As I look out my window and listen to the soft sounds of rain against the glass I am reminded of the rain’s fresh, cleansing power. I know with rain will come the new life of spring. I watch my world coming to life – seeing the daffodils and crocus peak their sleepy faces from [...]
I used to live on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex. With no one living above me I didn’t have to worry about being kept awake by bowling practice, or have a track team abruptly breaking into my quiet, contemplative mornings. On the flip side though, I had to learn how to strategically carry [...]
How many times have I heard, “Things are not what they seem?” It’s usually given as a warning, someone speaking it with the energy of “watch out” because you can’t know what’s coming your way! I can hear Lerch playing the organ in the background… creepy, howling, discordant chords of caution emanating from the bearer [...]
If you think about it, doors are everywhere, we breeze through them hundreds of times a day, rarely noticing them. Doors offer us protection, solitude, safety. They can let someone in, or keep them out! They show us the direction in which we are headed. Stop and think about all the doors you have passed [...]
As I look back on the last four weeks of writing this series and reading each entry multiple times, one question keeps popping up: Now what? Since I have put my thoughts on paper, gained a little more clarity, expanded the capacity of my own spiritual practice of gratefulness and thankfulness, where do I go [...]
“I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills ...” This is the opening sentence of the book Out of Africa, and it’s probably one of my most cherished lines from any book. From one sentence that says so little, my attention is caught and my imagination kicks in. I begin [...]
The other morning I had a meltdown. By meltdown, I mean I was crying so hard I couldn’t catch my breath. This kind of intense crying isn’t something new; I have experienced it during the most painful times of my life. The difference, though, on this morning was that I was weeping in celebration. I [...]
I have often heard the phrase, “In all things, we give thanks.” I must confess that from time to time when I have heard these words, I have silently wondered, “Really? All things?” I don’t know about anyone else, but I have been met by plenty of people and experiences where giving thanks or extending [...]
“I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills...” This is the opening sentence of the book Out of Africa, and it’s probably one of my most cherished lines from any book. It doesn’t provide much information really, yet it speaks volumes about life, adventure, and storytelling. From one sentence my [...]
For a couple years I have had this phrase, “Between mysticism and madness I find myself.” When something stays with me this long I know it is a thread to follow, so consider this fair warning for the beginning of my “following.” […]
Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai died this past week at 71, of ovarian cancer. In the early 1970s, saw the Sahara desert creeping south into her beloved homeland, Kenya. In the previous 100 hundred years, the forests had shrunk to less than five percent of what they once were. She knew that Kenya’s entire [...]
I love people watching, there is much to learn about myself and this crazy world I live in. One of my favorite places for doing my “scientific” observations is in restaurants. It’s almost as if people forget they are visible to the rest of the world. Same thing happens when we are in our cars. [...]
My story of believing how I physically see myself is an old one… meaning I can’t remember when I didn’t carry “my story.” I have carried it for most of my life and it hasn’t always been kind or loving, and certainly NOT pretty. My mantra for many years when I looked in the mirror [...]
Every year on Independence Day, I wonder about our founding fathers, the people who gave so much to ensure our freedom today. I don’t think I could ever know what they went through - the long drawn out messy battle to gain freedom – so much death, poverty and destruction. But as I sat with [...]
What a week! I type those 3 little words and my fingers stop because I don’t even know where to start. Saying “What a week,” could be followed up with good news or not so good news. It has been a week that has been bizarre, interesting, confusing, enlightening, wounding, painful and ever so profound. [...]
