I heard the words in the title to this post uttered by Anne Lamott as she was interviewed for OnPoint. She has a new book: Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope, and Repair. She begins, “One rarely knows where to begin the search for meaning, though by necessity, we can only start where we are.”…

I recently hiked a small mountain with my dogs. It took some time and effort to navigate the trail. A perfect 60 degree fall day. A beutiful view at the top was our reward (or at least my reward, I dont’ think the dogs noticed). A similar effort-reward comes with meditation. This view is an…

Watching my dogs swim out for a thrown stick made me think of one the Buddha’s classic teachings: I, me, and mine. They swim competitively out. There appears to be some motivation to get there first. But regardless of who gets there first, the other is lying in wait to get a share of the…

My dogs have personalities. Each distinct. They show emotions: joy, frustration, excitement, anger, fear, anxiety, affection, and although I haven’t seen it with these guys yet, sadness. All emotions we have. What this shows us is that there can be emotions and even personality without the person. We, humans, tend to identify ourselves with the…

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