Word of the Year

Each 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.…

Resting & Reflecting

What 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…

Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

Neither 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.…

Balance

Sept. 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.…

Suffering

The Irish poet Brendan Kennelly wrote, “Hell is the familiar all stripped of wonder.” Ceasing to marvel at the miracle of ordinary life is a joyless way of being. Yet, life is clearly not all roses and butterflies. Even ordinary life itself provides enough suffering with frequency and magnitude to drain the soul of inspiration.…

One Ordinary, Marvelous Day

We are living in extraordinary times. Even if a single day feels ordinary, the compilation of days that make up this week, this season, this pandemic is extraordinary. But what are we doing to commemorate this historic time? How are we living every day as though it is an ordinary but marvelous day? In 2012,…