uncertainty
Time for another poem.... uncertainty hanging in the hall corner on a spider web… knowing i now know uncertainty with quiet...
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OWLcourage
a blog invested in hope and creative possibility
- Aug 1
- 7 min
White Women
At its inception, the OWL in the name of this blog, OWLcourage referred not only to “owls”, the iconic image of wisdom which presented my...
- Jul 19
- 9 min
$1,651.99
At 6:30 AM on June 17, 2024, I tested positive for Covid 19 for the fourth time. Eight hours later, I went to my CVS and paid $1,651.99...
- May 30
- 6 min
Johnny Appleseed
The year my oldest daughter was ready to start kindergarten, we moved to a new city and rented an apartment while searching for a home to...
- May 14
- 8 min
Integrity
The word “integrity” has two somewhat complementary but distinct meanings. One focuses on “the quality of being honest and having strong...
- May 4
- 6 min
Productivity
Productivity is defined as the state or quality of producing something. This simple, seemingly harmless definition is amplified with...
- Apr 24
- 7 min
Competencies
My educational preparation as a professional registered nurse was in a collegiate baccalaureate program, an emergent leap forward in the...
- Apr 15
- 4 min
Flowers
Spring comes early in Goleta, with harbingers announced in February, a shock to my midwestern system of weather management. Suddenly I...
- Apr 9
- 1 min
Corridors
(This poem showed up early this morning, unexpected and uninvited, and volunteered to be my next blog post. I was startled, skeptical,...
- Mar 4
- 9 min
Belief Systems
The concept of “belief systems” has a wide variety of meanings, so my first intention here is to share what meaning that concept has for...
- Feb 25
- 6 min
Taylor and Caitlin
If you immediately added the last names, you may, like me, have taken note of these two amazing women who have captured the imagination...
- Feb 21
- 4 min
Life Lessons
Like many humans, I have spent a portion of my life grappling with the lurking uncertainty about the meaning of my existence, always...
- Feb 7
- 5 min
Improvement
Few national values are as readily observable as the one that incessantly declares that we Americans seek “Improvement”. Indeed, we...
- Jan 8
- 6 min
Letting Go
Virtually every wisdom system I have studied, and of course my pattern is insistent and persistent, eventually advises me to learn to...
- Dec 19, 2023
- 6 min
Expectations
Over time, I have learned to think of this time of the year in the US as the season of “Great Expectations”, explanatory without being...
- Dec 10, 2023
- 5 min
Kindness
I have been the recipient of thousands of acts of kindness during my life. I think most people could say the same thing if they reflected...
- Oct 28, 2023
- 5 min
Bearing Witness
On January 25, 2024 I will provide a one-day workshop on Creative Conflict Engagement to a group of nurses as part of their fellowship...
- Oct 2, 2023
- 5 min
Chumash Intertribal Powwow
Yesterday I attended the Chumash Intertribal Powwow in St. Inez, my first powwow in California. I have attended powwows in Wisconsin,...
- Sep 23, 2023
- 5 min
I'm 80
Shortly after my 80th birthday last February, I started “field testing” the statement “I’m 80”. I did so out of a curiosity catalyzed by...
- Sep 8, 2023
- 6 min
Gooseberries
A gooseberry is defined as “a round edible yellowish-green or reddish berry with a thin translucent hairy skin.” Just reading this...
- Aug 28, 2023
- 5 min
CR Packaging
“Child-resistant packaging or CR packaging is special packaging used to reduce the risk of children ingesting hazardous materials. This...
- Aug 19, 2023
- 5 min
Impermanence
The waves were large and loud today as I approached the beach where I walk most mornings. To actually get to the shoreline, I leave a...
- Aug 13, 2023
- 5 min
Dust the Pheasant
The indicator of a good family reunion is the satisfaction and positive feelings the participants experience as they head back to their...
- Aug 4, 2023
- 4 min
Family Reunion
In a few hours I will board a plane to fly due East to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There I will join a gathering of my living siblings and...
- Jul 30, 2023
- 5 min
Emergence
I continue to chronicle the curious, even fascinating lessons learned in my move from Ohio to the Pacific Ocean. As I have noted before,...
- Jul 22, 2023
- 4 min
Right Answers
It’s hard to find a group experience where some human in the situation doesn’t declare that they have the right answer, a field of...
- Jul 14, 2023
- 6 min
Smart
I remember the day I decided to “Stay Smart”. It was a firm decision but also a dreaded and frightful one. I think I was either in 7th...
- Jul 8, 2023
- 5 min
Help
Nothing like moving highlights the need for the help of others. And I was blessed with an abundant portion. Both family (which included...
- Jul 1, 2023
- 5 min
Moved
I posted a blog on March 26, 2023 titled “Moving” where I shared some reflections on my decision to move from Johnstown, Ohio to the...
- May 27, 2023
- 1 min
Birdsong
Time for poetry to add to the conversation... OWLcourage Community Members are invited to join in the discussion on this blog using the...
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