Schuster Family Medicine and Osteopathic Care

05/22/2026

Solitude is one of the most precious things in the human spirit. It is different from loneliness. When you are lonely, you become acutely conscious of your own separation. Solitude can be a homecoming to your own deepest belonging. One of the lovely things about us as individuals is the incommensurable in us. In each person, there is a point of absolute nonconnection with everything else and with everyone. This is fascinating and frightening. It means that we cannot continue to seek outside ourselves for things we need from within. The blessings for which we hunger are not to be found in other places or people. These gifts can only be given to you by yourself. They are at home at the hearth of your soul.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from his book, Anam Cara,
25th Anniversary Edition.
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/anam-cara

County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

05/10/2026

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from 'A Morning Offering' found in his books,
To Bless the Space Between Us (US) / Benedictus (Europe)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

04/08/2026

Since these are being asked about more and more:

Health and wellness influencers are hawking unapproved treatments on the gray market. The future of the F.D.A.—and the health of consumers—is at stake.

04/06/2026

Confused about protein? Here's how to figure out your optimal intake

The Dietary Guidelines released this year recommend higher levels of this essential nutrient. But protein needs are personal. Here's how to assess yours.

04/06/2026

EASTER BLESSINGS

"On this Easter morning, let us look again at the lives we have been so generously given and let us let fall away the useless baggage that we carry -- old pains, old habits, old ways of seeing and feeling -- and let us have the courage to begin again. Life is very short, and we are no sooner here than it is time to depart again, and we should use to the full the time that we still have.

We don't realize all the good we can do. A kind, encouraging word or helping hand can bring many a person through dark valleys in their lives. We weren't put here to make money or to acquire status or reputation. We were sent here to search for the light of Easter in our hearts, and when we find it we are meant to give it away generously.

May the spirit and light of this Easter morning and the special spirit and light of this abbey at Corcomroe bless us all, watch over us and protect us on our journey, open us from the darkness into the light of peace and hope and transfiguration."

JOHN O'DONOHUE
Dawn Mass Reflections at Corcomroe Abbey

Excerpt from his books: Walking in Wonder (US/UK) / Walking on the Pastures of Wonder (Ireland)
https://johnodonohue.com/

Corcomroe Abbey
County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

03/08/2026

A home is not simply a building; it is the shelter around the intimacy of a life. Coming in from the outside world and its rasp of force and usage, you relax and allow yourself to be who you are. The inner walls of a home are threaded with the textures of one's soul, a subtle weave of presences. If you could see your home through the lens of the soul, you would be surprised at the beauty concealed in the memory your home holds. When you enter some homes, you sense how the memories have seeped to the surface, infusing the aura of the place and deepening the tone of its presence. Where love has lived, a house still holds the warmth. Even the poorest home feels like a nest if love and tenderness dwell there.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from his books, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace (US) / Divine Beauty (Europe)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

County Clare Cottage Window, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

03/02/2026

Important to keep in mind

WÚWÉI

My master liked challenges. He could instantly counter every fighting scenario I proposed to him (or any outright strike for that matter). This extended to philosophy too. I was uninhibited in throwing every spiritual question at him at any time, and as provocatively as possible. He always answered without hesitation.

"What about wúwéi?" I asked him. "It's supposed to be effortless action, flow, an easy way of life."

He turned and looked at me with pity.

"Think of it as wú suǒwéi," (無所為) he said. I knew instantly what he meant. I had heard this phrase all my life. It meant acting without intentions. Vernacularly, it's similar to people today saying, "no worries." They mean that there are no problems, no consequences, no trouble. There is no issue or offense because nothing bad was intended.

My master elaborated: "It means you don't have ulterior motives to what you do. In other words, don't be selfish. “

As I worked on translating the Dàodéjīng, I thought of his lesson. The wéi 為 in wúwéi can mean "to serve." So my master was telling me that wúwéi meant "don’t be self-serving."

Then I realized that I had been lectured this way since childhood. I had always been told, especially by my grandmothers, "Don't think of yourself." In Chinese, it was literally, "don’t (wú 無) act (wéi 為) for yourself." I was supposed to serve (wéi 為) my family and community. (Note: wéi 為 also means “for” so there’s a double emphasis implied: don’t act FOR yourself.)

More next week, but for now, consider that wúwéi is not the self-serving promise that you'll get results for nothing: "Oh, I don't have to make any effort and everything will happen the way I want."

The terms in the Dàodéjīng almost always carry multiple meanings. This is part of Lǎozì’s writing strategy. We can’t translate the text by mere search-and-replace, designating a single meaning for each ideogram. Wúwéi has many meanings, including effortless action, only it doesn’t mean the self-serving promise that others have asserted it to mean. I will support these ideas with passages from the Dàodéjīng in future posts.

02/15/2026

There is a lovely idea in the Celtic tradition that if you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition, there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from the book, Anam Cara,
25th Anniversary Edition.
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/anam-cara

Dromoland Castle Garden Roses
County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

02/12/2026

There is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it presides everywhere, often in the places we least expect. The world can be harsh and negative, but if we remain generous and patient, kindness inevitably reveals itself. Something deep in the human soul seems to depend on the presence of kindness; something instinctive in us expects it, and once we sense it we are able to trust and open ourselves.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from the books, Benedictus (Europe) / To Bless the Space Between Us (US)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

02/12/2026

A reason to smile

Ann Powers | February 12, 2026During a Sarah McLachlan performance, the chills come when you least expect them. One of the most expressive singer-songwriters...

01/18/2026

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/15/nx-s1-5611117/beat-anxiety-insomnia-get-back-to-sleep

People struggling with insomnia tend to hyperfocus on the fact that they can't sleep, which can prevent them from getting any shut-eye. Experts share effective practices to overcome sleep stress.