meditations and dialogues about family, books, ideas, and the writing life
Posted in Blogging, Israel, Meditations on life, My first novel, Palestine, The Wall Street Journal, To Kill the Other on Jun 4th, 2011
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article, Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel, by Laura Meckler. An interesting article on a burning issue sparked more than 1,100 comments. Here is the exchange I had with one of the readers. The spelling, grammar, and wording is the same as it appeared on the Wall Street [...]
Posted in Childhood memories, Family, Listening is an Act of Love, Meditations on life, People in my life on May 17th, 2011
I suspect that most of us believe that memories preserve a moment in time, something that happened and now is being accessed and viewed “as it was once before.” I suspect that most of us believe in their memories and are attached to the very specific way something is remembered. But what do we really [...]
Posted in Childhood memories, Family, Meditations on life, People in my life on May 8th, 2011
When I think of my mom who passed away of ovarian cancer on November 7, 1999 at the age of 63, this is what I see: It was a hot summer day. My mom, my sister Aleksandra (we call her Ola or Olenka), and I are in the garden. I am 6 or 7 years [...]
Posted in Family, Meditations on life, Writing on Mar 27th, 2011
Perhaps the very essence of human nature calls for naming things to make sense of the world. I imagine the first humans touching rocks, blades of grass, newborn babies, and the fur of animals they killed. And making sounds — the first sounds that named the things they were touching. In my mind the sounds [...]
Posted in Childhood memories, Family, Meditations on life, People in my life on Jan 27th, 2011
I woke up this morning to a silence that was spreading inward and outward at the same time. Inward, I felt very centered, still chasing the tail of a dream while slowly reaching into the waking life. It was pleasant. Outward, I couldn’t hear any sounds outside the window and I imagined the snow that [...]
Posted in Childhood memories, Family, Meditations on life, People in my life on Nov 28th, 2010
… as I was saying “it” all started when I was six years old. I grew up in Gościcino (watch a short video here), in a single family house. My maternal grandparents lived on the first level of the house and my family — my parents, my sister Aleksandra, and I — lived on the [...]
Posted in Family, Meditations on life on Nov 24th, 2010
I give thanks for all the people in my life; family, friends, students, readers I know and the ones I don’t know, the ones I have met, and the ones I will never see in my life. I give thanks to you. Thank you for being in my life. Thanks by W. S. Merwin Listen [...]
Posted in Meditations on life on Nov 15th, 2010
“The only thing constant in life is change,” said the French writer François de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680). Even though the truth is familiar and easy to grasp, it is not easy to accept. Especially if what you have to do is leave something you love deeply. The Yoga Center of Columbia is the place I [...]
Posted in Meditations on life on Nov 9th, 2010
I look at pictures of Las Vegas on line and I want to measure up to the festive experience I sense in the spectacular lights and colors but I simply can’t anymore. My recent trip to Las Vegas, to attend the BlogWorld Conference, has changed my perception of this place irreversibly. And I am almost [...]
Posted in Books, Family, Listening is an Act of Love, Meditations on life, People in my life on Oct 3rd, 2010
I am reading Listening Is An Act of Love. It’s a collection of stories edited from transcripts of StoryCorps interviews. The StoryCorps self-described mission is to “to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.” From what I have been experiencing while reading [...]
