Category Archives: Spirit

Finding Immortality

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

How long do you want to live? It’s not that we can determine how many years we will be on this earth, not exactly. We do have something to do with it, though. Most obviously, we can take care of … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Spirit | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Silver Lining While Waiting for Healing

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve had a difficult time of it recently. Though the surgery I had in February was successful, I was rehospitalized a couple weeks later with complications. Urine was leaking into my abdomen, causing severe pain. The doctors fitted me with … Continue reading →

Posted in Body, Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Wineskin in the Smoke

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I had surgery a week ago. I had only undergone surgery under general anesthetic once before, an outpatient surgery about fifteen years ago. This time, I had a cancerous body part removed, meaning I was unconscious for longer than during … Continue reading →

Posted in Body, Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thinking About Cancer: Metaphors

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been blogging recently about cancer. This topic has been on my mind since I am about to have my cancerous prostate removed. One thing I have been reflecting on is culture’s dominant metaphor for dealing with life-threatening illness. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Sit In Your Cell As In Paradise”

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I recently ran across the Brief Rule of the Camaldolese order, part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities. The first Camaldolese community was established by St. Romuald, an Italian monk, about a thousand years ago.  I was particularly struck … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirit | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lessons from a 93 Year Old

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

Originally posted on BeautyBeyondBones:
I had one of those experiences last night that’s going to stick with me for a long time. Sunday night. 7:30pm. And I was going to a church I had never been to. I moseyed in…

Posted in Spirit | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Bloom Anyway

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

This spring, I planted sunflower seeds in my mom’s yard. I planted them in three places: in the backyard, alongside the driveway, and in a mostly-fenced garden area. The seedlings soon pushed their heads out of the dirt, then grew … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Spirit | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dealing With Bereavement: Irrational Thoughts and Hope

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

In Joan Didion’s memoir of grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, she reports that her thoughts were often irrational. Her husband John Gregory Dunne died on December 30, but, according to her, “It was deep into the summer… before I … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Spirit | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What To Hope For Now?

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

On her blog “Everyone Has a Story,” Bird recently wrote about hope in midlife. She notes that in childhood, we all had hopes for what we would be when we grew up, in our twenties our hopes had to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Relationships, Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“I Grow More Intense as I Age.”

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

In earlier posts I discussed a passage in George Eliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss in which Eliot suggested that, compared to the young, the middle-aged are “half-passionate” while the elderly are “merely contemplative,” that is, without any passion at … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Spirit | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment