Happiness is not a bar chart
Happiness is not a bar chart So much happiness for this day This much on another My happiness compared to your happiness Or Some universal standard to meet Happiness is…
I've been thinking...
A Poem
Blossoms fall that fruit may ripen Loveliness gives way for something more substantial that too will fall or fade or flow through some dark passage into winter Each bud a…
Maundy Thursday
Today is Maundy Thursday, a holy day (along with Yom Kippur) that moves me and feels particularly important. This was the day Jesus made the decision to practice what he…
On Beauty
I’ve heard professional photographers talk about the shots they’ve taken. The why, the how, the when of a particular picture. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard one speak of the…
I am the Sea
I am the sea moving A restless rhythm Headed somewhere unknown Some shore I’ve never visited awaits And whether I’m ready or not I move I dance I shimmer toward…
The Existential Pee
I believe we humans are actually spirit and don’t require bodies to exist. Yet, here we are in physical form, ensconced in flesh. There must be a reason, something to…
A Watched Pot…
…does actually boil. I know because I watched mine this morning. The old adage is not about temperature or water or pots, but you knew that already. The old adage…
A Little Bit Lost
Traveling with my friend this summer brought up an interesting question—how do I feel about being lost? I get anxious when I’m with another person. Especially if I’m with another…
Beyond Fear
Just beyond my fear is where the magic happens.
Meditation II
Get into a comfortable position. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slower. Deeper. Softer. Be gentle with yourself. Breathe into the spaces that are tight, controlled, holding. Breathe in to your belly,…
It’s Like the Cribbage Board
People are different from each other. This is both obvious and simple while at the same time complex and difficult. We process information and experiences differently based on a whole…
Meditation
NOTE: This was written for a women’s gathering. Feel free to adapt it for mixed groups or men only. Get in a comfortable position with both feet on the floor…
Travel and Trust
There are probably as many reasons to travel as there are people who travel. I have a whole list of things I love about it. Art and architecture, culture and…
Does This Make Me Look Fat?
Day one of extended writing and all I can think of is whether my ass shows through my leggings too much. I’m wearing one of those impulse buys—a rayon shirt…
Vision Quest
In October 2008, I went on a vision quest. I spent four days in a local provincial park fasting and meditating. I was completely alone and kept silent for three…
Poem Shot
This morning I awoke to my husband’s honking iPhone alarm. Barry continued to sleep as I jumped up to check whether our son was texting for an early morning ride home…
Hide-n-Seek
Families, especially large families, tend to have legends, lore and stories about their histories. This is one of those stories. Until I was four, I lived in a very small…
Clothes Make the (Wo)Man
An article in the New York Times today seems to have finally settled a debate in our house—whether clothes are important to how we feel and behave. If you see…
Pulling Bottles
In the late 1950s, I loved going with my older brother Warren to the barbershop. It was an old-fashioned place, large, dark, and manly, three hydraulic chairs in front of…
Getting Naked
Last spring I did something I’d wanted to do for a long time; I modeled for a life drawing class. Why, you might ask, would anyone want to do such…
A Wish for Fish
At Davis Bay on a beautiful end-of-summer morning, I sit watching fishermen in waders. Up to their waists in water, they cast their lines into the Strait of Georgia angling…