Laura and I and a Ferris Wheel Laura had an emergency at work that morning, but first we–she and her husband and I– took a spin on a giant Ferris wheel, once known as a “pleasure wheel,” but today a playdate wheel. We went up, up, up… but at the top, just before the descent, […]
Still Saturday: Being
“We mostly spend [life] conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have and to Do. Craving, clutching and fussing, on the material, political, social, emotional, intellectual, even on the religious plane, we are kept in perpetual unrest: forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by […]
Art Matters: Making Art
In her book, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live Emily Freeman writes, You have the capacity to perform the human act of making art, of doing work that comes from deep within you and touches something deep within me. We make art with our lives. My friend, Carolyn, makes art […]
Becoming Mindful in Place: Mosquito
There’s a cloud of them, forming and re-forming like an angry amoeba. They’re battering the windows like marauding movie zombies. They. Want. My. Blood. “But it’s AB,” I yell at them. “My blood is AB-negative. You like it O. O-positive. I read that somewhere.” It must be my scent. Or the fact I’m now […]
Still Saturday: If We Are Silent…
One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless. We are so accustomed to relying upon words to manage and control others. If we are silent who will take control? God will take control; but we will never let Him take control until we trust Him. Silence […]
When You’re Unexpecting
I know something’s up when the usher hands me a scrap of green ribbon. It’s not like our pastor hasn’t told us to expect the unexpected. That’s the title of this month’s sermon series, after all. And he believes in fun. I’m hoping this is fun. We find a seat front and center, our […]
Still Saturday: Taking the Day Off
Today Today I’m flying low and I’m not saying a word. I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth. But I’m taking the day off. Quiet as a […]
Dream Poem #2: Tom and I
Tom and I We sat on the edge of an operating room table, Tom and I, dangling our legs and eating peaches while juice dribbled down our chins and puddled on the oyster shell floor. A nurse was measuring the walls with a coffee spoon, and a hippopotamus brought a plate of cinnamon toast and a pot of tea. […]
Some Ramblings On Charleston
I’ve been mostly silent about Charleston, stunned and saddened and totally at a loss to understand the hatred directed toward someone whose skin color just happens to be a different shade. I’ve also been hesitant to speak or write for fear of saying something too stupid, too simple, too superficial. Of speaking without understanding. Of being […]
Becoming Mindful in Place: When You Don’t Feel Like Walking
I’ve been crying again and don’t really feel like doing this walking assignment for my Becoming Mindful in Place workshop, but I carry my key and a heavy heart out to the garage. I drive Hope, my new red Jeep, down the paved entrance lined by American flags and through the gate. I bear […]
