The Church is what we do next. It is rare that a line from a movie stops me in my tracks. Of course, that could be because the Netflix algorithm has figured out that while I theoretically admire brainy documentaries, I usually end up watching rom coms from the 90’s that have not aged […]
This week is marked by losses. Our nation honored the life of President Carter. I learned of the passing of two more dear souls, one very young. And the fiery news from the city of angels continues, with its unfathomable destruction and sorrow. Amidst all of this heartbreak, I hear echoes of my friend and […]
I started the day yesterday with a glorious pocket of reading time, diving into Helen DeWitt’s captivating book, The English Understand Wool. The story somehow managed to present a calculated, logical point of view as warmly human and victorious, triumphing over a pack of wolves in sheep’s clothing. This alone is worthy of the […]
Some weeks are full of wows, and this one was jam-packed. There was the embodied wow of Christmas carol harmonies, newly resonant when performed by our next generation. There was the philosophical wow of a game of Risk, which led to a surprisingly deep discussion about power and purpose. There was the nature-based wow of […]
Friends, on this solstice weekend, I send you a favorite reading. Wait Without Hope, T.S. Eliot I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hopeFor hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faithBut the faith and the […]
Each year, there comes a day with an inevitable conclusion: it’s time to get the winter coat out of the closet, the one that is Really Warm. As I snuggled into its puffy splendor, I was reminded that I spent most of last winter with a breeze blowing right through my middle, thanks to a […]
This time of year in Boston can seem endlessly dark. Not depressing, or dire – I mean actually dark. It is dark when I go to work. It is dark when I return. It felt like midnight when I stomped down the pitch black street the other day, though it was probably only about 6pm. […]
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. – John Muir I’m grateful for lots of big things in life, like the good fortune to be born in this time and place, into my particular family. But it’s the smaller […]
Tonight I attended a concert that did not go at all as planned. The lead singer was ill, and there was a last minute scramble for substitute musicians, which left the audience a little deflated. Several folks left before the performance even started, leaving the small venue feeling even smaller. Friends, it was magnificent. Four […]
Friends, I think of this experience often – unexpectedly coming across this steely and quite tangible form of hope. Lately I am thinking that maybe all of our roles in life might be reflected in those yellow gloves at the bottom. To rise each day, wherever we may be, and polish up the […]