à la carte spirit by ilona fried
ilona fried
Behold the Karmic Vacuum
These days, I pay careful attention to who and what shows up in, or disappears from, my life and if the arrivals, departures or synchronicities carry meanings. While I’ve always been attuned to symbols, it wasn’t until I started writing creative non-fiction to identify themes in my à la carte life that I began … Continue reading
Mothers, I Ate Your Chocolate
As I pushed a grocery cart through a main aisle of Sunflower Market yesterday, I passed a table with food samples. I slowed down and saw chocolate pieces piled in pastel cupcake liners. An employee with wiry silver hair and a creased brown face stood nearby. “Are you a happy mother?” she asked. I stopped, … Continue reading
In Praise of Fools
Recently, I met someone new. At first glance, due to his profession and appearance, he reminded me of three people I had been close to a few decades ago. Immediately, my mind decided that he was a mash-up of these folks and started scanning the conversation, his gestures and expressions for evidence that, indeed, he … Continue reading
Does “commitment” demand “sacrifice”?
My previous post on what it means to commit, and the comments it generated, has inspired further reflection. One view is that “commitment” requires “sacrifice”, a relinquishing of something else (presumably desirable) in order to honor the commitment. And our minds, conditioned to think in black and white, reinforce the idea of a tradeoff, which … Continue reading
What does it mean to “commit”?
I’ve been told by various people over the years, and most recently yesterday, that I can’t commit. I don’t know whether they are correct or not, but these folks seem to understand exactly what this means and, therefore, probably assume that I share their understanding. But I’m not sure I do, and I hope that … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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