Sunday Best – April 12, 2026
Finally, finally, Boston is abloom.
I passed an azalea this week so pink it made me laugh out loud.
Then a friend mentioned a decidedly non-conventional stock idea.
Another told a story they’d been keeping in for quite some time.
A third brought me to tears with a heartfelt hug.
Things are busting out all over.
Maybe it’s the sunshine.
Maybe it’s the times.
Dear ones, let’s stir up some courage.
Why hold back?
We must speak the language we use
when there is no one around
to correct us.
– Terry Tempest Williams, at Bioneers 2026
Sunday Best – April 5, 2026
Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.
– Theodore Roethke
Dear ones, it has been a long cold winter.
The spring is surely arriving – starting, sputtering.
May we give thanks for our small sustaining breaths.
May we rejoice in our root-held light.
A joyful Easter to all who celebrate!
The turn of seasons often sends me wandering through Roethke’s writing. Here is his awful, beautiful “Florist’s Root Cellar”, where the final line scoops me up every time:
Nothing would sleep in that cellar, dank as a ditch,
Bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks in the dark,
Shoots dangled and drooped,
Lolling obscenely from mildewed crates,
Hung down long yellow evil necks, like tropical snakes.
And what a congress of stinks! —
Roots ripe as old bait,
Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,
Leaf-mould, manure, lime, piled against slippery plants.
Nothing would give up life:
Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath.
Sunday Best – March 29, 2026
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
– Maya Angelou
I recently had a chance to see the amazing Samurai exhibit at the British Museum, which includes an overwhelming display of intricate armor.
Helmets sported dragon figurines and goblin motifs, with spiky scary emblems everywhere. But nestled near the back of one display, a more familiar shape caught my eye. Could it be? Yes, indeed!
Behold the mighty aubergine! All quake before her mighty vegetable-ness!
Dear ones, in a world of copycat dragons,
let’s dare to be the eggplant.
Original.
Nourishing.
Glorious.
Sunday Best – March 22, 2026
We are continually shaped by the forces of coincidence.
– Paul Auster
Sometimes it seems like the world is conspiring against us, in ways big and small. The flight is mysteriously delayed, there is inexplicable snow despite a sunny forecast, the news headlines stretch the bounds of bear-ability… On any given day, it’s not hard to stack up the challenges that come our way. Just this past week, I encountered all of the items above, and then some.
Also.
Two dear friends were surprisingly in the same faraway city as me, and a third was heading to a remote island retreat just as I was departing. In the charity shop of a tiny seaside town, a recently recommended book practically leapt into my hands, from is spot amongst tattered 1980’s cookbooks. A gorgeous stag perched right alongside the road as our bus passed by. A huge rainbow shone on an ancient Celtic abbey as the sun set on St Patrick’s Day.
I mean, come on.
Dear ones, the bad luck can smack us right in the face.
Let’s let the good luck do the same.
Sunday Best – March 15, 2026
Dear friends, I am happily unplugged today, so I send you this wise and generous poem from Padraig O’Tuama, from the volume Readings from the Book of Exile.
Dear ones, may we be gentle with our selves.
Friends, welcome to the night, and welcome to the day.
‘TIS THE GIFT
’Tis the gift to be gentle
with your self at the end
of a day when you’ve given
of a day when you’re spent.
To re-create, to breathe,
and to rest
and to treat your own self
as your own
welcome guest
When hospitality’s in place
you’ll be kinder
to your self
and less inclined to haste.
You’ll turn
and you’ll fall
and you’ll find
that you’ll say
welcome to the night
and
welcome to the day.
