The Healing Power of Books and Music

Books and music have a quiet but profound ability to heal. Through them, emotions and thoughts can be steadied, grief and longing given a place to go. Music, in particular, allows feelings to surface without needing words, while books open doors to worlds beyond our immediate reality. I was fortunate to have a father who […]

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Another Year

Another year disappears behind me, unnoticed, unceremonious.Once again, my family and I trace our hopes and dreams onto paper, as if naming them might keep them from slipping away. This year, I offer less.No plans. No striving.Only being—and the fragile hope that it will be enough. Time is a human illusion, a construct we cling […]

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How I miss thee

I ruminate a lot, perhaps too much. Lately, especially after turning sixty, I find myself looking back to my childhood, my teenage years, and during this Christmas season, to those little-big moments with my dad, my abuelita, and my nieces and nephews, whom I can hardly believe have grown so grown. I remember when Christmas […]

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Farewell Eyes

People often ask, “What’s the point?” But the answer shifts with time and age. At 60, I’ve come to realize that I now think in terms of “last times.”The last time I might go on a date.The last time I’ll hike 20 kilometers.The last time I’ll feel confident wearing a sleeveless top. A growing list […]

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Hopes, dreams, and resolutions

As I reflect on the speeding passage of time, I’ve noticed a shift in my yearly resolutions, hopes, and dreams. This isn’t a negative development; it signifies that I’ve either achieved those aspirations or some have lost their significance. Time provides a valuable perspective on life. I had an extensive list of goals and self-improvement […]

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Stop searching, because this is it.

Stop searching for the meaning of life. This is it: there isn’t any. We come to the world alone, we leave alone, and in between, we live, laugh, dream, cry, suffer, enjoy some joyful moments and search for the answers to living a happy life. And that’s it. This is it—the raw truth. But, there’s […]

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Campfires, pain, and joy

Over the past three years, I haven’t been able to enjoy a good old campfire with my advisees on our yearly start-of-school year retreat. This year we were finally able to do so, but I suffered an injury while exercising a few days before, sending me straight to the ER and my doctor, who thought […]

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