In memory of my dear friend Thomas “Luke” Lukaszek
Yesterday I woke up from a dream about a former co-worker and friend, Chris, who had a stroke that he only partially recovered from. I thought briefly that maybe it was a sign that Chris passed away. But then my thoughts quickly jumped to Luke. Maybe my brain made that quick connection because Luke and I had tentatively planned to visit Chris together.
I remembered I hadn’t heard from Luke since he first returned from Colombia this past June.
Impact of the Border Closures
I had gotten a short email saying he’d finally been allowed to fly home to Vancouver after having been stranded in Colombia since March, when borders closed due to Covid-19. …
Pscychology, Sociology
Today’s climate of systemic racism implores us all to search within
I am white. I grew up in a predominantly white community in a small town in western Canada. The one black person in town was a child adopted by a white family. Everyone knew his first name whether they knew the family or not. That’s how “word” travels in small towns.
There was no diversity in my life. When my family moved to the city of Calgary, I got my first taste of diversity at school. Then, I was basically the only white kid in my class who made friends with non-white kids. …
Writing
Remember this simple copywriting strategy to write winning titles
I learned a lesson the other day about writing titles. More specifically, I was reminded something I learned many years ago in training to be a copywriter. It is this: never approach the task of writing a title lightly. I remembered that it’s critical to dig deep to find unique titles for my articles, stories, scripts, and poems.
This is how it went down that day.
Realizing My Title Had History
I was sitting at my desk, in front of my computer…thinking. Yup, there I was sitting and thinking when I happened to look up in time to catch a glimpse of a notification on my iPhone screen. …
Self, Philosophy, Spirituality
2000 years ago three Stoics mastered the art of self-reflection
I started writing daily in a journal about 40 years ago. Back then my purpose was to record my thoughts, experiences, and responses to those experiences. What locked me into the act of journaling back then was the multi-layered benefits.
Today, 40 years later, I can honestly report that I’ve discovered even more purposes and benefits of keeping a daily journal. But whatever your purpose is, the practice can make a marked impact on your life. I would go so far as to say, in fact, that benefits can be life-changing. A few of those benefits are…
- Track your emotional responses so that you can know yourself better. …
Suprising source of comfort for this solo traveler in Mexico
I felt eyes on me. The feeling was, ironically, not when I was out but when I was inside my vacation condo in Bucerias, Mexico. By the end of the day, the mystery was solved.
No longer did I tremor with thoughts of an imaginary pervert next door ogling me through a hole in the wall. Nope. I was sure it was the resident gecko’s eyes on me.
The condo was lovely. Built overlooking the beach, my bedroom was on that side of the building. …
A microfiction story to bid summer farewell
The ocean and the moon had captivated Jules’ imagination all her life. Sitting atop a cluster of rock, looking out at the cold Pacific Ocean, she felt a chill start at the top of her spine. Tip toeing downward, it lightly brushed each vertebrae until it reached the middle of her spine. There it sent a horizontal wave throughout her upper body. She shivered and the chill vanished.
Judging from the low position of the sun Jules knew the time had come. What with the strength of the surf pounding the rocks and the increasing volume of the water creeping closer to the huge cluster of rock she was perched on, it was imminent. …
“I absolutely feel an ongoing obligation to every source that was brave enough to help expose injustice”
The most shocking story to shake our culture to the bones in recent times — which morphed into a gazillion more stories — began the ‘Me Too’ movement. It began with a few solid journalists at the New York Times, namely Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor, and Ronan Farrow. These three hardworking journalists meticulously brought the real Harvey Weinstein out of the closet, opening the door to so many more high-profile closeted creeps.
Ronan Farrow, in particular, was just right for the massive undertaking he signed on for when he took on the Harvey Weinstein story. …
Forget the sob story…just turn to a new chapter!
Today I rediscovered yet another wondrous feature of my brain. It started with reflection.
Thinking back on summer now that September’s here, I recalled July. July was my poster child month, as I sailed through the days with satisfaction of near-daily publishing on Medium.
Then August snuck up on me. I faultered a bit at the beginning, but soon made up for missed days.
Now nearing the end of the first week of September, I’m uneasy. It has been a full 12 days since my last publication (which, ironically, was titled How to Find Your Mojo Again After Harsh Criticism)
Falling Out of Rythm
Now, you might be thinking I didn’t in fact find my mojo again. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. …
When a respected family member berates you for your choice
My content calendar does not contain the headline or sub-header that you see at the top of this page. Nor does it contain anything remotely having to do with this subject matter. Least of all this relevant image of the goats butting heads. What I tell you in a moment will explain why I chose this image.
Anyway, just to be clear, this article is entirely unplanned. Spontaneous. Unscripted. I had not scheduled to write about this — yet here we are. So let me fill you in on what’s transpired in my life to warrant this.
Writers Need to Share Links to Their Medium Content
I never fail to do it. We all do it. We love sharing our content, don’t we? You might not, but I think you enjoy sharing yours as much as I do mine. Whether you write stories, articles, poems, microfictions or essays you likely promote them in an effort to bolster the read time on your content. “Maybe this time it will go viral”, is what goes through many Medium writers’ minds as they copy and paste links to newly published content. …
Near Death Experiences Bring New Hope to Life
Have you ever had a Near Death Experience (NDE)? If not, maybe you haven’t heard or paid much attention to the term and don’t know what it means. As you probably guessed, it’s pretty much self-explanatory. In a word, it’s literally the experience of being nearly dead.
But it’s a misnomer in some cases. The experiences of people who are clinically dead for a brief time before being revived are also considered NDEs. So they are in — not near — death. They’ve arrived, but don’t stay long.
In any case, what’s fascinating is the ways in which people experience NDEs…and how profoundly those people change. …
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