Hello Sobriety

January 26, 2023. That's the day my dad passed away. Twenty-eight days ago. Almost a month already. Jeesh. It's hard to believe. Even though we knew it was coming, it seems you can never fully prepare for the death of a loved one. Let alone a parent. My dad suffered from Alzheimers. He had been progressing further and further into the depths of this illness for nearly seven years. But it wasn't until he got sick with covid in August of 2021 that his health really began to decline. You see, up until then, my dad could still get around and mostly care for himself. I say that loosely because he still needed quite a bit of assistance, but not like he did after covid. To make a long story short, my dad was hospitalized twice while sick. I was the only one of my entire local family that wasn't sick, so the hospital kindly allowed me to stay with him. My dad's condition would not have understood, nor navigated, this week-long stay in the hospital by himself. And while it w...

Every year, right around December 27, we start to ask ourselves... what are my New Years resolutions?  And every year, we come up with a slew of things that we resolve to change. Lose weight. Stop smoking. Eat better. The list of improvements goes on and on. And most of the time, these resolutions only last a few days, at best . So what if we shifted our perspective and expectations a bit? What if instead of looking at these as resolutions, we look at these as intentions? Hmmm... let's break this thought down a bit more. According to the Oxford Languages definition, the word resolution means: 1. A firm decision to do, or not to do, something. 2. The quality of being determined to resolute. Now, let's look at the word INTENTION: 1. A thing intended; an aim or plan. And in medicine; 2. the healing process of a wound.  Holy cow!! "The healing process of a wound." How friggin' cool is that?! Already, just by shifting the word, we've shifted our thought towards the...

A few years ago, I spent two months in India. Six weeks living in an Ashram in Rishikesh, studying and practicing yoga. And the last two were spent traveling around a bit before returning to home to the states. While there, I met with two astrologists. Astrologists are big in India. After all, in India, astrology is regarded more as a science, presumably on par with biology, astronomy and physics. But that’s not what this is about… back to my readings. Both astrologists were in Rishikesh but non-related. As a matter of fact, one was the owner of a jewelry shop that I had just happened upon and while chatting, he took my hand and began reading me. Both astrologists told me many things that were wildly accurate. With absolutely no way for them to have known that about me. I mean, come on, I’m an American in India for crying out loud. They have truly never met me, nor had they ever met anyone who knew me. But still. They were point on with many specific and accurate statements (some way t...

“It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. I was so preposterously serious in those days, such a humorless little prig. Lightly, lightly – it’s the best advice ever given me. When it comes to dying even. Nothing ponderous, or portentous, or emphatic. No rhetoric, no tremolos, no self conscious persona putting on its celebrated imitation of Christ or Little Nell. And of course, no theology, no metaphysics. Just the fact of dying and the fact of the clear light. So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly. Lightly my darling, on tiptoes and no luggage, not even a sponge bag, completely unencumbered.” ~ Aldous Huxley, Island This is one of my favorite ...