For a while, I thought it was a joke, my new specialists. I’ve been telling people for years that I began this period in my life when I acquired my cardiologist. It’s more than 15 years now. I picked up Dr. Gala at the time that I had my carotid artery rotorootered. That surgery was fortuitous, the result of an incidental finding. If I hadn’t had the surgery then, I would have stroked within six months, maybe died. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster since – four stents and on

“Doing good for Others” was always my strong suit. It was my birthright.  I was a social activist, diving into Zen in search of inner peace. I was relieved when Bernie said I didn’t have to put my activism on hold while I worked toward enlightenment. “In some traditions, one goes up the mountain (to enlightenment) before starting down the mountain (to do good for others). In our way, we go up and down the mountain at the same time.” It was one of Bernie’s most important teach

Things don’t always work out the way we’d hoped. It’s part of life. We’re all dealing with disappointments. If we do creative work, disappointment comes with the turf. Early in my professional career, I learned one way to deal this. I was intent on getting articles into professional journals – social work and mental health – when one was rejected by Hospital & Community Psychiatry . This wasn’t an everyday, polite rejection. It came with blind-reviewer comments, one of whom a