Tag: Retirement
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Our Lady of the Train Station
The train system in Europe is amazing, but for the uninitiated it can be a bit overwhelming at first. So when the Old Lady with a shopping bag approached us at the S Bahn ticket kiosk in the Munich airport, we were grateful for her assistance. “Vere are you going?” she asked, outing us as…
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Maggie’s Beads
As I pulled the beautiful blue glass bead from my back pack, I knew I had a perfect place to put it. We were in Porto, Portugal on the main boardwalk along the river. A blue dingy was on the dock, waiting. The bead needed to be on this boat. It was so apropo because the creator…
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My Shamans
Bart. That was the name of my first Shaman. It was the early 2000’s. My family had decided to spend the Christmas holiday in the small seaside village of Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Sitting on the beach, terribly hungover from a night of Margaritas followed by cartwheels down the street, I struck up a conversation with…
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One Tiny Sock
I woke up with a surge of sadness. Three days of chaotic joy. Running Singing Rapture at the moon. Puddles Dirt Wonder in the mundane. Tears Laugther Each moment a gift. Carefully wrapped in a precious memory.
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The Retirement Report:
My Year of Adrenaline My first year of retirement was intended to be a primer in the Beginner’s Mind, the Buddhist concept of viewing and interacting with life from the mind of inexperience: as a novice, a child. It’s the practice of cultivating a sense of wonder, curiosity and joy through mindfulness in any given…
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60 Shades of Gray
Reflections on Retirement When I tell people I’m from the Pacific Northwest, they invariably say,” it rains a lot there, doesn’t it?” Yes. Sort of. Like the Scots, said to have 421 words for snow (for example, the Scottish word for a large snowflake is ‘skelf’), those of us in the PNW have many many…
Gonzo Girl 