I am an expert at making things more complicated than they need to be. Nowhere is this more evident than my efforts to be organized and maintain a to-do list. I can make the creation of a task management system into a week-long project. All to organize a handful of tasks that would have taken me a couple of hours to...

According to multiple media outlets, the Department of Homeland Security has filed for the expedited deportation of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family. I have no words…other than… …leave Liam alone.

Whoa. I have not written in this space for some time. So, what's up with that? 1. The world. The United States specifically. It has been exhausting. When I sit down to write, I haven't felt inspired. Nor have I had, anything of value to say. The news. The lack of empathy. The outright cruelty. This disregard for the...

A quick sketch of my proposed peace prize (not an artist). It's been a while since I've written a blog post. I tried taking a break from the buffoonery of the news in the hopes that it would dissipate. That has not gone well. As I wrote in a previous post (to do: be kind), I do believe that individual words and acts...

Before I moved to the city (a long time ago)… Raking leaves was work Shearing Christmas trees was work Small towns were boring Preparing for the Christmas season was work Solitude seemed inconvenient Now…it’s all therapy. comment by email, or say hello: jeff[dot]bearblog[at]gmail[dot]com

Some say it is dull. Drab. Dreary. Sterile. I see a palette of muted colors. Gold. Bronze. Ruddy. Amber. Shades of blue mottled by white and ivory. Glowingly beautiful. Accentuated by silence. Winter warmth.

I haven't written much the last few weeks. A lot going on. The holidays. My daughter's college graduation. Travel. But, that's okay. I'll get back on track soon. My struggle (or blessing) right now is that there are so many things I want to do... Learn bicycle mechanics (perhaps, by putting together a fixie) Make my...

Don't worry. The evidence is indisputable. I have a long history of worrying and I can tell you off the top of my head how many times it has helped. Uh, zero. What I can't tell you is the number of hours I have spent worrying about something that didn't come to fruition. Way more than zero. And yet, I worry. What a...

I had a plan to be productive today and sports cards messed it up. My goal was to make a significant dent in decluttering and organizing our garage. I started with the best of intentions and the first thirty minutes went well. I went through a box of camping gear and was able to get rid of things that had obviously...

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Pfft. That proverb is garbage. Our words matter. Said aloud, face to face, online…they matter. For our own health, as well as the well-being of others. Out of the abundance of the heart, our mouths speak. Have a good heart. Be kind. comment by...

Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you. - Walt Whitman I have a four-year old nephew that I watch from time to time. One of my duties is to pick him up from preschool. Until recently, he had been riding in a rear facing car seat, but he has now switched to a seat that faces...

I am determined to sell or give away a lot of my possessions. The older I get the more I realize how little I need. In fact, owning stuff is a distraction. It costs money, takes up space, needs to be organized, and I have a lot of things I never use. My grandfather had a wooden keg of bent nails in his garage. When...