General

If you know me at all, you know I’m a big fan of thresholds. Gateways. Portals. Passthroughs that usher us from one cycle to the next. An invitation for us to pause, reflect, step over that invisible line with intention and presence. We cross dozens of thresholds a day from the moment of waking to the moment […]

This time of year always seems to be marked by a study in opposites. On the one hand, there is the aliveness, the awakeness, the joy and celebration that comes with the holiday time. Twinkle lights hanging on trees, caroling music playing everywhere (and I do mean everywhere), and a sense of people letting go of

What of this word TOLERATE? A word that easily draws itself as a line in the sand, a firm press of the Sharpie marker onto the page with “what I will tolerate” on one side and “what I won’t tolerate” on the other. It makes for a tidy and potent elevator pitch, a quick visual

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about sustaining. Reflecting on our ability to keep on, to maintain a sense of presence, purpose and engagement, all while tapping and refilling a reservoir of compassion along the way. And here I am again on the same topic …

There are times
when we are called
to raise our voices
above the din of
falsehood and hatred …

We must do the things we believe to be noble.
Not just talk about them or tuck them away in a journal,
never to be ventilated by action.
We must believe that we have the power to level the playing field,
to give voice and shape to our visions …

Let’s not go back to normal. To a state of coasting, unconscious gliding through the day to day, not speaking about how we have collectively fallen asleep, ignoring the signals from our planet to cease and desist, forgetting that all life, not just human life, is important.

The ground beneath us
has shifted irrevocably
cracked wide open
with gaps too wide
to cinch back together …

Rest back.
Settle into the parts of you
that you cannot see,
the spine
the shoulder blades …

Divisiveness is fed when the mind oversimplifies to black and white. When we seek a definitive line between right and wrong, particularly when that line is meant to be blurred, a varying shade of gray, an artistic representation of what we think we know.