Life Commentary

Thoughts and observations on the everyday challenges of what it means to be a human on planet Earth.

This I Believe

August 23, 2018

I’ve long been a subscriber to NPR’s “This I Believe” podcast. It’s a program modeled after the radio series of the same name, done by Edward R. Murrow in the 1950s. (I remember that one.) In its daily postings, people from all walks of life speak to a powerfully-held personal belief, and offer a story […]

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Drama, Hype and Irresponsible Reporting

June 4, 2018

I saw a headline in USA Today (June 4) that read: “Hawaii Volcano Sparks Irrational Travel Fears.” I think the writer left out one (important) word. It could, more accurately, have read: “Hawaii Volcano REPORTING Sparks Irrational Travel Fears.” It seems that what’s missing for almost all the reporting on Kilauea’s most recent eruptions is any sense […]

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The Way It Was … Still Is

December 9, 2012

Amidst the fast pace, the bureaucracy, the superficiality of it all, I find comfort when “they way it was … still is.” Not that this should be out of the ordinary, but it seems we’ve redefined “ordinary” in our world to include the stress, overwhelm and distraction we all experience as everyday life. This one […]

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This I Believe

June 9, 2012

I’m in the process of creating a welcome video for my website, and doing so has led me to explore more deeply who I am and what I do. Embracing this primal energy fueling my life is a continuing source of both clarity and freedom for me – clarity, from a sense of knowing far […]

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Noise-Canceling Headsets for Our Listening

May 6, 2012

  Do you find that some people just rub you the wrong way, regardless of what they’re talking about, even if it’s a topic that matters to you? If so, you may experience only their “difficult presence,” missing the message entirely, taking things personally, or both. Why? When we speak, we don’t just say what […]

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Personal Clarity Leads to Freedom

April 23, 2012

 Do you find yourself stressing through your day, perhaps with the hope that if you get enough done, you’ll feel more at peace? Even if only unconsciously, most people seem to relate a sense of accomplishment to the experience of peace and freedom. The way I see it, however, the best you get after a […]

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Who Says There’s No Cooperation in Government

November 27, 2011

Most days, I walk 3 or 4 miles somewhere in nature. It’s exercise, it’s quiet time, and it reconnects me with the mystery and unity of all life. One of my local favorites here on Cape Cod is the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge. It’s rather ordinary in some respects, but it’s also part of the […]

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Celebrate What’s Right

November 14, 2011

Dewitt Jones is perhaps my favorite nature photographer. It’s not just because his images are spectacular, which they are. It’s more because he brings to his images a deep insight about life, and about how our ways of seeing impact our experience of life. His words are simple, yet they touch me deeply. Each week […]

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On Human Control of Nature

May 14, 2011

On more than one occasion over the years, I’ve written about man’s attempts at controlling nature. Perhaps there’s no better (worse?) example than the decades-long battle being waged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers against the course of the Mississippi River. I got a few snide comments about my early writings, about how I […]

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“It is what it is”

January 24, 2011

“It is what it is.” To some, it’s a brilliant and freeing perspective on life. To others, it’s new-age denial of life’s “obvious difficulty.” To nature, it’s all there is. Nature has been a powerful, in-your-face, yet compassionate, teacher throughout my life. Being fully present in nature allows me to listen clearly to her lessons. […]

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