With apologies to Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, the first rule of having type II diabetes is that you don’t talk about having type II diabetes. Ever. I learned this the hard way five years ago when I was first diagnosed. Any type II diabetic who’s being honest with you will say that getting diagnosed […]
Coming Out: Revealing Secret Passions
This knee-jerk shame about writing, an activity I hid like masturbation, kept me away from practicing the thing I loved for many years. It was too intimate. When I wrote, it felt like I was touching everything all at once, rolling in mud, needlessly gorging myself.
All Ears in the Garden: Landscape as Soundscape
It’s easy to forget that a landscape is also a soundscape. One summer we were working away in the garden, so absorbed in our earthy labours that we really didn’t pay attention to the mixed bird chorus punctuated by the occasional shriek from a jay –until it stopped, as abruptly as the flick of a […]
Cougars are Carnivores: Adventures With Younger Men
He smoked pot almost daily. His hair was long and curly and red. And soft. He was – dare I say it – well endowed and well skilled.
Google and World Peace?
One of things our writer is leery of is spiritual work being brought together with large, profit making enterprises. Is being wealthy is a sign of God’s favor or a money-making “feel good” distortion?
Sound the Virtue Alert: Notes from School Drop-Off Zone
Since when did assertiveness become a virtue? Isn’t it more virtuous to turn the other cheek than to stand one’s ground?
Random Acts of Hello Counteract Unhappiness
I began my test by simply smiling and saying hello to strangers…No matter how uncomfortable it felt to put my shy little self out there, I would do it anyway.
Dr. Basil Donovan: On the Frontline of Sexual Health
Twenty-eight years ago, the first case of AIDS was diagnosed in Australia. Dr. Basil Donovan, a world expert on sexual health, was on the frontline.
Fireworks, Afghanistan Style
At 21:45 the loudspeakers crackled and announced “Attention on the FOB, Incoming. Take Cover. That is all.” I laugh every time I hear those last words because it reminds me of the absurdity depicted in the TV comedy “M*A*S*H*.”
If Humans Had Tails: Self-Esteem Lessons From Dog Shows
How much different would the lives of humans be if we had tails? Want to feel more confident? Just lift that tail!