I look forward to your words every week Hal. I know I cannot possibly relate to your experience. I live in a relatively healthy body and yet my mind and your thoughts are so similar. Our struggles may be drastically different, but they are struggles. Some days better than others and I wish for you better days, less struggles and the understanding that you are such a beautiful gift to me and to the world. Thank you. Thank you.
Oh, Hal, what can I say? You know you are loved, but you have to love yourself first to believe it with your heart and soul. Anyways, my old phrase, " You are not alone ," comes to mind again.
I have been singing this little song to my two youngest grandchildren this week, ages 1 and almost 3. It fits with some of your thoughts.
Magic Penny
Love is something if you give it away
Give it away
Give it away
Give it away
Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more.
My thought is, fwiw...for what it's worth...you ARE that wise voice, you ARE doing great things, well, the one I know of for certainty-- this blog. What a terribly sad, unfair thing, that you have to face suffering head on so much of the time. What a wonderful thing, that you are turning your experience into wisdom for the sake of others. I wish you well on your journey, Hal.
Your message, “If you want friends, you have to be a friend,” is a valuable one. And, at the risk of being another a-hole who says, “Have you tried X?” I’m going to throw out the idea of psychedelics, which I’ve done a lot of reading about lately. You’ve said you’ve had a pretty “adventurous” life, which may already have included some experimentation in that area, but when I hear you talk about ego and the need for external validation, I immediately think of the “ego death” described by those who have used psychedelics. There’s also a profound feeling of connectedness that comes with the experience. A close friend recently hired a trained guide to help him through a “journey,” and he found it to be a life-altering experience. I haven’t done it myself, but I’m considering it — or at the least, looking into microdosing, which has been found effective for depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Haven't heard a new podcast from you recently, so I went back to the wisdom of this one. Thank you for teaching all of your readers/listeners the beauty of honesty and sharing .
We are back in Minneapolis after staying with our son Cory through his last days of life. Ann has cried many times, before and after his passing. For example, when I took a jar of instant coffee out of the cupboard, coffee that we never drank, but that he always drank when he stayed with us. I said:”Well, I guess we can throw this out.”
It’s been different for me; not many tears, but a dull ache, and a lethargy that hangs on most of the day. We are planning his memorial service at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. I’m going to sing for it; I should be able to get through it without breaking down.
But to get back to your podcast…. I had an odd sense of “it could be worse; at least I will get through this.” Cold comfort I guess, but comfort all the same. Thanks.
I look forward to your words every week Hal. I know I cannot possibly relate to your experience. I live in a relatively healthy body and yet my mind and your thoughts are so similar. Our struggles may be drastically different, but they are struggles. Some days better than others and I wish for you better days, less struggles and the understanding that you are such a beautiful gift to me and to the world. Thank you. Thank you.
Oh, Hal, what can I say? You know you are loved, but you have to love yourself first to believe it with your heart and soul. Anyways, my old phrase, " You are not alone ," comes to mind again.
I have been singing this little song to my two youngest grandchildren this week, ages 1 and almost 3. It fits with some of your thoughts.
Magic Penny
Love is something if you give it away
Give it away
Give it away
Give it away
Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more.
It's just like a magic penny
Hang on tight and you haven't got any
Lend it, spend it and you will have so many.
They will roll all over the floor.
Hang in there, my friend. Peace, Annette
My thought is, fwiw...for what it's worth...you ARE that wise voice, you ARE doing great things, well, the one I know of for certainty-- this blog. What a terribly sad, unfair thing, that you have to face suffering head on so much of the time. What a wonderful thing, that you are turning your experience into wisdom for the sake of others. I wish you well on your journey, Hal.
Regarding your comment about God and 12-step programs. Best thing I ever heard was an atheist who said , to him, his higher power was
Group
Of
Drunks
I guess God comes in all sorts of forms. ☺️
I wish you peace and wellness.
You are a wise guy.
Thanks for the words of wisdom. I need to do a better job of reaching out to friends and also doing the hard things. Take care Hal
Great to see you today on Zoom, Laura. thanks for being there. H
Your message, “If you want friends, you have to be a friend,” is a valuable one. And, at the risk of being another a-hole who says, “Have you tried X?” I’m going to throw out the idea of psychedelics, which I’ve done a lot of reading about lately. You’ve said you’ve had a pretty “adventurous” life, which may already have included some experimentation in that area, but when I hear you talk about ego and the need for external validation, I immediately think of the “ego death” described by those who have used psychedelics. There’s also a profound feeling of connectedness that comes with the experience. A close friend recently hired a trained guide to help him through a “journey,” and he found it to be a life-altering experience. I haven’t done it myself, but I’m considering it — or at the least, looking into microdosing, which has been found effective for depression, anxiety, and addiction.
We do hard things... yes we do...
You really helped me today, Hal. I learned from your words. You are a beautiful and wise person Thank you.
Haven't heard a new podcast from you recently, so I went back to the wisdom of this one. Thank you for teaching all of your readers/listeners the beauty of honesty and sharing .
We are back in Minneapolis after staying with our son Cory through his last days of life. Ann has cried many times, before and after his passing. For example, when I took a jar of instant coffee out of the cupboard, coffee that we never drank, but that he always drank when he stayed with us. I said:”Well, I guess we can throw this out.”
It’s been different for me; not many tears, but a dull ache, and a lethargy that hangs on most of the day. We are planning his memorial service at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. I’m going to sing for it; I should be able to get through it without breaking down.
But to get back to your podcast…. I had an odd sense of “it could be worse; at least I will get through this.” Cold comfort I guess, but comfort all the same. Thanks.
We do hard things... yes we do...