel
I am presently devouring the 3rd Season of “The Crown.” I don’t believe everything the Queen does and says in it is factual, but the actress Olivia Coleman is so good at times it seems as if I am in Buckingham Palace. In the episode I just saw there is a terrible mining disaster in Wales and many children are buried alive. Over 100 perish. Eventually the Queen visits the village, but she later confides to the Prime Minister that she does not know how to feel or how to weep. “I dabbed a bone-dry eye and by some miracle no one noticed, ” she confesses. Then, when she is…
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What gives light in winter
“Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled— to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world. I want to believe I am looking into the white fire of a great mystery. I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing— that the light is everything—that it is more than the sum of each flawed blossom rising and falling. And I do.” ― Mary Oliver, House of Light Now through December we will slowly watch darkness overcome light. December 22 is the Winter Solstice, when one of the earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the…
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The Millwright and the Poet
In 1989 I was working for Doubleday Publishing as a national account representative, when I had the privilege of meeting Max DePree. We were publishing his book “Leadership is an Art.” Max’s father D. J. De Pree was the founder of Herman Miller — the creator of fine furniture designed by American and International designers. In the 1920’s factories were not run by electric motors, but rather by a central pulley system and boilers fueled by a continuous supply of sawdust. The millwright was the man in charge of keeping the whole system running. The Poet at home During that period, the millwright died and Max’s father went to visit…
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Not one Sparrow is forgotten in your Sight
Have you ever found yourself mourning the death of an animal? This week I was helping my former husband with his 20 year-old cat named Proshka. Proshka was a determined and willful girl. She liked being inside, but she liked equally to be outside. She would throw her body against the door to come in even in the middle of the night. James said, ” she ruled me from the day she came into my life, but I loved her.” James compiled a brief “blessing” from prayers from the Russian Orthodox Church. It began: “O God of all spirits and of every flesh, everything that has breath praises you both…
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“She danced every dance. She was not a spectator.”
I found a small box that had some letters and photographs that I had not seen in many years. They were from my college years and I had not read them in a long time. I think these “acts of love” speak to the values in life that are important and I hope to never forget them. My beloved Shakespeare and Literature Professor and friend: The first envelope contained a letter from my favorite College Professor and Chairman of the Literature Department. I received this upon graduation and part of it read: ” To have you as one of our majors is a special privilege, and we trust we have…
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Indomitable spirit: Dr. Jane Goodall
I had the privilege of taking a “Master Class” online with Dr. Jane Goodall. It taught me an immense amount about her work and how she has pursued a life dedicated to chimps, their intelligence and conservation. She has also led the way in animal activism and environmental preservation. She sparkles with energy and hope I was most surprised by her broad acceptance of the human race. She is still hopeful in spite of all the destruction that is happening in the world. As she speaks, serenely dressed in a cape of dark green, her eyes dance with hope and energy. She glows with the confidence and intelligence of a…
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what will I do with the rest of my life?
I awoke in the middle of the night, my eyes full of tears and my heart beating rapidly. What could have provoked such a scare? I couldn’t remember anything happening during the day that would lead me down this path of anxiety. No bad dream. This was not about the mid-life “dark wood ” that Dante had spoken of so eloquently. I had passed through that years ago and managed to find happiness in spite of having left the publishing world earlier than I wished. Then it came to me. Recently I’d received a barrage of mail from Medicare. I was turning 65. What would I do with the rest…
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Chickens Roost to Sleep
The last animal I stopped eating was chicken. I don’t know why I continued to eat chicken for so long. But I must have had a wrong-headed idea about chickens. In July of 2018, I spent some days visiting my brother on his farm. 7 chickens and 2 roosters roamed the fields at their own will. These chickens were hybrid chickens–beautiful red and pink colors. One night we saw a fox on a far away hill and it looked as if it might be feeding cubs. This meant trouble for the chickens. We had already lost one chicken due to a unsuspected hole in their pen. The next night around…
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I’m Becoming My Mother
I believe that my mother was true to herself. She had her opinions and they were strong, but she was an honest, hard-working person with intelligence and a mind of her own. She could do almost anything she set her mind to do. She studied academic subjects in school, including Latin. After high school she went to Penn Commercial and became an outstanding typist, bookkeeper, and shorthand taker. These skills may sound foreign today, but in her day they were highly valued and any one of them could land you a good job. Here’s a small part of what she taught me by her actions. Love animals and take care…
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Winter Hibernation
It has been a bitter winter so far and I have been “curled” into myself since Christmas. It feels unusual and yet it feels good since I live in a beach town that is often busy with bathers and others getting away from the city to enjoy the sun and water. But now I have finally gotten out of the house to venture into New York City. A friend and I visited the Met for the better part of a day seeing Michelangelo’s drawings, paintings, sculptures and architectural works. It was truly amazing. I left my phone in my handbag preferring to enjoy them as I saw them. Then we…
