Ahz mah (So what)

  Every autumn, landscaping workers descend upon the earth with blowers roaring,   attacking red, yellow, and orange leaves as though they were evidence of some shameful truth that must be obliterated. The battle will not end until first snowfall, when snow will become the next Enemy. Every autumn, the tree outside our temple gifts us with a gradual snowfall of tiny yellow leaves, which cling to our shoes and accompany us inside, creating a carpet of yellow on the sanctuary floor. Years ago we stopped trying to rake outside or vacuum inside. No battle, no enemy. We just open our arms and welcome autumn into our prayers

  Normal Memory Problems   "Transience" What I carefully, compliantly learned in school?                                                                                 Gone. State capitals, times tables— especially the sevens and eights— gone. Geometry, algebra, calculus, Norse and Greek and Roman mythology, how to write a book report, the periodic table of elements, timelines of wars and famous men, Manifest Destiny—                                                                               gone gone gone like the Nancy Drew mysteries and Archie comics in my bookcase, which gave way to absurdist theater which gave way to 18th century British novels which gave way to Judaica, psychology, meditation, eldering, death and dying. Note to self: Shredding or burning diaries may increase the likelihood of forgetting. Remember this.   "Absentmindedness" Three university lectures in European History II were not encoded in memory, due to the nearness of the boy sitting to

We are told that a covid surge is upon us… and so we are responding as best we can with additional, by now familiar, precautionary measures. And the thought arises: What other surges might we experience this season? How about a surge of caring for our neighbors? Or maybe a surge of laughter in our families? What about a surge of compassion? Or a surge of honesty? This feels like a different sort of “new year’s resolutions” list. Let’s imagine a surge that we might like to participate in, or that we might wish to get started…. It may be that all surges begin with an individual and spread outward from there, so who knows if it might be YOU that makes a new surge happen? Personally I would love to ride a surge of meaning and purpose—ride it right through this bleak winter and into a spring of hope and possibilities. Or how about a surge of quirkiness?? I so value and celebrate all of our quirks bubbling up even through this culture’s heavy blanket of conformity. Let your quirkiness shine,