Musings

Suffering While Cycling, Get a Grip

The cessation of suffering comes from letting go, but first you have to get a grip. ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu On a sunny, warm Thursday afternoon, while pedaling through a neighborhood just outside of town, I experienced the “not-so-much.”  They were driving a large red Suburban, two kids sitting in the backseat, and a yellow lab sticking its …

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To Dad

Dear Dad, thank you for teaching me how to ride a bicycle, opening the road for my journey, and pointing me in the direction of true liberation. –Love, Julie, ’22

Taking Refuge in My Saddle

I take refuge in the Buddha.I take refuge in the Dharma.I take refuge in the Sangha. I recently moved to Southwestern Pennsylvania to be closer to family, and to take care of my childhood home.  It was a move made with compassion, out of a sense of kinship, and perhaps sprinkled with a bit of familial …

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Begin Again

There is joy and an important sense of renewal in each effort to begin again.  ~Sharon Salzberg It’s been a while since I’ve written here.  Right after completing our first sacred century back in September, life happened in stunningly surprising and sometimes disheartening ways.  It was a wondrous journey, meandering the hills of Eastern New York.  And, I lament not …

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What “Sacred” Means to Me

I have a magnet (pictured below) on my refrigerator that reads: Everyone, everywhere, every day is sacred.  I believe this with all of my heart.  And, I wonder about this word, this string of letters that elicits expectation, exultation and grace; this word that intimates that whatever, or whomever, it is attached to or associated with is something …

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