It’s a little over a month until Christmas. With each passing day we become increasingly aware of all that’s about to hit us. Papers are due, work parties pile up, school play rehearsals loom. Then there’s all the gifting, cooking and family gatherings to consider as we get closer to the big day. Some of this isRead more
The quiet loves the cold It follows where she wanders. And in their union Sound and touch conceive the mist Outgrowing both, another sense As sight is added to the clan. Last of all the snow arrives By night, heavyweight and silent And all we thought we knew looks new. The Fort is as quietRead more
That beginners mind is what we must come back to every time we sit down and write. There is no security, no assurance that because we wrote something good two months ago, we will do it again. Actually, every time we begin, we wonder how we ever did it before. Each time is a newRead more
St. John has rather affectionate and accurate titles for his listeners in the letter we first credit him. “Little children” is found amongst John’s addresses along with “brothers and sisters” and “beloved”. These terms convey a certain fond and compassionate sentiment, even in the midst of John’s stout teaching. The letter is full of robustRead more
In a suburban backyard a boy plays in a plastic pool along with his younger brother while mother looks on. They splash and scream and run around the yard, darting in and out of the water. By noon the pool is three parts water, one part grass. Summer is here and they’re having the timeRead more
Solitude is a blessing with purpose. Retreat is necessary and refreshing, but in excess becomes a denial of our nature that diminishes the soul and starves us of purpose. During the 19th century, naturalist John Muir spent inordinate amounts of time in the wilderness of America’s West and Alaskan coasts. His writing betrays an overly pronouncedRead more