Jonathan Carroll's Blog, page 6

Build a Life

Build this day, this hour, this moment… as if it were the only house you will live in till you die. Use only the best materials, cut no corners. Try to employ every ounce of strength and ingenuity you have and then when exhausted, find some more you never knew you had. Use it all to begin to build the home you have wanted all your life but are only now capable of creating. Because all the knowledge gathered from your past has enabled you to arrive here with everything you need to start the wo...

A Helping Hand

A true story from a friend.

Roger is a blind businessman.

Roger told us a story of being at a charity gala event — 8–10 people around a table. He’s having a good chat with his neighbor, who he discovers is a big finance guy…After a while, he needs to go to the toilet and realizes his wife has left the table, so he asks someone at the table to volunteer to walk him there. His table neighbor volunteers. They walk very slowly but his table neighbor knows exactly how best to guide him, how to hold...

Magnifying You

Answer to a reader who wrote in that they are going through a rough time:

Big sigh. I’m sorry for what has happened to you. For some reason I’m hearing too much of this same kind of news from all sorts of people — friends and readers — these days. I guess once you cross the 40 year old line it shouldn’t be surprising (although I crossed that line decades ago), but it is.

Someone recently told me that out of the blue their beloved husband died. She’s about your age and asked what should she do n...

The One Word Catastrophe

In my experience, long before a relationship/friendship ends, there’s almost inevitably an instance or two in which the other person says or does something that makes you immediately and very forcefully think, “I don’t like that. How could they do/say it? Jesus.” Rarely is it something big or dramatic. Depending on the situation, it can even be something as simple as one word. Frequently it is a small comment or act, maybe a stupid meanness that was unnecessary, insensitive, and achieved noth...

Our Light Saber

“On dark days we are always looking for those thrilling brief cracks in the purple sky when sun suddenly slices through the piled bruised clouds like a STAR WARS light saber, torching the world a while and making us smile. Because we know behind those clouds, the impending rain, snow, whatever bad weather… there are good days waiting to come again and fill our hands with yes. I am not in a good place now, but you are and that will save us. You and I together are that light saber, that sun, ac...

The Empty Gallery

A successful writer friend told a nice story. Every night when he walks his dog he passes a tiny art gallery on a street near his apartment. It has been there for years. All of the artwork inside has been done by the owner. None of it is very good. Although the gallery is open every night, even on weekends, my friend has never seen a single person inside other than the artist. All of the walls are covered with his work, as is the show window. There is a small room in the back where the artist...

You on Paper

Thought for the day:

If you were a book, what would be the title? What would your table of contents look like? Name some of the titles of your chapters.

You on Paper was originally published in Jonathan Carroll on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Last Year’s Words

Last year’s words woke me this morning in a panic. In trembling worried voices, they asked did I really mean what I said to her? Did I really mean it? I sat up and pointed angrily at them, both for waking me and asking if they were true. I said I meant every single word. Then I ordered them to get out of my head and go haunt her from now on.

Last Year’s Words was originally published in Jonathan Carroll on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to t...

Eau de You

cologne by Perfumer H, London

Just before they sat down, she leaned in very close to him again and sniffed. “What kind of cologne do you use?”

Taken aback both by the intimacy of her gesture and the question, he shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t have a favorite.”

“And I bet you don’t wear one enough. You should — this is a mistake for a man. The world is full of bad things — bad people, bad food, bad smells, bad situations. Men who walk through life smelling beautiful always have an advanta...

Snow Truth

“It was a good relationship-“
“It wasn’t a relationship — it was an affair.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Snow.”
“What do you mean?”
“An affair is like one of those romantic snowfalls where big flakes float down, but as soon as they hit ground they melt. In a relationship, the snow sticks.”

Snow Truth was originally published in Jonathan Carroll on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.