(This post is #34 in my Substack series, Metaphor Mondays.) Late afternoon on July 29, an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale struck eastern Russia. I was on my bed, taking a nap. I had spent another exhausting week in Portland with my 90-year-old dad, who was rec...

It’s not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not. – Thich Nhat Hanh Big Log, pictured above, arrived on Manzanita Beach in January. It was an impressive presence at 32 ft. long and 2.5 ft. in diameter. Winter storms eventually pushed Big Log up next to the dunes in March. Recently, the sand level has shifted. I have been away from the beach most of the summer, so I notice it during my brief visits home. Now Big Log is practically buried in new sand drifts. (below right) The same thing is happening to Biggish Log (only 25 ft. long), which arrived in May and hasn’t moved much. It’s driftwood. I know that impermanence is suggested right there in the name. But I’ll always be a little sad when familiar things change. Or disappear altogether. Metaphor Monday #33

Life has been chaotic for me lately. I’ve been busy with family stuff in Portland most of July. But I did get back to the coast for a very misty morning, and wanted to to share some chaotic wave footage with the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society, plus a seagull who also appreciates the waves.