Notes

To Struggle, by Lee van Laer

To Struggle, by Lee van Laer

Lee van LaerJul 23, 201619 min read

Detail from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, Prado, Madrid Struggle To exert one’s physical strength in persistent striving against an opposing force. To contend resolutely, especially with an adversary of superior power; to…

The Wizard of Oz as a Parable, by Lillian Firestone

The Wizard of Oz as a Parable, by Lillian Firestone

Lillian FirestoneJul 15, 20166 min read

The Wizard of Oz (MGM Studios, 1939) What makes the Wizard of Oz an iconic American tale that has entered into the language? Some expressions are so well known they need no further explanation, as for…

Soft, by Tracy Cochran

Soft, by Tracy Cochran

Tracy CochranJul 8, 20163 min read

Odilon Redon, Flower Clouds, 1903 The root meaning of heal is whole. Illness and mishap and even great tragedy can lead us eventually from the pain of isolation to a greater wholeness. There is such a…

The Golden Ticket, by Tracy Cochran

The Golden Ticket, by Tracy Cochran

Tracy CochranMay 20, 20164 min read

Chainfoto24, Wat Maha That, Sukhothai (Wikimedia Commons)   One day recently, a Buddhist monk stopped me on the street in Manhattan, offering me peace for the rest of my life. But I was late so I…

Let It Be, by Tracy Cochran

Let It Be, by Tracy Cochran

Tracy CochranMay 12, 20164 min read

Oda Krohg, By the Oslofjord, 1886 When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness she is standing right…

To Struggle, by Lee van Laer

To Struggle, by Lee van Laer

Lee van LaerJul 23, 201619 min read

Detail from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, Prado, Madrid Struggle To exert one’s physical strength in persistent striving against an opposing force. To…

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A Formal Feeling Comes

Tracy CochranSep 3, 20156 min read

Bonfire, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons “After great pain, a formal feeling comes,” writes Emily Dickinson.  “The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs.” After a great shock or…

On Being Nobody…and No One, by Tracy Cochran

On Being Nobody…and No One, by Tracy Cochran

Tracy CochranJun 7, 20173 min read

Ivan Aivazovsky, Between the Waves, 1898 How deeply we fear being nobody. One way to think of the ego is as a defense against pain, particularly…

The Wizard of Oz as a Parable, by Lillian Firestone

The Wizard of Oz as a Parable, by Lillian Firestone

Lillian FirestoneJul 15, 20166 min read

The Wizard of Oz (MGM Studios, 1939) What makes the Wizard of Oz an iconic American tale that has entered into the language? Some expressions are…