Sunday Best – January 14, 2024
I had a hope-full talk with a dear friend this weekend, and as we parted I noted that I was encouraged by all that could be.
She grabbed my shoulders, looked me right in the eye, and added, “and by what already is.”
Dear friends, may we seed the future with our dearest dreams.
And may we recognize the sprouts that have already emerged,
the forests of our future.
Sunday Best – January 7, 2024
My whole team at work knows that when I say “oh, how clever!” it is usually not a compliment. It’s my own personal investment management version of “bless your heart.”
Whether in business or in life, we are not seeking cleverness. We’re not even seeking knowledge, or understanding. We are seeking wisdom.
I’ve been starting the year with John O’Donohue’s Anam Cara, and he notes, “there is a great difference between knowledge and wisdom… Wisdom is the way that you learn to decipher the unknown; and the unknown is our closest companion… Wisdom is the art of balancing the known with the unknown, the suffering with the joy; it is a way of linking the whole of life together in a new and deeper unity.”
Though I have underlined almost every passage of this book, new phrases hit me every time I read O’Donohue’s work. This time, it’s right in the middle of the quote above.
“The unknown is our closest companion.”
How wonderful, to be constantly snuggled up right next to the unknown.
And how terrifying, if our only tool for navigating is a puffed-up cleverness.
The search for wisdom keeps us curious. Humble. Whole.
Dear ones, may we be quick and clever with the small things, the simple and easily known.
But with the unknown – our closest companion – may we endeavor, eventually, to become wise.
I often find glimmers of wisdom by curling up with a good book. With that in mind, I’m glad to share my latest Honeybee reading list, with all best wishes for the new year.
Honeybee Book List – Winter 2023
Sunday Best – December 31, 2023 (with book list!)
I woke up disoriented earlier this week, in a strange hotel room in the midst of holiday travels. Out of sorts, I gazed out the window at a not-so-inspiring view that included a chain link fence, a drainage area, and the beginnings of a brand new condo development.
Then I looked up.
After days of clouds, the last full moon of the year was beaming forth, despite my waking way past sunrise.
As I took a deep breath, out of nowhere, a deer bounded across the fenced-off area, legs bounding and tail flashing, impossibly exuberant.
Dear ones, some years are all rainbows and ocean views, and others seem to be nothing but drainage ditches and chain link fences.
No matter what is in sight at first glance,
may we always remember to look up.
There are few things more restorative to me than curling up with a good book. With that in mind, I’m glad to share my latest Honeybee reading list, with all best wishes for the new year.
Honeybee Book List – Winter 2023
Sunday Best – December 24, 2023 (with book list!)
On my way to visit family this week, I saw a man shouting at the TSA agents, a family sprinting to the gate in their pajamas, and a person so anxious to fly that they embraced their companion’s arm like a boa constrictor for the entire flight.
It wasn’t until I was settled in my own seat, gazing out at the solstice sunrise, that I realized I’d been holding my breath too. Wrapping up the last work project, packing a ridiculously large suitcase of presents, waking for the dawn flight… even though these were happy preparations, they were not full of calm and ease. I do not think I thanked the check-in agent properly. I know for sure that I was mad about the too-long line for coffee, as if it were an orchestrated personal insult.
Dear ones, it is a season of joy, yes. And also, it can be hard, in tiny ways and profound ones.
May we cultivate care, for ourselves and for others.
May we demonstrate grace.
May we honor the stresses and sorrows.
May we revel in each moment of joy.
There are few things more restorative to me than curling up with a good book. With that in mind, I’m glad to share my end-of-year Honeybee book list, with all best wishes for the new year.
Sunday Best – December 17, 2023
Today I turned off the news and set aside the lists for a bit.
I read a poem as the sun rose.
I made cookies with a dear friend.
I viewed some footage of magnificent sea creatures.
I saw a tiny rosebud blooming beyond the frost.
Dear friends, our world is full of heartaches, yes.
And full of wonders, too.