A Figure, Seen from the Back, Forever Approaching

Lisel Mueller, inspiring a meditation on things coming up: 'A Figure, Seen from the Back, Forever Approaching'

[Image: “Mind Your Head,” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.)] We will be leaving Las Vegas on June 1 — headed first for the Grand Canyon, and then for a Grand Tour of California: Joshua Tree, and then over to San Diego and on up the coast to see the redwoods in the north. (We’ll do a little jog east for Yosemite and…

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Strange, Demented Conviction

Jennifer Michael Hecht, Richard Powers, Yoshida Kenko: 'Strange, Demented Conviction'

[Slideshow: “Desert Overstory,” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.) It represents something of an homage to Richard Powers’s novel, The Overstory, from which I quote below. Taken together, the two images ask: what are trees trying to tell us? and does the message change with context? can we help them to say it, by…

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Finding the End in the Middle

Tony Hoagland, et al., on karma: 'Finding the End in the Middle'

[Image: “Lemme Out!,” by Alan Levine. Found it on Flickr, of course; there, the photographer explains that he released the wasp unharmed after taking the photo — and pleads, jokingly, for a bit of karmic payback for his good deed. But in the context of this week’s post, I couldn’t help thinking of the wasp’s own experience of karma, before and after release…] Let’s talk about karma — that…

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[email protected]: In Search of Stasis

Marge Piercy, Louise Glück, and some thoughts on restlessness...

[Image: Cover of Off Flew the Hat, a 2017 children’s book by Nili Ariely about — apparently — the pleasures of writing a blog over the course of many years. Says the description at that Amazon page, it’s about “about the wonders of discovery and friendship.” But even absent the latter — fresh friendships and shared discoveries — there’s always the thrill of a new discovery for oneself…] In a…

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There'll Be New Dreams, Maybe Better Dreams and Plenty...

Jan Zwicky, Alicia Ostriker, Marilyn Singer: 'There'll Be New Dreams, Maybe Better Dreams and Plenty...'

[Image: “Outliers (Hiding in the Crowd),” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.)] The Missus and I have been more or less parked here in Las Vegas since mid-December. It’s been nice — at least from our perspective, haha — to share some extended time with The Stepson, and our stereotypically-Vegas activities (casinos, shows,…

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Rarest of Moments: Neither Apart from Nor Together With Anything Else

Lia Purpura, Alan Watts, Robert Frost: 'Rarest of Moments: Neither Apart from Nor Together With Anything Else'

[Photos: “Life Story in Wood, #2 (Color and Black-and-White),” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.)] This week, whiskey river tossed me a lovely poem which engendered a cascade of thought. And because cascades of almost anything — especially thought — are better when shared with (off-loaded onto?) others, I thought I’d…

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May We Stay Forever Young

Bob Dylan, G.K. Chesterton, etc.: "May We Stay Forever Young"

[Video: Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young,” covered by Johnny Cash. This song may be to Dylan’s entire oeuvre what “O Holy Night” or “Ave Maria” is to Christmas music: over-interpreted, -emoted, and -performed by dozens of artists, each seeming determined to show proper reverence to the songwriter rather than to the song itself. Cash’s offering seemed best for my frame of mind today, and I hope it sits well with you, too…

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The Simple Decency, the Common-Sense Relief, of Just Remembering to Smile

Howard Zinn, Garrison Keillor, et al.: 'The Simple Decency, the Common-Sense Relief, of Just Remembering to Smile'

[Image: “Gym Dandy,” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.) This was a recent entry in my “#jesstorypix” series on Instagram. The caption there reads: “What Hari disliked most about going to the gym wasn’t the tedium of the workouts or the questionable hygienic practices evident in the shower room. No, it was the balletic…

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Watching Yourself Stumble Through a Crowded Labyrinth

Henri Bergson, et al.: 'Watching Yourself Stumble Through a Crowded Labyrinth'

[Image: “Dragon*con 2010,” by Ethan Trewhitt. (This is just a static frame from a video a little over a minute in length; you can click on the image to see the video itself, over on Flickr. In any case, of course, I use it here under a Creative Commons license.) Says the caption, in part: “The Marriott lobby, crowded with the costumed and uncostumed, brims with disorder as people move in every…

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Trapped, Wriggling, Pinned (Like an Insect) to a Board...

