In the Shade of a Tree

I carve out time to sit in the park in the shade of a magnificent tree, and look up. I find peace in the strong trunk and branches, in leaves, still in the heat of the afternoon, and the sun’s rays barely peeking through. I watch a man wearing a red shirt climb out of

Liminal

It’s not yet dawn when I stand at our living room window, mug of soy milky frothy coffee in hand, and look to the east. The sky above the distant mountains is pink and, with subtle brilliance, growing ever more mesmerizing. I know, having watched countless sunrises, that the brilliance will reach a peak, then

TMI

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? T.S. Eliot, The Rock I heard these words spoken in a Masterpiece program we watched a few days ago and they stuck with me. Written close to a century ago, they speak clearly to the state of

Late Winter

We think about taking the dogs for a walk in the sunshine after lunch but the wind kicks up again. Instead, we leave the pups at home and go for a drive. We stop by the community garden for the first time this year and see nothing reaching through the straw covered area where we

There’s a Lot of Loud

There’s a lot of loud distracting and drowning out. But I’m convinced by wisdom clothed in stillness. The kind of truth found hiding in plain sight in ordinary things and extraordinary moments. A word in season. Eye contact. The scrape of a paring knife on a potato. A pile of peels. A man standing at a

The Sum of the Parts

I dream I’m in an airport I’ve been in countless times between flights on my way home. It’s odd, for a number of reasons. I don’t have a ticket, for one thing. I know there are hours before the flight so I’m just reading in one of the lounges. The thought occurs that I’d be

Going Slow

Once upon a time, not so very long ago (though it seems like a lifetime has passed), it was a simple thing to drive down the hill from the neighbourhood where we live, turn into the strip mall, pick up a few sundries from the pharmacy, and stop in at the grocery store for a couple

Boxing Day

I’ve always enjoyed Boxing Day. It’s quiet and low key—a day of books, jigsaw puzzles, and leftovers. This year Boxing and Christmas Days look much the same, but still there is a sense of exhaling this morning. A hint of reflection and intention with a measure of rumination. There are things to do, but not yet.

A Refresher

We are often most in the dark when we are the most certain, and the most enlightened when we are the most confused. M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth Scott Peck was not a man without fault, nor a stranger to trials. But nothing

Five Minute Friday – Grief

I’m joining in with a group of writers for Five Minute Friday where we’re given a prompt (this week it’s GRIEF and write for five minutes about it. The entire world is grieving and, as anyone who has experienced grief knows, there’s no straight line through it. We long for the deep pain we feel to