“All shall be well again” (I hope)
Trust. It’s not the easiest quality for me to find in these dystopian-feeling days. So I turned to a fourteenth-century mystic who somehow managed to find hers in the darkest of times. Julian of Norwich, an anonymous anchoress (recluse) lived during a time in which a third of the population died from the bubonic plague. […]
How to sing our arms back open
Darkness makes the light stand out. When I was traveling in France after my mother’s death, I sought out the prayer candles stored in the shadowy corners of village churches. Even though I’m not Catholic, I’d light a candle for Mom, letting it glow in the dark as I thought about her. I seem to […]
An easy way to discover more delight, daily
How might your life be different if, every day, you tracked on delight? I stole this idea from a poet. One of my reading finds at the end of the year was The Book of Delights by poet Ross Gay. Gay challenged himself to identify and write about a delight each day for a year. […]
Before you resolve, absolve (plus a gift for you)
I hope I’m not too late. I wanted to catch you before you make any…resolutions. Tonight, before the clock strikes twelve, whether you’re in New York, India, or our soggy Northwest, you may be tempted, as you stand before a slightly soused group of friends, to declare your intentions for the year. Take care! Resolutions can be […]
Finding hidden madonnas everywhere
Next week, we enter a new decade. This week, as we move through the days between the years, it seems a good time to spend a few minutes exploring what is mysterious, beautiful or holy around us. A Christmas Story My Christmas was quiet this year, but on Christmas Eve, as I was consumed by […]
How to welcome back the light
Welcome to the season of light. Whatever your faith, the light, in the Northern Hemisphere, can shine in radiant contrast to the dark around us. But during this fly-by-get-ready-for-the-holidays time of the year, do we take time to appreciate both the light and the darkness that surrounds it? Or do we just fume when a […]
How to find Magic in the Ordinary
Last weekend, our furnace quit. That meant no heat and no hot water. We warmed the house by turning on our stove’s gas burners. My husband chivalrously carted buckets of hot water from the kitchen to the bathroom so that I could take a bath (sacred evening ritual) pioneer style. After the furnace was repaired, […]
When life goes to the dogs
Sometimes the things we do that are crazy might be the most sane.
Put the hallow back in Halloween (plus five freaky facts)
Halloween is coming, that once a year fest of spooks, villains, princesses, and pumpkins–a merchandiser’s dream. If we could ignore the overdose of commercialism, though, we might find, within the history of its Celtic predecessor, rituals that would help us move gracefully into the season of darkness, remember the presence of those we have loved, and […]
If fear knocks: 8 ways to survive an anxious day
Today I’m waiting for the outcome of a friend’s surgery, and whether that’s fear or anxiety, it’s pretty hard to take because there’s nothing I can do to influence the situation. Fear and anxiety have set in. Technically, they are different although I consider them blended cousins. According to the psychologists who wrote the DSM, […]
