Lately I have been thinking about the meaning of home. Not the wonderful Victorian space I have lived in for almost 14 years; my neighborhood of tree-lined streets; the welcoming market; the Maine coastline that still takes my breath [...]
Pat Taub
“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.” —George Saunders, acclaimed novelist, in his 2013 Syracuse University commencement address. In a New York Times interview, referring to his commencement address, Saunders confessed that, looking back on his life, he wished he had been kinder. His Buddhist teachings frame [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by TOM SANTULLI “We make meaning most readily in times of confusion and despair when life as we know it has ceased to make sense.” ~ Oliver Sacks Watching the chaos and suffering unleashed in this country and abroad by Trump – maniacal narcissistic amoral bullying – and his toadies, despair is my first reaction… fear, [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN I am 73. My white hair, tentative gait, and blue cane say so to others even when I don’t. No one snarls, “Hey, Gramps! Move it!” but even well-meant acts can be ungentle reminders. On New Year’s Eve morning I visited my local supermarket, paid for my groceries, and began to lift a heavy [...]
Pat Taub
For two hours on January 1st, watching the inauguration of New York’s new governor, Zoran Mamdani, I felt hopeful for the first in a long time. I was inspired by the populist speech of the new Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams. Moved by Mandy Patinkin singing “Over the Rainbow,” accompanied by fifth graders from Staten Island’s PS [...]
Pat Taub