suddenly the
fog rolls in-
chronic pain
For those of you who suffer from chronic illness such as fibromyalgia you understand what fog I speak of.
Apr9
Tag Archives: Veterans
Jun9
Mindfulness for military vets
As a Veteran I am thankful for the work that is being done.
On a day when the New York Times headline story is “Suicides Outpacing War Deaths for Troops,” I wanted to call your attention to some good work going on with returning combat veterans.
To be clear — I want to see the day when military action becomes entirely replaced by skillful and persistent diplomatic efforts, and when the U.S. as a whole (government and citizens) is able to look deeply at the root causes and conditions of war and understand our place in that karma. Until that day comes, we have vets coming home who are wounded physically and emotionally.
Here are a few contemplative and mindfulness-based initiatives that I’m aware of that are serving this community (one of which is time-sensitive, with a retreat coming up this July). If you know of more, please share them in the comments below.
- July 6 – 11: Writing & Meditation Retreat for…
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May13
Buddha smiles
children plant
flowers in temple garden-
Buddha smiles
Today the dharma school children planted in the garden. It was a joy to watch them interact with the Earth.
May12
sleepless night
artillery fire
disturbs my slumber-
monsoon season
May11
excruciatingly real
storms rips the
tree out by its roots.
wave after wave
Today’s posting is quite a bit late but as I am still working on my 365 haiku a day challenge I pushed to get this one in. After a few weeks of relative pain free days I was hit with serious waves last night. If you have ever seen the movie “Predator” and the scene where the alien is ripping the spine out of its target then you know what I felt like last night! But, since all things are impermanent I knew that it would pass. Meditating on the pain, stretching and rest helped it pass. This was the first time I was able to meditate and focus on such levels of pain. The experience was interesting to say the least. At first the pain was overwhelming but slowly I was able to look at it and soon I the pain, while still there, seemed to be outside of me and not as intense. The focus this took was exhausting so I took some medication and a nap. I am happy to say that the pain today reminded me of the reality of impermanence and I am grateful for this lesson.
Apr26
Toy soldier
sitting quietly at
the barred window-
discarded soldier
Mar29
Congress hates Veterans
While at the Veterans Hospital today I read a disclaimer that the staff had put on the counter at the dental clinic. It said:
“We would like to advise you that if you do not have dental coverage the cost of an extraction as set by CONGRESS is $487”
It goes on to say “a private extraction is less than $152 and at Cook County Hospital $50”
I find this disgusting and unjust. How can members of Congress sleep at night.
Thank you to the staff for bringing this to the attention of Veterans!
Mar27
War is hell
glancing back
as I leave the theatre-
war is hell
Today’s writing prompt was “Theatre” most people might think of going to a play or movie. To a combat veteran the word has a different meaning.
Mar2
Last Stop
va hospital
patiently waiting-
last stop
Today while visiting the VA I was nearly brought to tears as I looked around at the many Veterans who looked as if this visit might be there last.
Feb23
A proud moment
Today I was very surprised. Last month I submitted my photography in the Veterans National Art competition and today was the showing.
Happily I took 1st place in the Black and White category and 2nd place in the Color category.
I want to share in this moment with those who visit this blog.
