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One touch
I’ve been thinking a lot about Trainer recently… Usually, I admit, it’s thinking “oh thank God she’s not here!” when I’m at the gym and stop a couple lunges before the workout makes me cry. But aside...
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Snow Globe It
Routines are my friend. They’re security and comfort and familiarity and forward momentum without wasting important brain power. But man, some days I’ve just gotta shake it up. When routine starts to...
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Stepping into 2013 with Ellen and Rumi
I’ve been thinking about what I want to take into 2013 with me, but each time I start mentally packing my proverbial luggage, I balk. On one hand, I want to stuff that suitcase to bursting with...
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Time is of the essence
I’m not entirely certain any more of the date my father died. I know it was the first week of January 2011, but 4th? 6th? 7th..? And although I do know Mom’s death date (September 17, 2011), it’s only...
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Lesson from a tree
Throwing the door open, I dashed into the house and grabbed the closest cutting tool (thank heavens for that handy “junk drawer”). My wife, on a conference call with her work folks, just nodded,...
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On Faith
I’m reminded time and time again that faith needs no religious affiliation. If a Catholic cathedral or Buddhist reading or Hindu meditation or Jewish prayer ritual moves my Mennonite-ish soul, my...
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One More Morning
My relationship with mornings has been tenuous for most of my life. The tentacles of depression that release their grip in sleep tend to regain their strength in the vulnerable transitional minutes and...
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What catches your eye
I was walking on the beach this morning, kinda bummed at the cloudy, chilly weather at a time I’m sooooo longing for sunshine. Sure, the aqua water was pretty, and the rhythmic sound of waves dashing...
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I’m so proud of you!
“I am so proud of you!” one of my sisters said to another in an email this morning, and I got all teary. I probably wouldn’t have gotten all melty if she had just said “great job!” (although it was)...
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In gratitude for allies
To every one of you who has done, said, or felt *any*thing in support of someone in the minority, THANK YOU. Today it’s specifically about marriage equality for same-sex couples, but the impact of...
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A Hand to Hold
It was about 2 years ago, at a time of ongoing transition and change in several areas of my life. My inner foundation was crumbly, the highly imbalanced ratio of questions to answers in my everyday...
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The Soft Underbelly
Every morning as my wife and I gently start our day with a cup of coffee in bed, our rambunctious feline Jazzy joins us for some together time. She has a few dry multi-grain cheerios (hand-fed, one by...
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Going Home
Old tin roof, leaves in the gutter A hole in the screen door big as your fist, and flies on the butter Mamaw baking sugar cookies… Heard her holler from the kitchen ‘which one of you youngin’s wants to...
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Growth Spurts
I was acutely aware of my growth spurts as a kid because they usually involved pain. In my younger years, I’d often wake up in the middle of the night crying from the bone-deep aches in my legs,...
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Blended Worship
I wish our world was better at encouraging blended worship – time spent in deep gratitude in a way that combines self-selected practices from any organized religious, spiritual, natural, or other...
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Sacred Ingredients
Fresh rosemary sprigs sprawl in deep green disarray across my cutting board. Each cut I make into their surprisingly sturdy structure releases a waft of bold floral earthiness. I gently strip the fresh...
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What Inclusion Feels Like
I went clothes shopping with my wife this past weekend, faced with the daunting task of finding me an outfit for a black tie wedding. After trying on umpteen “looks like I’m playing dress-up… badly”...
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Dusk
You ask me, Dusk, As you gently wring the light from day Dripping with gold of tomorrow’s promise, Do you believe in magic my child? Do you believe? And I nod, melted, speechless, wishing I had the...
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The Soft Sweet Gray
Writing on this cozy rainy summer morning, I was joined as usual by my precious all-gray cat, Gitter (no l). She brought her sweet gentleness over to me in one big fluffy ball of soft purring fur and a...
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Shoulder the Sun
Needing to fill my creative well this morning, I grabbed my camera and headed for Fairmount Park in Philly. As I walked along the Schuylkill River, I noticed the placement of the sun coming up looked...
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