by Barry Phegan | Aug 1, 2022 | Living Life, Social comment
This is part 2 of some simple practices and truths that help me cope in our Culture of Anxiety. To keep the postings short, the list was divided into two parts. Part 1 was Change is constant, too much is stressful. I am a real animal, not an idealized being. We...
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 15, 2022 | Social comment
We think we are thoughtful and reasonable. Our actions paint another picture. Why do we ignore upcoming disasters, follow psychologically impaired leaders, and destroy the environment that sustains us? 800 million years of evolution shaped our genes, told us...
by Barry Phegan | Apr 1, 2022 | Aging, Social comment
“What happens after I die?” “Lots of things, none of which will concern you.” I won’t be concerned after I die and wasn’t concerned before I was born. In between, concern seems part of living. Why am I concerned? Do concern, and its extensions worry and...
by Barry Phegan | Jan 16, 2022 | Aging, Living Life, Social comment
One luxury of aging is seeing current events in a longer time perspective, knowing that all catastrophes of the moment have deep histories. Human culture changed rapidly during my lifetime, and the pace is accelerating. Most changes are good, some not. We live...
