The Unclad Soul

The rare and provocative poet and novelist, Charles Bukowski, once wrote, “If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life.” That is a challenge I take for the New Year. I want my soul burning with purpose and desire. I want to be to be crispy by the end of 2019. I want to be the ashes of my longings fulfilled, my passions spent. I want to know my efforts were all out, that I left nothing in the pursuit of what I love that was not exhausted. I want to find ways to love new people and I want to find ways to better love the people I already know and cherish. I want my horizons expanded, stretched to new sights, beyond old borders of comfort and ease. Let there be places in my journey, where, like the ocean, on a clear day you can see forever, and the end of the water’s edge disappears in the blue sky of wonder. I want that. Let there be ...

In the Netflix series, “Jack Taylor,” ex-cop Jack Taylor is a rebellious, hard drinking, scruffy guy who plays by his own rules, which are often questionable. Although he’s no longer a police officer, fired for unruly conduct, he still stumbles into situations where people need and want his help with some crime that’s been committed. He doesn’t always solve them, and he leaves plenty of debris along the way. He has a tough, rugged presence. And he’s a mess of a person. But inside the man, there beats a true heart for humanity. He lives in Mrs. Bailey’s Bed and Breakfast. It’s a lovely place that you would not expect to see the likes of Jack Taylor. But Mrs. Bailey took Jack in when he was disgracefully dismissed from the police force. He loved being a cop/detective. He fought for the underdog and the forgotten and the cheated. And the loss of his job sent him spiraling into a drunken bewilderment. He had no income but at Mrs. Bailey’s he found safety, welcome, clean sheets, an...

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” There is a story out of the days of Napoleon when the mad genius was plowing through Europe with fury. In the midst of battle one of his soldiers, just a boy really, was caught running away. Napoleon sentenced him to death. The young man’s mother pleaded for a hearing before the Emperor. When it was agreed, she told the Emperor the boy had been frightened, was too young to understand all that he was fighting for and against. She asked for mercy. Napoleon said the soldier had deserted his post, had betrayed his country, and left his comrades in danger. He said he did not deserve mercy. The woman said, “But your Eminence, if he deserved it, it wouldn’t be mercy.” Can we show mercy to Donald Trump? Can we look beyond his bravado and outrageousness to see the pretender he is? A frightened and insecure man operating from a deep need to be approved, praised, and loved. A man who can, in limited capacities, show love to others. Ca...