Monday afternoon was sunny and crisply cold, the sky a rich winter blue. I attended the beautiful funeral of my friend Meg. Prayers in Hebrew, and of a more Buddhist nature were recited at the graveside service. Words from Shakespeare, Wendell Berry and a Michigan artist/naturalist Gwen Frostic were spoken. Several people stepped forth with stories from the…
Category: Community
“When sorrows come…”
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Hamlet to Horatio These last weeks I have been playing a minor character in the last production in the life of my friend Meg. She is dying from late stage breast cancer. I have written before about my views of…
Are you sure you really ever had cancer?
As I approach the anniversary of my diagnosis I have been reflecting on how far I have come. This post is perhaps a bit more in the realm of venting than usual. Details of my western medical treatments and their aftermath, along with the effects of impertinent questions. Read at your own risk. I will have my…
Honoring Birds & Día de los Muertos
Birds “Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Only a life lived for others is worth living.” –Albert Einstein We have a game we play each day when we go for our walk-…
Prodigal Daughter
Yesterday the rains returned, ending our days in the sun for the time being. We came back from our Southwest travels only to dive straight into some needed kinwork. Then last week I was gifted the opportunity to go to Breitenbush for a writing workshop taught by my friend Amy. Even though I had never met the fellow writers in…
Gift Economy
Our beloved and spoiled chickens lay the most beautiful eggs. Each time we travel to appointments with doctors and healers we try to bring them a dozen eggs. It is an effort to bring the transactions with my doctors closer to the gift economy- mutual benefit is the goal. I hope also that for my Portland doctors,…
An Essay on Transition
“Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.” Ian MacLaren We are here for such a short while, and never know when we may be departing. The sudden death of a friend this past week both hurts my heart, and opens me to being grateful that I am still here. I ache for…
Hell Yeah or No
Here is a bit of a modern proverb on how to negotiate our too busy lives by Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby!. It is only 1 minute long and definitely worth watching if you ever find yourself saying Yes to more than you can fit on your plate. http://vimeo.com/25496723 Since my diagnosis many people have offered…
The balm of human kindness…
When my family gathered to intern my father’s ashes in July 2011, I was overcome with the need for more ceremony. His ashes were contained inside a plastic bag within a plastic black box from the funeral home. The unimaginative, and cold hearted priest presented the most monotone and meaningless reading at the graveside you could…
Moving forward
So, we actually decided against changing to the treatment plan outlined in the April Fools post – though we hear it’s working great for some (see 4/1 comments). Tuesday’s final session of chemotherapy went smoothly. Now we’re in recovery mode, and Preparation-for-Surgery mode. Iris is spending extra time horizontal, reading books pertinent to treatment. We’re planning…
Those who have gone before.
Today my friend Patty Adelsberger would have been 44 years old. She died from ovarian cancer in 2010, the year we turned 40, and just a few years after her beloved mother died of the same disease. I met her at the Cambell Club Student Coop in Eugene the day I moved to Oregon in September 1990….
Riding the Pooka 