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December 1987Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.
Paul Tillich
The Eternal Now
I should have known Brian would leave me. I should have felt his restlessness and uncertainty. Instead, I woke up four Mondays ago with only a tattered note for a companion. I was abandoned, surprised, and angry. What good were my powers if I couldn’t predict my own life?
By Deborah ShouseSeptember 1987When I wanted a simple cure, I got complicated dreams instead. When I wanted reassurance, I got shards of enlightenment — and what am I supposed to do with that?
By D. Patrick MillerMarch 1987An orange can’t be too round. / At night milk is black. / The first wife remembers everything. / The tall perspire first.
By SparrowSeptember 1986The women of my life stand in a full circle around me, waiting for me to choose among them. The clothes and expression and posture of each woman recall a particularly intense moment in our lives together. I look into their eyes and see them pleading. This is my dream and my nightmare.
By Richard MeislerSeptember 1986There comes a point, a threshold crossing, where everything that you’ve been taught is of no use to you whatsoever. This is the moment of dismemberment, of divestiture. It is symbolized in such mythological images as Jonah swallowed by the whale, the god Osiris torn to pieces, the crucifixion of Christ. The trip is going to take you, if it is really your trip, to the moment of decision: follow your way or follow the way of prudence. That is the breakthrough. And what follows are trials which become greater and greater and greater until you come down to an ultimate abyss, and the experience you were seeking.
By Joseph CampbellSeptember 1986I can’t figure out why Adam and Eve stood for it. If they had enough gumption to question the menu, you’d think they would have said, “Now, just a minute, God. Cool down. Let’s not overreact.”
By Carlos Anne PhelpsJune 1986Now in the long evenings after dinner she often found herself standing before the bathroom mirror, trying hard to glimpse some of the prettiness her husband had always championed.
By D. Patrick MillerMarch 1986Personal, political, provocative writing delivered to your doorstep every month—without a single ad.
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