It has been a year since my first book went live and was available through all principal online channels (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Chapters/Indigo, as well as my publisher iUniverse), so it is time to “take stock.” Using a cliché like “take stock” is something a writer should avoid at all costs, unless of course, he is trying to get his readers attention. When my son-in-law, who is an assistant manager at a Walmart store takes stock, he calls…..
The End of the Year 2015 – Reaching for New Horizons 2016 As 2015 fades and another New Year approaches, the plethora of shows reviewing the year that was is upon is. Perhaps it is appropriate to do a little review of how the year progressed for each of us too. It may not be on your agenda, but it is on mine because this was the year I became a published writer. In the interest of full disclosure,…..
My Wake Up and Smell the Roses One of the dominant themes in my book, Through a Lens of Emptiness: Reflections on Life, Longevity and Contentment, is the unity of man and nature. Although I draw heavily on the Symbolism in Asian style gardens (particularly Zen Gardens), I have always felt a kinship with the natural world. I am sure my children and grandchildren will remember how I would rather capture a spider found inside our house a release it…..
Remembrance Day 2015 This is the forty-seventh Remembrance Day of my lifetime. Before that, it would have been Veterans Day, because I was not a Canadian immigrant and resident until June 19th, 1968. There is a marked difference between Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the United States. There are no military parades down Main Streets festooned with national flags, nor marching bands and baton twirlers. There are only sombre ceremonies around the cenotaphs and such other war…..
The Decline and Fall of Accumulated Wisdom The leading edge of the post-World War II baby boom generation is approaching the beginning of its eighth decade, and the accumulated wisdom and experience of that group will soon disappear if nothing is done to preserve it. Some members of that wave of humanity haven’t made it this far for one reason or another and have already passed on. Any closely held thoughts and philosophies they generated are essentially inaccessible save those…..
Prompted by a columns in the Globe and Mail on Oct. 2nd and 3rd, 2015, “UN at 70 hears new tone of shared goals from world major powesr,” and “The UN has goals, but the action happens elsewhere.” Both articles are written by Doug Saunders. October 24, 1945, marked the founding of the United Nations. The hopes and dreams for peace in the world were pinned on this organization, above all others. Since its founding, the UN has had its…..
Enthusiasm Curbed Enthusiasm is an essential ingredient for maximizing life’s experiences. Wouldn’t it be terrific if all people had the opportunity to live life enthusiastically? Realistically, they don’t. I cannot imagine how people living in abject poverty or seeking refuge from political and military strife could muster much enthusiasm for anything. Seventy years ago, it was possible for the peoples of “first world” countries to be shielded from the daily onslaught of news about those in distress. In the second…..
Ambivalence This is the 14th anniversary of the catastrophic events at the WTC on September 11, 2001. We, my wife and I, are in New York City on the occasion of that dreadful anniversary, but not for that occasion. This just happens to be the week of we chose for our yearly visit to the city. In truth, neither of us even considered the significance of this week in the history of the USA until the day before our scheduled…..
The Dome of Heaven, a Contentment Tent I began my last post by disclosing my preoccupation with the idea of a personal Dome of Heaven. I considered that this concept may be new for some of my readers, so this post includes a brief introduction to it. My first encounter with the Dome of Heaven concept was through Anselm Kiefer’s artistic interpretation of the idea. After seeing his painting titled Everyman Stands Under His Own Dome of Heaven, and reading…..
The Tao of Grandparenting The idea that each person lives under his own Dome of Heaven dominated my earliest thoughts as I began blogging several years ago (see the early posts to www.dome-of-heaven.com). In those posts, I was preoccupied with articulating that philosophy. That preoccupation led to some overly dense prose. Since completing the project that is “Through a Lens of Emptiness: Reflections on Life, Longevity and Contentment”, my mindset as moved from the profound to the practical. The next…..
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