I’ve been enjoying an etymology podcast lately: Words Unravelled, with Rob Watts and Jess Zafarris. He’s British and she’s American, and they both have a wonderful knowledge and love of language. Usually they start with a broad topic — e.g.…
“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and then thinking that having problems is a problem.” — Theodore Isaac Rubin We’ve all got problems, plenty of them. Personal stuff, shared stuff, global stuff… Significant…
We were setting up for Sunday service a couple of weeks ago, with the usual bustle of preparation — sweeping, brewing coffee, unfolding chairs, stuffing songbooks, setting the lights and music. My friend Bryn was arranging materials on the information…
A few weeks ago, I was scheduled to meet a new patient, a lady with advanced dementia who lives in a memory-care facility. I called her daughter beforehand to see if she was able to be there for this introduction,…
I don’t use the word “hallow” much. Practically never. I might change that. I’m familiar with the idea of hallowed ground, of course, but I can’t remember ever describing anyplace as such. And I know the phrase “Hallowed be Thy…
To move heaven and earth means to be relentless, to go to the greatest lengths, to give it everything we’ve got. It conveys incredible commitment, impressive strength, and heroic determination. The phrase is deliberate exaggeration or hyperbole. We’re not supposed…
This Hafiz poem has really been speaking to me this week: This union you wantWith the earth and sky,This union we all need with Love…A golden wing from God’s heart justTouched the ground.Now,Step upon itWith your brave sun-vowsAnd help our…
I’m not naturally a patient person. Instead of “get well soon,” I send “GET WELL NOW” cards. I’ve learned to be more patient with others — to give them space and time to be themselves and do things at their…
Thanks to the clever (and sometimes surprisingly saucy) Merriam-Webster Instagram account, I learned a linguistic term this week: irreversible binomials. An irreversible binomial is a pair of words that we’re used to hearing and saying in a particular order. In…
“I wish…” These words can start something. We’ve got to be mindful because, if we don’t watch out, what these words can start is a sense of woulda-coulda-shoulda. They can start us regretting, which is mostly a dis-empowering relationship to…