Famished Writer

Painting attributed to Willem van der Vliet, early 17th century in [Public domain]. A man will call it a 'bag' no matter what it is. It makes a woman feel like a bag lady. We all have them. Some are bulging, few are empty, all are recognizable like the childs voice to its mother. There is the cross-body strap style which was thoughtfully designed to distribute the burden more evenly across the back. How thoughtful. Shoulders are still integral to this onus. Could you keep these keys/glasses/wallet/stub for me (?) he asks rhetorically. Of course, there is room to spare. That is how we learn to save space for others and their other things. A book bag is a bag worth its weight in pulpiness. Heavy, yes, if not comical. Another ilk of book-bag with back-straps and a small handle at the top is also called a back-bag, I mean backpack. As you may guess, it is designed to be work on the back. And I do not mean the sixty-pound backpacking back-pack with a...

It is not just those of us that have that creative inclination that suffer most acutely. And there is no doubt that we are not the only creatures that are creative, obtusely, perhaps this eludes to a subjective response-'it depends on what is considered creative. Sometimes survival is the most creative thing I can think to do. It is speculated, even assumed, that humans have a greater capacity for empathy, case point-you reading this-we have a disturbing desire to understand each others experience-even if for selfish reasons. This so-called deeper sense of something and someone else is nothing short of a relief. We have saved each other from harm countless times, we have relieved the burden of others as well as consoled and comforted other souls in our days, if for nothing else other than the altruistic feeling-relief for the suffering, the pride of the savior, the nobility of caring, the power of human connections. Deep listening, according to Buddhist principles, is ...