FRAYED KNOT
A couple of years ago I placed a mail order for amaryllis bulbs for a New Year’s ritual at Bosque CSL. I was a little late ordering and they didn’t arrive in time for our service, so Travis found a…
NEIGHBORLY
I finally watched Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a 2018 documentary about Fred Rogers. It was beautiful and touching, and it made me cry. I’ve also been listening to an delightful podcast, Dolly Parton’s America, which goes in surprising and…
FACE VALUE
Our values are shifting, individually and collectively. We have an opportunity to consider what’s most important to us. Maybe we’re being invited to change our minds about some of it. The first frantic rush to stock our pantries turned shopping…
THE BALLAD OF BOBBY BUTTERNUTS
My solitary rumination has led me into some surprising associations these days, letting my mind wander into old memories as I take long walks or reorganize the junk drawers. A few weeks ago, for the first time in my life,…
TRYING MY PATIENCE
Wow, time is moving in some weird ways. The activities in which we were all participating before social distancing seem like forever ago. Some of these days now at home seem interminable; others fly by. Regarding when we might be…
IN THE BALANCE
On Monday I had to visit a couple of stores for food and supplies. I was anxious before heading out — not because I was concerned about contracting anything, but because I wasn’t sure what it was going to feel…
LIVING THE DREAM
I just finished a lovely book by Jedidiah Jenkins, To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret. The title is a mouthful, and the book is a heart-full. …
THE FOGGIEST IDEA
I keep seeing references to the Dunning-Kruger Effect, usually in articles about how we relate to facts and information in this age of media overload. It’s interesting. Though I had a passing familiarity with the idea, I had never looked…
RISKY IS-NESS
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”- ?? Usually, I’ve seen this quip attributed to Oscar Wilde. But recently I read that it may have come from twentieth-century theologian, Thomas Merton. It’s a good quote, and I like to give…
GOD AND OTHER GODS
I’ve never totally bought into Valentine’s Day with its expensive date-nights and emphasis on amorous couplings. There’s plenty to enjoy about the trappings of it; who doesn't like chocolate and flowers and canoodling? And I definitely don’t want to undermine…