Stephen Dunn and a Maxim for Nostalgists: 'Trapped, Wriggling, Pinned (Like an Insect) to a Board...'

[Image: “impossible decisions,” by a Flickr user who identifies themselves as “danna § curious tangles.” (Used here under a Creative Commons license — thank you for that option!)] This week, whiskey river offered us some road-trip advice — in which the road trip in question is not literally a road trip, although the metaphor sure works in this case. The river gave us just the one italicized…

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Coming from Elsewhere, and Now Headed That Way

William Least Heat-Moon and Rumi: 'Coming from Elsewhere, and Now Headed That Way'

[Image: “05a.WMATA.MetroCenter.WDC.8April2016,” by Elvert Barnes. (Found on Flickr, using it here under a Creative Commons license — thank you!)] From whiskey river, just a few days ago: At any particular moment in a man’s life, he can say that everything he has done and has not done, that has been done and not been done to him, has brought him to this moment. If he’s being installed as…

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Facing The Other, Pretending Not to See Oneself

Stephen Dunn, Pema Chödrön, etc.: 'Facing The Other, Pretending Not to See Oneself'

[Image: “Ukraine, Day 1,” by John E. Simpson.] This week has certainly delivered to the world a big, heaping wallop of unease, hasn’t it? I’ve found it difficult to be really philosophical about “it all”; mostly, like many people it seems, I am baffled and rather irrationally angry that “it all” has come to pass… and I say irrationally, because after all, what do I know, and who am I to be…

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To Be as Aware and Alone as Can Be -- Naturally

Dana Gioia, Thich Nhat Hanh: 'To Be as Aware and Alone as Can Be -- Naturally'

[Image: “Sedona: Leaf and Shoe,” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.) I’d titled the image before realizing it actually depicts two leaves — the obvious one, and the ageing, deteriorated thing up there in the northwest quadrant — which maybe makes the whole thing more poignant, I dunno. I certainly didn’t mean it as a comment on the shoe-wearer’s age and deterioration!]

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Straddling the Margin Between Art and Life

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Karen Russell: 'Straddling the Margin Between Art and Life'

[Image: “Khamir,” by John E. Simpson — one of my #jes_storypix series on Instagram, in which generally heavily edited photos of “real life” are used to illustrate imagined narratives. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.) The caption: “Khamir had been staring at his phone for what felt like an hour. He couldn’t believe she hadn’t called yet,…

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About This Business of Stilling the Monkey...

Shunryu Suzuki, David Sedaris, et al.: 'About This Business of Stilling the Monkey...'

[Image: “Gas Apparatus,” by someone on Flickr who identifies there as “Reva G.” (Using it here under a Creative Commons license — thank you very much!) The photographer says: “I found this complex array of gas piping nicely sunlit behind a local industrial building. It looks just like the flowchart my brain uses for trying to make mundane everyday decisions!”] There is so much to see in the world — to know, to experience. How do we decide what to attend to in the first place? And once we’ve attended to something, how best to understand it, to know it as fully as it can be known — to “get” it?…

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Asking the Hardest Question, and Not Reaching for the Easy Answer

Caitlin Moran: 'Asking the Hardest Question, and Not Reaching for the Easy Answer'

[Image: “A Hallway of Unopened Doors,” by John E. Simpson. (Shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.) I can’t possibly need to hammer the metaphor in, can I?] This week, whiskey river offers us a quote pulled from their commonplace book (something like a blog archive). They’ve used the same quotation in the past, and — as it happens — so have I…

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A Worldview Shaped by Others' Eyes and Ears

Caitlin Moran, Charles Foster: 'A Worldview Shaped by Others' Eyes and Ears'

[Image: “The Curse of Milhaven,” by Elias Ruiz Monserrat. (Found on Flickr, and used here under a Creative Commons license; thank you very much!)] Like many (most? all?) people, at least those influenced by Western culture and values, I go back and forth in my general outlook: Things are so bad, as opposed to Things aren’t as bad as they seem. I’ve been kept awake at night both by crippling,…

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