philosophical Archives - From the Write Side

Digging Myself Up

No way to sugarcoat this truth, for me personally, it's been a shitty summer. Three rounds of antibiotics for various unusual infections followed by a Mohs procedure (www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/mohs-surgery) for skin cancer that ended up costing me most of my left nostril and resulted in complicated facial reconstruction, which is not over yet. If my last name were Scrooge, I'd scream Bah, humbug! The combination of these events entombed me in a very dark hole. I've been digging myself up ever since. For a flaming [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-07-31T17:04:33+00:00July 31st, 2022|contemplative, Essays, inspirational, motivational, philosophical|0 Comments

While the fields are fallow…

January arrives with a dusting of snow, along with seed catalogs and clothing brochures featuring bikinis I no longer wear and island gear that mocks the winter creep of wind and cold. The former makes my mouth water for the produce so bountifully photographed on page after page, while the latter creates an unreasonable desire to pack a backpack and head on down to the Keys. Since my first trip to Florida's string of low-lying islands for a writers' conference, I have itched to return. [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-12-31T21:09:27+00:00December 31st, 2020|Essays, inspirational, motivational, philosophical|0 Comments

Let’s Dance!

The summer grows hotter. The world roils with the pandemic. I stretch the limits of my housebound sanctuary and, when the mood strikes, I dance. Visiting our grandchildren last weekend, I was struck by the eagerness of my five-year-old grandson to hold a dance party. Cooped inside due to heat and COVID, regular outdoor activities have been curtailed. I understand the need to move, to shake our legs and shake off the anxiety that rides us like a shawl these days. He found his father's [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-08-01T13:59:52+00:00August 1st, 2020|Essays, inspirational, motivational, philosophical, Uncategorized|0 Comments

How To Survive and Thrive With Uncertainty

If there's one thing we all know, here in May of 2020, it is that the future is more uncertain than ever. A funny little virus with spikes on its belly has infected the world, overwhelmed our hospitals, and thumbed its nose at our efforts to send it away. Life as we know it has changed. We sequester in place, using time in untimely ways. The rush to sports practices and music lessons, to grocery stores and fast-food restaurants has boiled away. We stare from [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-04-30T13:44:55+00:00April 30th, 2020|contemplative, emotive, Essays, inspirational, philosophical, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Toward An Invincible Spring

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” ― Albert Camus April, in the year of our Lord 2020 The map of the world via televised reports grows ever more consumed by red blotches detailing the spread of our newest nightmare - covid-19. Sporting teams cancel seasons and tournaments. Museums, [...]

By irvinjgdm|2020-03-31T13:10:19+00:00March 31st, 2020|contemplative, Essays, inspirational, philosophical|0 Comments

Lion Or Lamb?

Folk adages suggest that March, that sly, greening mix of Ides and shamrocks, comes in like a lion. Roaring with wind and bluster, the days extend tendrils of promise as spring tints the undergrowth, then settles like a lamb just in time for April to glide in on soggy shoes. Hmmm...reality doesn't always conform to this old saw, but we find comfort in the thought. Weary of wintry blasts, our hearts skip a little thinking about less restless days and milder temperatures. Of course, this [...]

By irvinjgdm|2019-02-28T16:31:09+00:00February 28th, 2019|contemplative, Essays, inspirational, motivational, nature, philosophical|0 Comments

Of Bloody Moons and Purpose

During the Blood Wolf Moon in January, close observers witnessed a bright flare on the lower right quadrant. Astronomers hypothesize a small piece of a comet or an asteroid hit the surface. This one bright and blazing strike captured the imagination of earth-bound viewers. Still, the brief encounter probably won't leave a mark visible to the naked eye. Who can say what the lasting impact will be? Contemplating the brevity of moonstrikes, I thought about how ideas appear as if out of nowhere, strike our [...]

By irvinjgdm|2019-01-30T16:51:10+00:00January 30th, 2019|contemplative, Essays, inspirational, philosophical|1 Comment

An Unsilent Knight

The first snowfall of the season settles over the ground in the late November twilight. I stand at the window, dancing with the snowflakes and thinking about my mother, all those years ago pregnant with me, her due date passing as she, too, gazed out the window, wondering where my father was, if he still lived. World War II had ended, but danger continued to stalk the globe. Around her family's store/home, winter promised to call, as it does today, and I, restless, waited until [...]

By irvinjgdm|2018-11-30T16:58:19+00:00November 30th, 2018|contemplative, emotive, inspirational, philosophical, seasonal|0 Comments

The Seasons of Our Lives

Early morning fog wafts across the highway. Dawn, like a fan dancer in nature's club, waves her veils across the land. One more trip to PA to consult with my siblings about our mother's delusional dementia. Earlier in the summer, she was still mostly Irma. Now when I arrive, she is mostly gone, living inside the weird, funny, sad, unbelievable story her brain is crocheting over her memories. These drives are not fun. Along the way, I plug in my iPod and crank up my [...]

By irvinjgdm|2018-08-30T14:22:12+00:00August 30th, 2018|contemplative, Essays, philosophical, seasonal|0 Comments

Family Matters…

When we set off in early June on our Mediterranean adventure, I had plans to write about the sailing ship, the ports of call, the new experiences. But when we returned, I found myself once more embroiled in elder care issues. My mother, still the life of the party wherever she goes, has slipped deeper into the hallucinatory dementia that has made inroads in her always-fertile imagination. One day back from the trip, I got back on the road and made the drive to Pennsylvania [...]

By irvinjgdm|2018-06-30T19:23:44+00:00June 30th, 2018|emotive, Essays, philosophical|1 Comment