When I was visiting my father recently, we uncovered a box full of cards and letters I had exchanged with my mother in the two years after her cancer diagnosis and before her death. It was an unbelievable treasure trove that brought smiles and tears and a strange sense of awe in the re-reading. In …
Last week, I invited you to join me in pondering what it might mean to be a heroine or a hero for someone else. I asked how it feels to be intentional about living in a transparent way; about living willingly in bright summer light, where anything you do is visible to anyone watching. I …
My mother’s birthday is June 19 – she would have been 85 this year – but her favorite day of the year was the Summer Solstice. On that day, she would traditionally drive to somewhere she could see the sun set into the ocean, and she would drink a champagne toast to the light. One …
In my first reflection for Beltane, I mentioned some of its characteristic foci, the aspects of the season that invite us to take note of particular areas of our own lives. I reminded us that it is a time of honoring earth and the fecundity of earth and the blessings she pours out abundantly …
Tomorrow is Father’s Day and across the United States, family groups will be gathering for barbecues or picnics; some restaurants are featuring special menus — not as many as for Mother’s Day, but some. Lowe’s and Home Depot have been running ads (disparaging ties and lauding power drills) during sporting events for the past two …
As I keep reminding us both, Beltane is a time of creation and a time of re-creation. The word ‘recreation’ has become rather trite and superficial in common 21st century usage. We use it primarily to categorize non-work activities, but the attitude we bring to most recreational activities is so rigid and demanding that what …
Beltane is the season in which the Christian feast of Pentecost falls — a feast filled with tempestuous wind and sparkling fire. The Christian church inherited Pentecost (which simply means “the 50th day” ) from Judaism, where the 50th day after Passover is now more commonly called Shavu’ot (or the Feast of Weeks). In Judaism, …
Dear Subscribers — This means YOU if you are currently subscribed to receive my blog. You will NOT receive a blog on Saturday or Sunday. Instead, I am changing over my feed service on Saturday (June 7) from Feedburner to WordPress Subscribe 2. There are two reasons for this. First, Feedburner insists that I have …