by Barry Phegan | Jul 1, 2022 | Living Life, Social comment
Hello from Orcas Island, WA. To help me cope with today’s brutal speed of change and our media’s anxiety-producing firehose, I’ve gradually assembled a few simple practices and truths. When I remember to use them, they help me stay calm. To keep the...
by Barry Phegan | Jun 15, 2022 | Living Life, Social comment
Alongside “the pandemic”, I believe we’re in the middle of a national anxiety epidemic. I’ve self-vaccinated by letting go of my longing for the simpler, vaguely misremembered world of my childhood. Accepting what is, rather than cocooning in an imaginary...
by Barry Phegan | May 1, 2022 | Aging, Living Life
Recently seeing a park full of happy people enjoying a sunny Saturday had me smiling all the way home — and further. I’ve been smiling a lot this last year. Yes, life is good. My happiness may be strangely related to this blog. In mid-April, the flight back...
by Barry Phegan | Mar 15, 2022 | Living Life
When my doctor identifies a new problem with my body, I joke with her that the cause is too many birthdays. To humor me, she smiles but prefers her medical diagnosis. This is a strange time of life when we’ve lived far beyond nature’s intentions. Since 1770...
by Barry Phegan | Mar 1, 2022 | Aging, Living Life
BY C. P. CAVAFY, 1911 TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY As you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as...
by Barry Phegan | Feb 15, 2022 | Aging, Living Life
Living and losses go together. I’m happily retired with three wonderful children, four clearly above average grandchildren, and doing just what I like. Life is good but it came with bumps. Accepting Loss My first wife left me, my parents died, my children...
