A view from my window
One of my favorite vacations was sitting by a wood stove in New Hampshire—alone. I had a glorious view of the mountains, a book, and hot chocolate. My travel companions spent the days hiking, and I spent the days alone…
Don’t Collect Monkeys
It’s been a big week. Super Bowl Sunday. Tie games are not an option; neither is splitting the Vince Lombardi trophy. There are winners and there are losers, with no other options. Americans are good at games. So good, we…
Sweet Sleep
If we listen to our bodies, we often know exactly what our most important habit of resilience is. Mine is sleep. If I don’t get enough sleep, I am less creative, less fun to be with, and less energetic. It…
Standing on Sacred Ground
In the late 1800s, Nebraska’s population soared. I know that’s hard to envision. “Nebraska” and “population explosion” seem unlikely bedfellows, but these newcomers were people who ventured west on horseback and in covered wagons. They couldn’t envision cars or planes,…
Welcome to 2019. Begin at the end.
Happy New Year. 2019 feels so fresh, so full of possibility. Like new spiral notebooks on the first day of school—clean and open to creativity. You’d think with all our practice at New Year’s self-improvement, we’d be practically perfect by…
Brain Power
I sat listening to the Minnesota Orchestra. The soloist played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1 in B flat minor. Wearing a dress covered in bright pink sequins, she played aggressively; as she moved, light bounced off her dress in an ugly…
Happy New Year
For those of you you are not liturgically minded, here's a little piece of trivia: the Christmas Season lasts from Christmas Eve through Epiphany which is January 6th. If you want to get super technical, through the Baptism of the…
Merry Christmas
Let the earth bow to you and sing to you, Let all sing your Holy Name Orthodox Liturgy
A light in the darkness
Christ is the Morning Star, who, when the night of this world is past, gives to his saints the promise of the light of life, and opens everlasting day. Venerable Bede—Eighth Century
Don’t miss the trees
The old canard goes, "Don't miss the forest for the trees", an admonishment to take in the big picture. But don't miss the trees. In our desire to understand the pattern of the big picture, we miss tiny, beautiful things…
