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Legacy, and Lack Thereof
A day ago, a friend asked me, “what is your biggest fear?” I can’t typically answer that. When it comes to existential questions that want quantitative answers – what’s my [insert comparative word here] [insert mental or emotional process or list here]? – I’m not your gal. I’m a navel gazer, sure, but kind of Read more
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Expectations (this workout’s gonna suck…)
Tuesday night was my first trip to the gym since last Thursday. While that might not sound like much time, it’s important to consider how many cinnamon rolls, bottles of wine, Christmas cookies, and slices of fresh bread transpired in just those four days. The word ‘debauchery’ becomes ‘de-batch-ery,’ this time of year, as I Read more
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Food Memory
Picture your favorite meal. If you don’t have a favorite meal, picture a favorite food. What does it look like? What colors are there? How does it smell? Does it have a sound? Does it hiss or sizzle? Does it crunch? Now, think about eating it. How does it feel in your mouth? What do Read more
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TED Talk: Charter for Compassion, by Karen Armstrong
From the TED site: People want to be religious, says scholar Karen Armstrong; we should help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help build a Charter for Compassion — to restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine. If you haven’t yet run into a conversation about Read more
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Parenting My Thirtysomething Self
I’d like to think of myself as an adult. An adult that buys anything with unicorns plastered on it and believes in ghosts, yes; but an adult. When it comes to anything that requires effort, discomfort, self sacrifice, commitment or responsibility; however, that adult persona wields about as much real influence as the mother of Read more
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Nostalgia
Yesterday, a friend and I shared a long, rainy-day conversation about childhood. It was the sort of conversation I look back on with equal measures of hope and apprehension; did I do this right? Was I really listening? Did I say anything wrong? No matter what’s happened in later years, I acknowledge that the years Read more
Jen Koch 