A couple of days ago my five-year-old son, Mr. D, wanted to join me when I took the dog for a walk. He loaded up a red wagon with two buckets and a tire pump and was ready to go. We passed our friendly neighbor who was out washing his truck. Mr. D said, “Hi, … More The Stuff We Carry With Us
Our dear friend Erin (Esoterica), is taking a leave of absence from posting to this blog. As we wish her wells on her travels and other endeavors, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate her contributions. Over a year-and-a-half, Erin has contributed incredible content and great writing in this space. Here are the top … More Celebration and Cheer
I’m deeply grateful I’m allowed to contribute among this community. But I have very, very, shamefully infrequently availed myself of this opportunity I haven’t written much in the past year; not just blog posts, but much of anything. Plays, prose, shopping lists. I’m not fully sure why. But I’ve tentatively started again. So I hope … More Just a Quick Hello
December 2023, and the first year of The Heart of the Matter blog is almost wrapped up. My first post here on the blog went live on January 21st. As they say, time flies…I was curious to see what I had written for that first post because honestly I’d totally forgotten. WOW! That was my … More Reflections
Let’s talk about the idea of light versus dark. There are a great number of social, cultural and religious ideals that offer a stark juxtaposition between light and dark. The viewpoint is often that darkness offers a state to be wary of, or has a capacity to undermine, or to the extreme, gives embodiment to … More Within Darkness There is Light
I can’t think of a more irritating thing to hear when you are crossing a patch of ice than, “Walk lightly!” But given the source, I took a deep breath and gave it a go. We were on Mt. Si, a popular training hike near North Bend, Washington and there were spots on the trail … More Walk Lightly
Holiday time brings a few friendly ghosts forward. I welcome them. No…not like the story of the “Disappearing Girl” that I shared recently. The rush of November and December will invariably stir up melancholy moments where I receive – gladly – glimpses of my dad. Tiny whispers as I hear myself think in ways he … More A Hug in Four Parts
“Now is the best time to make a change, for the future is built upon the choices we make today.” Unknown The latest school portraits of the granddaughters: These photos are placed with one on each side of my TV. Even when the TV is turned off I can see the faces of these beautiful … More Will Anyone Say Thank You In Twenty Years?
“One person caring about another represents life’s most significant value.” Jim Rohn I was struck by a moment of utter, age-related joy a few weeks ago which then turned to age-related horror. Given that we are discussing gratitude this month what better time can there be to share. Please note however, I AM poking fun … More Still Younger…With Some Wiser Tossed In
Fair warning- this is a rather meandering post today, more thoughts than an actual point, but it seems appropriate for the rainy day I see outside my window. Just some simple musing on our topic of curiosity so I hope you will add your thoughts in the comments. Curiosity is… Curiosity is a gift that … More Curiosity and Change Over the Lifespan
The Heart of the Matter 