Deep Something

A gently rising two-lane road at sunrise, narrowing toward the horizon in soft golden light.

Looking Back at 2025: A Year of Loss, Resolve, and Reckoning

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 B. John 400 Views 0 Comments Resilience, Civic Engagement, Reflection, grief, aging, Reinvention, Intentional Living, Stoicism

At 66, I did not expect 2025 to take as much as it did. My mother died. I lost my job. Certain illusions about stability quietly disappeared. It was not a year of fireworks or easy victories. It was a year of subtraction. And yet, beneath the loss, something steadier emerged: clarity. About health. About purpose. About what still matters when titles and timelines fall away.
If 2025 was the year of endurance, 2026 must be the year of intention. Fewer illusions. More intention. The road continues. In this year-end reflection, I write honestly about grief, layoffs, aging, civic resolve, and the discipline of choosing steadiness anyway. I hope you’ll read the full piece and walk a little of that road with me.

Entertainment Featured Humor

Nothing Says “This Season of Life” Like a Cremation Luncheon Invite

February 4, 2026 B. John 208 Views 0 Comments end of life planning, grief and remembrance, humor in aging, caregiving, Reflection, mortality, aging

Yesterday’s mail brought me a milestone. Not a birthday card or a Medicare handbook, but a glossy luncheon invitation from the National Cremation Society. Apparently, once Medicare enters your life, the end-of-life marketing ecosystem wakes up and decides it’s time to talk.

The flyer promised “Personalized Affordable Options” and a “Professional Service Guarantee”—phrases that raise more questions than they answer. Since I grew up in the funeral business, I had to laugh. But underneath the humor is something real. Planning for death isn’t really about logistics; it’s about caring for the people who are left behind.

This essay starts with jokes, but it ends with what matters most: grief, love, and why the way we leave matters more to the living than to the dead.

Featured Religion Society Stoicism

Practicing Memento Mori: Learning to Live by Remembering Death

October 19, 2025November 30, 2025 B. John 464 Views 0 Comments aging, emotional well-being, Laura Carstensen, Gratitude, Memento Mori, Stoicism, mortality, mindfulness

We spend much of our lives pretending we have endless time. The Stoics knew better. Memento Mori—remember that you will die—was not a grim command but a call to live awake. Modern science now confirms what they intuited: when people recognize their days are finite, they become calmer, kinder, and more grateful.

In this new essay, I explore how ancient philosophy and modern psychology meet on common ground. From Seneca to Stanford researcher Laura Carstensen, the message is the same: awareness of mortality can make life richer, not smaller. Read Memento Mori: Learning to Live by Remembering Death.