I’ve realized, lately, that I live as if suffering is a shocking and insulting surprise. How foolish! How could I be this old and not yet understand, at my core, that suffering is simply part of this journey, part of…
Nonfiction
A friend of mine shared some profound life advice with me yesterday. “You cannot hate yourself into change,” she said. “Wow – that’s deep. The idea that maybe you could love yourself into the changes you want to see. I…
Dear William: A Father’s Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss, by David Magee, came to me on the wings of a friend’s recommendation. The epigraph reads: “For every child who is lost and every parent who has lost a…
Covid came calling, an unwelcome suitor, but some part of me said yes. (Isn’t that always the way? Be careful, I tell my daughters.) He brought all manner of unpleasantness. I felt pretty low. A friend brought sprigs of mint…
What will Spring look like in Kyiv? I dread it for them – and for us. This week, an icy grip holds the city. And worse approaches. In my yard, the world awakens and gladdens. Part of me does too….
It’s Saturday morning – dark, early – and I’m in a hotel room in the desert. I’m eating a Twix bar in bed and drinking English Breakfast tea. A tiny fire burns in the tiny fireplace, fed by a…
Is it possible to see yourself and the world anew, from a broader perspective, honoring a deep “inner knowing” that we all possess? Lisa Miller makes a powerful case for it in The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and…
In the hush and glory of this week’s snow, I worry about the boxwoods. Their burdened boughs bend to extremes. De-formed, the bushes no longer resemble themselves. Wretched and wrecked, they need some relief, and soon. And yet – each moment,…
A bee in winter travels into the new year finds open flower * * * Happy New Year, friends! I took an online haiku class this fall through St. Mary’s Sewanee. You might want to check out their offerings for…