Making Progress
Sometimes I think I am going in circles. My journey does not seem like a pilgrimage, with a destination. It feels to me like I am going around and around, covering the same ground, never getting anywhere. I know that I have been here, worked on these challenges, heard this all before. Am I making ...
Pilgrimage and Hospitality
Pilgrims leave home and walk toward the Sacred. We are at the mercy of other people. We depend on others to take us in at night, and to take us along on our journey. We go as far as we can each day and, far from home, stop to rest each evening. We take only what we can ...
Becoming Like a Consuming Fire
I believe in the power of revelry, and this has been a revelrous week for me. I set goals, and I celebrate when I meet them. I create incentives and rewards to motivate myself to meet my goals, even beyond the satisfaction I get just from meeting them. As my goals grow, my revelry grows ...
So, What is this Epiphany, Anyway?
I am part of a liturgical church. Whenever we get together, we remember our story and we share a meal. Epiphany is the season that follows the twelve days of Christmas, beginning on the morning after Twelfth Night. During Epiphany we remind ourselves through our story that the Sacred is manifest in the everyday. Epiphany ...
Advent is About Life
Advent is the beginning of our annual cycle of life. We spend time each year growing, producing, and resting; we return to Advent. We anticipate and prepare, ready to receive new life. Advent is like a living thing. It begins very small, with first whispers and the light of one candle. It grows more vocal ...
12 Lessons That I Learned This Year 2012
1. Even if you go to the Rose Bowl game in person two years in a row, you may not get to see the Wisconsin Badgers win. 2. As I learn to love more completely, I realize that my fear is not real. 3. It is very important to know who you can trust. 4. Yes, ...
Advent is About Light
I belong to a liturgical church. Each liturgical year begins with Advent, the weeks with the shortest amount of daylight. Each week, we remind ourselves of our story and we share a meal. During Advent, we light one additional candle each week as we anticipate and prepare ourselves. The number of lit candles increases each ...
4:13 PM Pacific Time
Someone asked a question about reflection on one of the retreats I facilitated recently. I try to give people on a retreat a taste of what it is like to visit a monastery. My schedule and structure are as relaxed as they can be. A retreat is an opportunity to pause, to breathe deeply, to ...
Coming to a Complete Stop
I like to go fast. I enjoy speed. I appreciate driving a little faster than I should. I get ahead of myself in my own thinking and feeling. I am driven to keep moving ahead, meeting challenges, finding answers, going forward. Stopping would be boring. Stopping feels irresponsible. Stopping becomes just one more thing in ...
Great Books & Great Brews Group
There are very few things in life that I appreciate more than great books and great craft brews. Books have shaped my entire life. Great books have inspired me and shown me new ways of experiencing the world. Books have taken me amazing places I have never visited and introduced me to fascinating people I ...
