The Unclad Soul

Good Morning Good morning to the great trees That bend above this little house; Good morning to the wind that comes And goes among the leaves, and sings; Good morning to the birds, the grass, Good morning to the bare ground; Good morning, pond across the way That must have opened both its eyes; Good morning, everything that shines Or doesn’t shine; good morning, mole And worm and nesting mouse—good morning, Morning to all things that ever Were and will be, and that are. ~ From, “Good Morning: Last Poems,” by Mark Van Doren

“It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive. ” ~ James Baldwin, Writer

“Everybody’s gotta learn; nobody’s born knowing.”   ―   Harper Lee, Novelist

 "It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it." ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Writer/Mystic

“Whatever opens us is not as important as what it opens.”  – Mark Nepo, Poet/Philosopher

I was at Starbucks the other day to settle into a vanilla latte and do a little catching up on my reading. I’m trying to finish Tana French’s “The Likeness.” Which by the way is a fantastic novel. I was struck by how nearly everyone in the room was on their phone. Even couples or groups of people sitting together; they were all texting, or doing some kind of data or app stuff. No one was talking. Except one lone woman who was on her phone going on and on to an invisible person on the other end having some insipid discussion about flooring. Apparently she was remodeling her extravagant kitchen and couldn’t decide on a pattern or color or whatever. I’m not judging. I do it too. Check my email. Send texts. Search websites. Download tunes. We are all constantly on our phones. No one though really talks to anyone anymore. Our society is sick with inattention, blather, bullshit, indifference, blocked emotions, blank stares, or being lost in some smart phone fog. We really...