Transitionary Time

Here in the magnificent Pacific Northwest, the last few days have been a falling back and forth between seasons, a wild gyration between the tomb of winter and the fresh life of spring.    Nature reminds us, as she does every year, that the interplay between death and life is vital, regular, and right.   This …

Henry David Thoreau

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Suffering Isn’t

Since I wrote the post called "Suffering Is", I've been pondering my own ponderings.  In that post I suggested that, to be fully alive, we must embrace the reality of suffering and incorporate it into the life-journey.  Otherwise, we spend our energy navigating around suffering instead of being present to what is.  I still think that is true.  But …

Suffering Is

Suffering is.  There is no escape from suffering, and if you live with your eyes open then suffering is available on a daily, dare I say hourly, basis.  Sometimes it visits as a horrible crisis or tragedy.  Sometimes it whispers from the walls of an empty room saying "you are alone".  And sometimes it arrives …

Indigo Girls – Closer to Fine

There's more than one answer to these questions? Pointing me in a crooked line. ?And the less I seek my source for some definitive? The closer I am to fine.

Prayer of St. Francis

This prayer is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi although that connection is unproven.  It has been used in many forms and has assisted many in their prayerful journey.  Alcoholics Anonymous uses a form of this prayer in recovery work.  We all need this kind of "recovery". Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is …

Marcel Duchamps

The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.?

The Gift of our Enemy

In response to the Chinese invasion of Tibet: "The Tibetans say that an enemy is the greatest teacher, because only an enemy can help develop patience and compassion. (from the movie "Seven Years in Tibet") Let us contemplate this idea.

Friedrich Nietzsche

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.

Lonely Places

Luke 5:16   “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Verses such as this are often used to encourage prayer, which, I suppose, is a legitimate encouragement.  However, I wonder about the word “lonely”.  What are these lonely places?  And why does prayer happen in these lonely places.  Perhaps there is merit in thinking that the …