by Bruce McIntyre | May 30, 2014 | Caregiving
Reeling from their fresh diagnosis, John and Mary drove home in silence. That evening after dinner, Mary broke the silence. “How do we know if you really have Parkinson’s Disease? Is this the kind of thing that requires a second opinion?” “I don’t know,” John answered...
by Bruce McIntyre | May 23, 2014 | Spiritual Stuff
The moist smell of cool, morning, summer air stirred lightly past my nostrils and I breathed it in… deeply. Pepper, our cat, was playing with an unlucky toad. A young robin kept an eye on the cat as it pecked at the bird feeder. The steady sound of water...
by Bruce McIntyre | May 16, 2014 | Serendipity
Not sure about you, but I am very successful at growing weeds. Why is it that we struggle to nurture the grass, trees, and planted flowers in our yards and gardens, but the weeds seem to thrive best of all? What is the difference between the weed and the...
by Bruce McIntyre | May 9, 2014 | Spiritual Stuff
I love the way Ted Leeson, author of the classic book The Habit of Rivers, captures this phenomenon. Someone once asked Ray Charles what the worst part of being blind was; he replied, “Not being able to see.” Some things are pointedly obvious, and...
by Bruce McIntyre | Apr 29, 2014 | Serendipity
The whole experience seemed to swallow him up. Time went away. His focus narrowed. Distractions wasted their time on him. In the flow, in the moment, he was enjoying a snatch of time immersed in his passion. Fishing. What’s your passion? Teaching?...
by Bruce McIntyre | Apr 21, 2014 | Spiritual Stuff, Uncategorized
With a belly full of Peruvian delicacies, I strolled the Oklahoma City Arts Festival with my family. Brightly colored blown glass, intricately designed sculptures, and splendid captures of beauty in an array of art forms drew us in. Admiring and wondering at...
by Bruce McIntyre | Apr 14, 2014 | Resilience
“You have got to be kidding me!” I said once again. In the course of 5 weeks earlier this year, we experienced the following set of unfortunate events: I had another kidney stone (number six in my life). My wife had a gall bladder attack and gall...
by Bruce McIntyre | Apr 13, 2014 | Resilience
Some of us are strongly driven by feeling, some more so by thought. But, it’s never 100% one or the other. Each day, each week, I have a routine of tasks to do. These make sense in view of my monthly, yearly, and 5 year goals and they jive with my life...
by Bruce McIntyre | Apr 4, 2014 | Spiritual Stuff
For a moment, I paused. With intention, I filled my nostrils and lungs with the cool, moist air of a Tennessee Spring day. My eyes landed on dogwoods just beginning to bud, red bud trees already splashing the landscape, and the pronounced hint of green on the...
by Bruce McIntyre | Mar 31, 2014 | Resilience
In order to make large changes to improve your life or situation, you may find it most helpful to go upstream and make small changes. What does this mean? Well, think of a creek that floods over the road every time it rains. You could tear up the road and...
