Reboot, Rejuvenate, Resurrect

FATHER   Remember I am on a quest to become unencumbered in 2026, and help comes from unusual places.   What did you sincerely learn from your father? This was the writing prompt from a book that I have used to learn to be a better writer since April,2025. Each day the instructions following the prompt are “Go. Ten minutes.”   I experienced a moment of panic because I didn’t want to squander any of the ten minutes trying to think of a profound and elaborate story to recount.

TRY TO FIND THE LADY BUG IN THE PHOTOGRAPH NOTHING AND SOMETHING Husband, “What are you doing?” Girls next door, “Gwennie, I ‘ve finished my homework. What are we going to do now?” Son, “Mom, what ‘cha doing?”  Friends “What are you up to?” My answer is seldom, “NOTHING!” I always have something to do, and I will find something for the girls to do because there is always something to be done and doing nothing signals uselessness. On the other hand, a “nothing” reply is an ope

FEAR?   Fear, noun and verb, is one of those weird words in the English language that is defined contextually. Fear is an unpleasant emotion or anxious feeling arising from the belief that something is dangerous or something unwelcome will happen to self or someone else. Fear can also express reverence and awe. Fear is a major obstacle for many. It is the “something unwelcome” that causes me to pause and ponder fear.   Fear is both a powerful and weak motivator. It is a power

EGGS In a post a year ago, I mentioned eggs and promised to share more of my observations about them in another post. I try to keep my promise!!!   Did you know? 1)Commercially produced eggs in the US are always refrigerated but not in most other countries (Why? Other countries don’t wash eggs) 2) The eggshell’s color does not affect the inside of the egg whatsoever. 3) The grade of the egg, AA, A, B is determined by the lack of blemishes on shell and the size, XL, L, M, and

PLAY YOUR TUNE I live in the Music City, home of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Ryman Auditorium (the mother church of country music) and the Grand Ole Opry. The National Museum of African American Music is located just a couple of blocks away. A visit, whether a fan of either genre or not, quickly leads one to understand that the most influential artist of both genres played or sang their own tunes. The artist may or may not have written the lyrics or composed th

AN ESSENTIAL   Batteries are essential. Who doubts that fact? For the most part batteries are categorized as primary (alkaline/single use - remotes, cameras, watches) or secondary (rechargeable – smartphones, laptops, cars). Do I need to say more? Batteries are essential.   Most households keep a supply of the single use batteries on hand and multiple places and ways to connect the rechargeable batteries can be found.   “Rest and Reset” was the edict from the coach, owner, an

ACTION FORMULA   A year or so ago, I sat on the shores of the Caribbean Sea and fantasized about entering the sea and walking or swimming to a boat that seemed to be close to the shore. It was a fantasy. The boat was farther from the shore than it appeared, in water that was deeper than my five feet plus height and I am basically a non-swimmer. The fantasy, I pondered, was a nudge to take swimming classes, again, for the umpteenth time and to stop being satisfied with my stat

AKT   “You can only understand real Action through action itself – Knowledge through knowledge… and Truth through truth.” I read this quote on the morning of October 31, 2024, and again on October 2, 2025, in the “Little Book of Wisdom,” by Maryam Mafi. On Thursday January 8, 2026, I read the quote again, this time in an old journal, the repository of blog starters.   According to the journal, October 31, 2024, was filled with plans. The check marks indicated much was accompl

SOWING AND REAPING There are concepts that are crossovers between the spiritual and world realm of understanding and application. “You reap what you sow” is one of them. Most understand that consequence follows an action… positive actions beget positive outcomes…negative actions negative outcomes. The concept is grounded biblically and in the natural order of cause and effect. Reaping what you sow is the same concept of karma, one reaps what one sows – one reaps where one sow

INTERSECTION   Agnes Repplier wrote, “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” I read this quote early on a Friday morning just before dressing to go to the gym.   I will not regurgitate my morning ritual. However, I would like you to know what happens as I exit the house between 6:10 and 6:15 Monday through Friday. After pressing the ignition, shifting the gear to “R,” backing out of the garage, and exiting left out of the

Dearest Reader, I am reading and writing later than usual because it is Saturday, the Saturday before Christmas. The sun, blazing through the window, is making the smoke produced by the smoldering sage visible. This Saturday morning’s vibe is one of ease. I read these words, “Believing is all a child does for a living.” Kurtis Lamekin, poet   Tis’ the season when this is literally truer than any other. Mark Nepo who used the quote in, “The Book of Awakening,” said to our detr

PRECOCIOUS “Showing the qualities or abilities of an adult at an unusually early age/strong interest in things and topics beyond their years.”   My precocious great-grandnephews and their father stopped by after school and the conversation arose around something that the older great-grandnephew wanted. Experience has taught all of us that we can land in a loop of epic proportion when he thinks he can “out” rationalize us (remember he is precocious). My grandnephew and his wif

DON’T NEGLECT THE NEED   It is December 1, 2025, Monday morning at 4:36 AM. The sage and the candle are adding ambience to the stage for my morning writing. The aroma triggered a memory. I remembered reading a line about sage burning, “Light the sage. When it has done its work, it will extinguish itself.” A bundle of sage always last for weeks. I light the same bundle day after day. It burns for a few minutes and then it goes out. The few minutes of smoldering cast its aroma,

DECOMPRESSION It took me two days to realize what I was doing – decompressing from vacation.   I had watched a movie, “Last Breath” starring Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu, on the return flight from vacation. It is storyline of a group of saturation divers who are dispatched to repair underwater pipelines that transport crude oil. It is a true story and worth watching. Two things remained with me after watching: It had never crossed my mind that underwater pipelines needed main

GREAT LISTENER “Describe someone you admire as a great listener,” was the instruction given in a book that I am currently reading. Improving my listening skills has been a quest of mine for many years and I would like to think that I have worked my way into being a pretty good one. But the question was not addressed to my listening skills. The word, “great,” at first made it a bit difficult to answer the request.   People who talk a lot are generally not great listeners – my

CURATED MEMORIES This is not a boast – I can assure you of that – 2025 has been year of funerals. I have attended enough (live and virtual) or been well acquainted with families of the deceased to notice a common thread. Family and friends curate memories of their loved ones. (curate as a verb means to carefully choose, organize and present content or items) Those sharing remarks carefully select and assemble memories that speak with specificity about the deceased and the imp

SABOTAGE I often pause to think about a word as defined by Webster juxtaposed on my experience with the word. Sabotage (to deliberately destroy, damage or obstruct something) is the current word. Why? I am trying to change a bad habit or two.   Everything about the definition of sabotage has a negative connotation. However, thinking of my saboteurs, I must say that my day-to-day interactions with them may be negative long-term, but they are often pleasurable and seductive.  

LOVE AND HATE Everybody loves to travel…not true…I love traveling for a lot of reasons. Traveling breaks rituals and routines which is why some people don’t like to do it. I love that travel breaks my routine. I hate that travel breaks my routine. Confused? Keep reading.   Both ritualistic or routine-driven, accurately describe me. Were you a thief surveilling my house, it would take you exactly zero weeks to know my routine. Once a routine is established, I work to keep it g

SERENDIPIDITY   My favorite son and only child (a kid at heart) stopped by in the middle of the afternoon to retrieve his emotional...

IN MY OPINION   Everything that I have ever accomplished toward forward movement began as an experiment. Even if the action has been...