February 28, 2024

Call it bait and switch or just click bait, but a whole lot of the internet wants to say, “Made you look!” I am as susceptible as anyone, but resist and resent the idea that more likes and looks and clicks are what a blog is for.  Sure, without an audience, what good is it?  But is building the audience itself the point? A Drop of Water in the Comprehensive Ocean No doubt the internet and its children – blogs,... Read more

February 18, 2024

It’s been over a decade, but I made it back to Texas last week, a place so vast that the song – “I Saw Miles and Miles of Texas” – only touches the surface.  We lived there only four years, but any time you go back to your past you are on a pilgrimage to your past, to connect with “miles and miles of memories.” Needless to say, I wrote about it in my diary “This morning I took a... Read more

February 5, 2024

This is what I did a year ago, February 4th: It is my birthday, marking the biblical three score and ten, so naturally I decided to come to Israel and honor my passage here, with a long walk in the biblical woods, in the Shefla of Judea to be precise.  No snow, no ice, no cold, no party, no cake, just the peace of walking in the land of milk and honey. Think again. If you do a quick check... Read more

January 23, 2024

Where have I been?  Down A Rabbit Hole. I’m Late! For those who do not know, the phrase (originally “Down The Rabbit Hole”) comes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, when Alice follows the rabbit and ends up in Wonderland.   It has since appeared as a metaphor in various forms and meanings, which now most often is, “we got interested in something to the point of distraction.”  and it all started with the image of a rabbit with a pocket watch... Read more

January 9, 2024

Holy books are given to catch phrases, like this one, “Verily I say unto you,” which appears in Christian Scriptures upwards of 75 times.  But does saying it make it so?  Another catch phrase, Russian in this case, comes to mind when hearing someone say, ‘verily.’ ‘Trust, But Verify’ That’s what separates me from other pilgrims in Israel.  Just because someone says this is the place where (insert event) happened, does not prove it did.  Did I not mention the... Read more

January 1, 2024

On News Year’s Day everything seems simple – what could be simpler than 01/01 – but in fact “it’s complicated.”  Full disclosure.  I have not seen the movie, and when I use the phrase I mean something more than rom-com tropes. I mean that no slates have been wiped clean, no pages have been turned; what was true yesterday is true today.  and what was true centuries ago is still true, driven home to me nearly a year ago. Now,... Read more

December 24, 2023

We all know the scene from that movie, even if we did not see the movie – “You can’t handle the truth!”  We could say the same thing to most Christians when it comes to Christmas – “You can’t handle the truth.”  Bethlehem is a fairy tale. Nazareth is where you must go.  But first I must ask, “Can You Handle the Truth?” Can Anything Good come out of Nazareth? In the spirit of Pilgrim Life, which is always revelation... Read more

December 15, 2023

Forty five minutes early (unheard of) I arrived at Laguardia Airport and in short order was deep inside the cauldron that is New York.  It is a ‘hell of a town.’ as the song says.  The lyrics say ‘wonderful’ not ‘hell of’ but I bet you thought it was hell.  And it is, in both senses of the word. Renewing my Palace of Memory Have you heard of the “Palace of Memory?”  It is one version of a mnemonic practic... Read more

November 27, 2023

Who else remembers a 1960s Western called “Branded!” about a soldier falsely accused of cowardice and drummed out of the army in the wild west? Branding used to be Bad … coming from the act of burning a permanent mark into a cow or sheep to prove ownership.  Today, though, being “branded” means you have created a distinct style that identifies you in the hubbub of commerce.  More important than product or service is being well “branded!” Have I pitched... Read more

November 15, 2023

Jack Kornfield is famous for his book “After the Ecstasy, the Laundry” I haven’t read it, nor any of his other books.  So why mention him?  Because it inspired my title.  It will take a moment to explain why, though; maybe a few moments.  Let’s start with last night. Dinner is done – a melange of leftover roasted vegetables and a piece of bread with a smear of ricotta and olive oil. Very filling and satisfying.  Dishes dealt with, I... Read more

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