It’s Dangerous to Notice
The thing about paying attention is… you notice stuff. So, when you look up and see this: then you stop and stare and wonder if you can get a photo as beautiful as this tree. You draw near and realize you have to trespass on their front lawn to position yourself in just such a way that the […]
How much further can we get?
Playing to win a game we all know we will lose: It’s the game that makes winners of us
I just love to compete! folks say to me, pretty much never. I’m not the competitive type, they say, pretty much always. And then they cut each other off in conversation. One-up each other in accomplishments. Go off about something on Facebook. Cannot believe that offending patron! Swerve around that maniac who is texting while driving. While on the […]
Suddenly Still
Stillness is a shock to the system. The screeching of tires, the squealing of wheels, the swerving and maneuvering to get out of the way. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, it takes a bit of righting to find balance. Turns out, forward momentum can keep you upright through pretty much any squall, but stillness…now […]
Every last little one
The little ones who cling and cooperate who listen to instructions who raise their hands and smile to answer questions… They fill you up and keep you coming back. They’ll do fine. The ones who resist and refuse who defy you to “make them” who turn a cold shoulder or don’t turn at all and […]
Peace Out
Let’s DO this! … At a certain time, say, 7:00 pm Friday night, we all just walk out of the building we are in. Just out. Just for a few minutes. Not rally, not speeches, not organized. Just OUT. Quiet. Talk to neighbor. Just OUT. Solidarity. Done. Ready to move on. Beyond guns. Beyond oligarchy. […]
Use Your Words
Two kids play in the sandbox until one wants the toy the other has and helps himself. Dispossessed kid shoves the other to reclaim the toy. “Use your words, child!” Happy family out to dinner and the time is getting late. Junior fidgets, whines then tantrums. “Use your words, child!” Children changing classes through crowded halls. One […]
Thank you tosses and goes, Gratitude stays and helps
“I can say what I want. It’s a free country!” the kid said, shoving his friend a little harder than a friend shoves a friend. The rest of us standing in line to board the flight pretended not to notice these boys ‘doing what boys do’. That kid is feeling pretty free. I’m thinking he probably has […]
walk the walk and let ’em talk
After three long days of sitting in scientific meetings telling me Americans don’t get enough exercise, I skip out the front door of the convention center and into a city I don’t know and turn right. Weaving my way around pedestrians, past store fronts, around tree stumps, over uneven cobblestones, I swing wide to navigate past a woman […]
Join Your Life, Already in Progress
“I have so many choices facing me right now, Guiding God…I listen for your voice. I listen with an open heart. I trust that you will guide me to the right choices. In this trusting, I am going to move out in faith and open the doors in front of me… Ever present God, the […]