[Image: “A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat (1884)] “White. A blank canvas, his favorite, so many possibilities …” “Sunday, by the blue purple yellow red water!” So begins the entry to Steven Sondheim’s magnificent choral rendition from the musical “Sunday in the Park with George,” an exploration of the…
Details“When someone says to us, as Thich Nhat Hanh suggests, ‘Darling, I care about your suffering,’ a deep healing begins.” ―Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha When my three-year-old son tested positive for Covid-19, I felt strongly that I couldn’t panic, or fret, or wring my hands. He’s a…
DetailsThin translucent thread of life and death Spinning and twirling in the slightest and soft held embrace of the earth’s breath Glistening in the sun, awe inspiring chaotic intertwined dance of perfection Viability and ruination front and center, all defining, but meaningless on this gossamer space ride An instance of landing with both grace and…
DetailsA long afternoon of light on the edge of the forest not in the thick of it yet, the door cracked open watching the wind stir the late-hanging leaves, the stems of grasses, the shadows stretching toward me while the sky stretches higher and higher and whatever I had in mind to accomplish is not…
DetailsAs we anticipate celebrating the Winter Solstice, reconnecting with family and friends, and simultaneously search for alternative gifts that address, educate, and impact economic, environmental and racial inequity, you might desire to support an initiative by Families Belong Together. In support of this initiative, we invite you to celebrate this season of giving by writing…
DetailsEach December, as one year winds down and another is just a glimmer of possibility, I try to encapsulate the outgoing year—and how I experienced it—in a single word or phrase. The year I regained my health by losing weight, went skydiving and took a pilgrimage to Italy with my mother, my word was Joy.…
DetailsIn the Andy Williams song, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” there is a line that, to many, seems out of place. “There’ll be scary ghost stories, and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago …” To understand what the song is referencing, one must remember that many Christmas traditions grew out…
DetailsWhat is it about this time of year— this season of late fall— that invites rest and reflection? I am given quiet mornings among pines and golden grasses Will I accept the invitation? Will I sit and listen? Will I rest and reflect? I might. I might get swept away with business and to-do lists…
DetailsHealing childhood trauma is the vocation of many gifted mental health professionals who I have encountered and collaborated with over the years. Wounds from our childhood stay hidden in our bodies (or not-so-hidden) for the rest of our lives, manifesting as many forms of cancers and blood disorders, headaches, digestive issues, cardio-vascular or neurological dis-ease,…
DetailsNeither Out Far Nor In Deep The people along the sand All turn and look one way. They turn their back on the land. They look at the sea all day. As long as it takes to pass A ship keeps raising its hull; The wetter ground like glass Reflects a standing gull The land may vary more; But wherever the truth may be– The water comes ashore, And the people look at the sea. They cannot look out far. They cannot look in deep. But when was that ever a bar To any watch they keep? —Robert Frost Those of us who identify as seekers know the struggle. Life continually presents the opportunity to awaken to a higher nature or purpose. It takes a conscious effort to combat inertia.…
DetailsDuring the pandemic, there have been many moments of unexpected blessing. For me, one of those blessings was the opportunity to host the Prairiewoods Knitters & Stitchers on Zoom during the months when meetings were virtual rather than in person. I so enjoyed the conversation that goes along with knitting together and stitching side by…
DetailsCOP26 is happening Oct. 31–Nov. 12, 2021! COP stands for Conference of the Parties. The Parties include the 196 countries and the EU who signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty in 1994. That treaty established an international, environmental agreement to combat “dangerous human interference with the climate system,” committing to…
Details“Can love, in its unaccountable weirdness, hope to overcome a culture of individualism built on denying all our millions of kinships and dependencies? That is our central drama now. It’s the future’s one inescapable story, and we are the characters who will steer that conflict to its denouement.” —Richard Powers, “A Little More than Kin”…
DetailsMindful by Mary Oliver Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for— to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world— to instruct myself over and over in joy,…
DetailsSt. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556 C.E.), famous for his “Spiritual Exercises,” was the Roman Catholic counter-Reformation founder of the religious order known as the Jesuits. He knew well the vagaries of the human heart. He recognized patterns of spiritual fluctuation ranging from periods of “consolation” to “desolation.” Experiences of consolation, marked by inner peace and…
DetailsIn the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground … A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now. —Wangari Maathai, Nobel Lecture, Oslo, Dec. 10, 2004…
DetailsEach year, one of Prairiewoods’ most beloved traditions is our Blessing of the Animals, which we hold near Saint Francis Day (Oct. 4). However, given rising Covid numbers, we have decided not to hold an in-person Blessing of the Animals this year. Instead, we are hoping to help you create your own blessing in your…
DetailsSept. 22 is the beginning of autumn. It is the equinox, one of two times a year when day and night are equal length. I’ve found this moment of astronomical balance to be a wonderful time for inward reflection and to ground myself in preparation for winter and all of the longer, darker nights ahead.…
DetailsTuesday thunder and lightning and our world is another place no day will ever be the same no blood Untouched they know this storm in otherwheres israel ireland palestine but God has blessed America we sing and God has blessed America to learn that no one is exempt the world is one all fear is…
DetailsI never tire of kneeling before the oaks that flank the altar in the chapel, centering myself with the one to the east first, then pivoting south. In their presence it seems more possible to pray, to feel the spirit skittering through me like the squirrel leaping from branch to branch, like the sun climbing…
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