27 May 2022

Joy and Devastation

14

Those of us who celebrated high school graduations and college and university commencements across the land last weekend never expected that we’d be doing so within the bookends of two horrific national tragedies. Our loved ones who earned diplomas, walked across stages, were cheered by family and friends, felt the culmination of their efforts on a single day — they shone brightly. Joy was palpable in the soft breezes that danced across campuses, the robes that fluttered, the speeches that … Read More
27 Sep 2019

Three Ring Circus Time

3

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that went something like, “Elect a Clown, Get a Circus.” But really, this is not at all fair to anybody — a good friend of ours comes to mind — who is involved in the wonderful and aesthetically rich field of the circus arts. And besides, how about the rest of us who regularly feel that our lives consist of much juggling, a fair amount of running in circles, some leaping, an … Read More
27 Jul 2019

Some Gaps We Don’t Mind; This One– Yes

0

It’s a good thing it’s so beautiful, day after summer day, right here at home, because we don’t have much for travel plans. Blame it on the will-it-ever-end revising work; blame it on the dog and no dog sitter; don’t blame it on the kids. But really, it’s OK. I bet not absolutely everyone is gallivanting around, anyway. And besides, I already had an unusual trip to California just as summer was starting. It’s appropriate that this happened more than … Read More
5 May 2019

Spring rites

0

We’re nearing graduations, a time for celebrating hard-earned completion of degrees. My mind, however, is mostly on that feeling of being immersed in ongoing work, trying in a variety of ways to get it, learning from someone else – or a bunch of people – how to do something independently. Making breakthroughs, having “Eureka!” moments, can happen at any age. Yesterday my husband spent much of the day with Episcopalians at an event called a “Revival” — a word that … Read More
8 Aug 2016

Questions About Meaning Even Before Religion Class Begins

2

Sometimes, when you’re solidly in the realm of Practicality, focused on getting things done in the real world and making sure others do the same, Philosophy intervenes and then you’re somewhere else entirely. One minute you’re thinking about sending an email before 10:15 a.m., for instance, and the next minute you’re wondering whether there is in fact a larger purpose– beyond all the tasks– that we’re trying to fulfill, and what might be the nature of that purpose, if it … Read More
20 Apr 2016

Tell It Like It is, and I’ll Listen

3

“Is it LIT, Miss?” That’s how one girl at school greets me on a daily basis now, knowing that I’m trying to get a handle on some of the teenage lingo swirling around the hallways. She’s amused by the fact that I’m keen to learn how they say things, and why. Some sophomore boys, picking up on my interest, have taken it upon themselves to give me mini-lessons, stopping by my office between classes. This, needless to say, lifts the … Read More
16 Jul 2014

In the Fullness of Time, with A Better Chance

1

Do you think life is essentially made up of particular moments, like grains of sand that you can feel, grainy to the touch; or is it more about patches of days or even great swaths of years that bring about sweeping changes? One evening last week, I came home eager to tell my husband about some experiences I’d just had. Unfortunately— and this was nobody’s fault—other pressing matters got in the way. Believing that whatever I had to report was … Read More