Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Gifts
Good news is always the best kind of gift. This time last year, right before Christmas, Jessica, the Stem Cell Transplant coordinator, called me to say they had found a stem cell donor for me. The donor was a 100%, perfect match. Jessica sounded almost giddy with excitement. I learned later that the team had…
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An Infant Immune System
I was at MD Anderson this morning for lab tests. I’ve been getting them pretty frequently lately, once or twice a week, while the stem cell team continues to monitor my hemoglobin and creatinine levels. (I’ll write in another post about my adventures over the last six months with hemolysis–hemoglobin breakdown.) After a delightful lunch…
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Waking up
As a teenager I learned the fine art of pretending nothing bothered me. I got pretty good at it. At times when nothing seemed to be going well at home, actually at the worst of times, I felt I fooled everyone (except, of course, my family, but they were going a little miserable, too). I…
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Life Changes
Life changed dramatically for me and my family when I was diagnosed last year with plasma cell leukemia. The perspective I’ve contemplated for half my life–that situations are impermanent and unpredictable–came alive as a sanity-saver. I’ll be sharing parts of that story here, along with other brilliant stuff.
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Life is a TARDIS
For months–well, years, to be honest–I’ve been meaning to visit West 11th Street Park. I felt some kind of neighborly, good-citizen obligation to visit this park. Somehow my usual enthusiasm for urban parks became a compulsion in this case. I wanted to like it. I have a strange passion for urban parks. I love the idea…
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Eat it like it is
I don’t like onion bagels. I don’t ask for onion bagels. The poor barista seemed new, rushed, overwhelmed. He must have grabbed an onion bagel from the same tray that displayed my beautiful multigrain bagel in front. I didn’t realize it until I tore open the bag an hour later at my desk, ready for…
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How women make mistakes in marriage and what to do about it
How women make mistakes in marriage and what to do about it The article in today’s Huffington Post on Divorce Causes: 6 Marriage Mistakes to Avoid is useful for summarizing some common landmines of marriage. It’s addressed to women in heterosexual relationships, but it’s probably pretty generalizable. While the mistakes don’t have to lead to divorce, they…
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A Return to Sanity
Basic Goodness Day May 7 We want to live in a world of peace and goodness. We want a world where the highest values are tolerance, generosity, creativity, kindness, and fearlessness rather than self-absorption, aggression, and speed. A single glance at today’s news will tell you that we are at a crossroads. But we still…
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Sweeten the World Up
What we do, for good or ill, sends ripple effects through the lives of those around us and beyond. Our jealousies, small-mindedness, and insecurities affect our families, friends, and coworkers. So do our integrity, confidence, cheerfulness, and generosity. Doesn’t it make sense that working on ourselves can improve the state of our sweet old world?…
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The Bardo of Waiting
I wrote an email to a friend this morning: I am getting familiar with that in-between, waiting, confused, gap experience. I’m waiting on biopsy results myself–results are due Tuesday. My health over the last year has been one thing after another, since I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a year ago. There’s a word for…
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A Few Thoughts 