All posts by gwk1938agmailcom

Riddles

Questions – What is 4,000 years old, but fresh as a daisy? What crosses all cultures but never moves? Answer – A riddle Riddles have an august history, with the earliest known riddle dating back some 4,000 years.  In that riddle, the question is asked “A person enters a house blind but exits seeing. What is it? […]

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Healing Pandemics

I‘ll never say that again!   I have taught creative writing over many years. When I ask at the first session why people who want to write don’t get around to doing it, the common response is “I don’t have anything to say.” They are wrong, but it takes a while for them to believe that […]

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Whoa Nellie

Writing about Parkinson’s is a trickier business than I thought it would be. In my earlier pieces I shared my struggles with this pernicious disease over a fifteen-year period. What did I learn –  that the future will bring new patterns, further debilitation, and less capacity. These patterns can appear early or late in the process, […]

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Birthday Lessons

In late October Helen and I flew to the mid-Hudson Valley in New York State, a place which had cradled us for some thirty years, to celebrate my 80th birthday. We could have waited until late December to celebrate the occasion (the actual date), but flying in mid-winter is likely to subject travelers to weather […]

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The Inventory Game

Dear Friends, I have been celebrating my eightieth birthday since the end of October and it seems as though good wishes will continue for a while. Often the wishes come with a question – now that you have been around for eighty years – what have you learned, what advice would you pass along, what mistakes […]

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Sanctuary

I have been involved with the Omega Institute—a nonprofit, mission-driven, and donor-supported educational organization—in many capacities over several years. Its reach has captured my heart and held my attention. For more than 40 years Omega has been a pioneer in holistic studies—helping people and organizations integrate personal growth and social change, moving beyond “the way […]

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Perspective

Perspective is the way we organize relationships in the world. Sometime it’s big or little, strong or weak, close or distant, up or down, fast or slow, healthy or sick, rich or poor, smart or dumb, friend or foe, cold or hot, open or closed, give or take, near or far, win or lose, laugh […]

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Take Three Deep Breaths

Helen was just going out the door, a bit behind schedule and a little anxious about her upcoming meeting. As she left, I suggested that she take three deep breaths. That is often the same way I begin programs or talks I offer. People lead busy lives. They rush from one meeting to the next, one […]

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Blessing December 2017

Are you attracted to solitary endeavors, or do you yearn for connection  to a common design?   Are you drawn to the power that comes with wealth and age,  or are you attracted to the wisdom that harnesses such power?  Are you in pain from losses that tear at the tissues of your heart, or can you generate hope to […]

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Listening Well

Many years ago, a colleague and I taught a program at the Omega Institute on the subject of quality listening. Even though we were aware that such listening cannot be accomplished solely from an intellectual perspective, we emphasized features involved in deep listening from a left-brain perspective over those attributed to teaching from a right-brain […]

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