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Untangling unhappy endings

Holiday hairballs abound this time of year. Some relationships have ended. As we reflect back, we realize that some stopped abruptly and some were never completed. Why do we split off, instead of mending these split ends? I hear it all the time: “Hey, I’m... Continue

My daily paper

I like getting the newspaper every day. I like the ritual of looking for it in the darkend driveway, and plopping it down on the kitchen table. I read the the “funnies” last, holding off what for me is the most revealing part of the... Continue

Regarding all appearances as divine

Human existence can be organized within two orders of experience. A first order experience is felt: unmediated sensory awareness responding moment to moment to the space around us. A second order experience includes image and thought, which arise due to the first order experience, and... Continue

The election is over: time for a reboot

“When the dust settles, we’ll all still be here.”  And so here we are, in the aftermath of the Measure B election, and we now have a great opportunity for a deeper community discussion on land use and development issues.  It was a hard-fought election,... Continue

The All-American game

I grew up with All-American images of clean-cut baseball heroes -- Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and the like. Despite later revelations of alcohol problems, their images as wholesome, talented sportsmen resonated across the 1950s and contributed to the backdrop of conformist cultural forms against which a... Continue

138 shopping days until April 15

Dear Bonnie, This year I changed jobs, got a divorce (it’s final), sold my house, changed jobs and moved. I started thinking that even though the house sale isn’t taxable because my profit was well within the exemption limit, I wonder if my tax picture... Continue

Thanks to the Egyptians and Wampanoag

Wow, what a wind we had last week.  Fences, trees and garbage cans had a tough go of it, but on the bright side, all those pesky leaves littering my yard were blown into the corner of my yard for easy pick-up.  All those leaves,... Continue

‘Cradle to Career’ engages community partners to help youth

As part of Sonoma County's ambitious goal to become California's healthiest county by 2020, the Department of Health Services is leading the Cradle to Career initiative, in partnership with close to 100 Sonoma County community-based organizations, government agencies, and businesses. Cradle to Career is based... Continue

Regarding the infinite

The human power of abstraction, our ability to imagine something and then build upon that imaginary idea distinguishes us from lower animals. Brain physiologists might say such abilities reside within our frontal lobes, that area of the brain held responsible for higher thought, but whatever... Continue

It’s the people

This week was tough. I woke up feeling worried, with a sense of dread. Why? I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the upcoming holidays and winter months weighing on me and wondering how I would maneuver through it all. It might have been financial concerns.... Continue