Author Archives: Paul Williams
Addictions, Mindfulness, Right Action
MISSING IN ACTION
One morning last week I fixed a delicious, almost healthy breakfast of gluten free cereal, berries, a little yogurt and low fat milk. I say almost healthy because I quickly polluted the entire affair with some really wonderful sugar loaded granola. A “habit” that began innocently enough months ago. My intention was to add a tablespoon or two of “yummy” for taste. That lasted about a day. My “just a touch” of granola had grown large enough to finally startle… Read More
Addictions, Death, Depression, Loss
THE LAST LAUGH
When I heard that Robin Williams had died by his own hand I thought of a favorite song. Don McLean’s beautiful Vincent has a line that has haunted me for years. “And on that starry, starry night, when no hope was left in sight, you took your life as lovers often do I could have told you Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.” It makes me want to cry. It always… Read More
Connection, Emotions, Family, Growth, Hanging In There
“THE BEAT GOES ON”
The beat goes on. If you’re of a certain age that phrase will quickly conjure up an image of Sonny & Cher. They were rock and roll royalty. Top Forty titans if you will. The song, written by Sonny, paints a lyrical portrait of changing times. “The Charleston was once the rage, uh huh History has turned the page, uh huh Grocery store’s the super mart, uh huh Little girls still break their hearts, uh huh”… Read More
A GHOST STORY
I love movies. Almost any genre except one. Slasher films. I tend to avoid realistic horror on the silver screen. I’m a scaredy cat. Life long member of the “duck down behind the seat in front of you, cover your eyes and wait till the audience stops screaming before you return to an upright position in your seat” club. It’s a club that needs a shorter name. I am, however, a sucker for a good ghost story. There’s a… Read More
AUNTIE VENOM
Who hates you? “Yikes”, you scream. “What a rude and weird question! Nobody hates me. I’m really, really lovable.” Okay. But chances are, if you’re a normal earthling, when you think about it for a moment or two someone will come to mind. Right about now you should be remembering old “what’s-his-name”, the creep who refused your perfect apology. Or you suddenly find yourself picturing Auntie Venom, the family member that doesn’t like anybody and has a special case of… Read More
SOUND ADVICE
There’s a Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson that’s a personal favorite. It’s a two-panel piece with one side showing a dog owner scolding his dog and the other showing what the dog hears. So, “Okay Ginger, I’ve had it! You stay out of the garbage! Understand Ginger?” In the first panel becomes “Blah, blah Ginger! Blah, blah, blah, Ginger, blah, blah!” in the second. Very funny. I miss seeing Larson’s daily offerings. I suppose he’s right about the… Read More
GETTING EVEN
“Getting even” is a phrase that can be read two ways with very different meanings. For example, consider a gangster or a bricklayer. Revenge for one, precision and balance for another When my feelings are hurt or I’m being insulted or verbally attacked I’m usually fairly passive. I tend to go a little tharn like the rabbits described in “Watership Down”. That almost paralytic place where I can’t really think or move. Only not so extreme. Tharn Light actually.… Read More
Clarity, Emotions, Hanging In There, The Right Stuff
CRAZY
A few days ago I posted a Waylon Jennings quote that I love. “I may be crazy, but it keeps me from going insane.” It started me thinking about the difference between crazy and insane. I have a pretty good working knowledge of both conditions. I’ve done some crazy ass things in my life. Have I experienced insanity? When I got sober I was told that a “power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.” The implication being… Read More
ACCEPTANCE
One of the most powerful scenes in the movie “Network” was Peter Finch playing a disillusioned broadcaster screaming that he was “mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore!” It earned him an Oscar. Rosa Parks courageous refusal to give up her seat to a white woman on a Montgomery Alabama bus is celebrated as a seminal moment in the birth of the CIvil Rights Movement Life saving discovery’s in medicine may be traced to brilliant minds refusing to… Read More
DREAMS
I’m not sure if it’s the rich foods I’ve been indulging in on the road or the European cultural input but for the last few nights I’ve had the most vivid dreams. An example: I’m spending what seems like hours trying to pack a bicycle for a steep, uphill ride from a studio I worked at years ago to a house on a hill that looks like a Disney castle. With the sunlight bursting from behind a cloud it’s heaven… Read More