I am a mediocre knitter, but yarn is comforting in the cold months of winter. I learned how to knit from my mother, who learned from her mother. Many, many years later someone pointed out to me that I was “doing it wrong.” I tried many times to change my technique, but always grew frustrated and went … More Learning to Unlearn, Daring to Rip Out
When I was in my twenties I married a man named Bill who was not a good match for me, nor I for him. After seven years of a progressively deteriorating marriage, we finally agreed to divorce. Having no children, we had no further contact. Twenty years later, on Saturday, 15 September 2001, the front … More Fauré, Fourteen Years Later
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the most important religious thinkers of the 20th century, once wrote: “Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. … More I asked for wonder
Most summers I have been able to spend a week or two at the beach — on Hatteras Island, NC, one of the most unspoiled stretches of Atlantic beach that still remains (thanks to the long stretches preserved as National Seashore). When I am there, I become a beachcomber. When I was a young child my keenest … More Combing the beach, combing life
There is a Chinese proverb that says, “If you keep a green bough in your heart, the singing bird will come.” It’s a lovely expression of hope and open-heartedness. But it’s one of those inspirational thoughts that sometimes evoke in me a slight “niggling” feeling. Something doesn’t sit quite right. Or, at least, it may not sit … More If I keep a green bough in my heart, will the singing bird always come?
I’m of an age (65) where looking back over my life can take a while. So many years. So many different residences (8 states) and family configurations. And so many vocations: secretary, editor, college professor, experimental psychologist, writer, pastor, spiritual director, church bureaucrat…. Did I really do all those different things? And WHY? Was I just … More “Beauty will save the world.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky
