Author: Mark J. Chmiel
We Inter-Continue
I continue in you You continue in me Maybe you will influence life In northwest China in 15 years Maybe I will influence life In southern Nigeria in 22 years We are the continuation of…
Mindfulness Has Genius, Power, and Magic in It
At this morning’s discussion of Thay’s The Art of Communicating, Madalyn spoke about how she notices more interconnections the more she practices mindfulness. This reminded me of the following reflection from W. H. Murray, which I’ve adapted: Until…
Poem of the Week: Mendacity by Rob Trousdale
the Cristo Rey model the fair trade coffee the organic raspberries the Sunday sunset at Augusta the cat’s purr the recycling plan the 25% bonus the carbon credit swap the KIPP principal driving a Benz…
Among the Survivors by Hedy Epstein
In June 1981 I attended the World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Israel. I frequently overheard survivors asking other survivors, “in which camp or ghetto where you? When were you there?” When told, the…
What Would Sri Krishna and Walt Whitman Do?
Dear Srimatiji My heart aches Reading the last chapter of Dear Layla You are Layla Yet you’re as far away For practical purposes As the Gaza Strip You are a psychiatrist You are a resident…
Writing En Plein Air
Have you longed for the chance to sit outside and write while listening to the birds, smelling the sweetness of the grass and blooming trees, watching the beauty of the dancing trees, and feeling the…
Today’s Yiddish Proverb
Sleep faster, we need the pillows. –I learned of this from Harold Bloom.
This Is It/493
Lindsay Sihilling shared this with me this morning, and I am happy to pass it on… This is your conscience, artists and writers. You know that your conscience has tried in every possible subtle way…
“I Cannot Stand Idly by” by Hedy Epstein
After President Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, a prize he does not deserve, it is a good time to model what real peacemaking looks like. It is not beautiful speech making. It is…