The Marine Corps motto is ‘Semper Fidelis’ – Always Faithful. For those of us who served in the Corps, there’s another motto we heard regularly as well: ‘Semper Gumby.’ This amusing saying means ‘Always Flexible.’ I’ve been thinking about it a fair bit as the latest pendulum swing of the pandemic knocks over various events,…
Tag: pandemic
I find myself repeating a few different themes throughout my work and teachings. Know who you are. Know what you want. If you have those two things, or either of them, at least partially figured out, you’ll weather everything better. And that’s important. Because here we go again. The tide is starting to turn. The…
One of the memes floating around right now talks about the difference between nice and kind, and the way people can be one but not the other. It relates those concepts to different regions of the United States. That meme generates a chuckle for me since the east coast is associated with being kind but…
When I was a kid, I spent many of my summers attending YMCA Day Camp programs. I grew up in Frederick, MD, and the region is blessed with abundant parks and forests. For each session of summer camp I attended, I had a buddy assigned to me. One of the camp field trips I went…
This short meditation was offered for the August 23rd service streaming service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. Full text below: I don’t remember where I first heard it, but somehow I learned the phrase ‘if you want to know where a culture will be in 20 years, look at where the counterculture…
A little over 20 years ago, I joined the Marine Corps. Yeah, most people make that face when they find out. I know it does not seem terribly likely. It is, however, 100% true. What can I say? At age 18, I desperately needed the structure and discipline of the military. To be utterly frank,…
Start with this moment, this space, this exact point in time. Take a deep breath in and let it out on a sigh. Relax your jaw. Roll your shoulders and then reach your arms up overhead for a stretch. Now, let’s talk. The work of metaphysics, simplified, is the direction of energy by mind and…
What can I say that ten thousand other writers have not? Right now, our entire world is sharing a new experience. Our ‘normal’ has come to a screeching halt. We are learning new ways to move through our days, encountering new obstacles and finding new silver linings. We are all off kilter. NONE of us…