Retreat to move forward
Sometimes in the madness of our lives what we really need is a quiet space on 63 acres of rolling land in the mountains of North Carolina, a moment to look at our life’s stories, to learn from them, and to re-story ourselves. I’ll hold only one public retreat this …
Come, let’s ride brightly painted inner tubes, you and I
If you have watched TV commercials for the new teeniny microscopic MacBook Air, perhaps you will recognize this song by Yael Naim. Come, let’s ride brightly painted inner tubes, play cymbals in a field of sunflowers, sing with a gorgeous Israeli-French accent, and realize that there is a whole big …
Signal your turns
“People change and forget to tell each other.” – Lillian Hellman My sweet, old Ford Bronco II has 172,000 miles of history in it, a broken driver’s side door that has to be opened from the outside, a passenger window stuck in one position not quite all the way up …
Remember the green book
“Far away is only far away if you don’t go there.” -O. Povo When my friend Gay tells a story, it comes out like a hot knife through rich butter—all soft, fluid, full, with a drawl that makes you want to move to Mississippi and listen to a big bearded …
Follow your desire lines
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson In the park where we play, there are nicely laid out concrete paths, leading from the swings to the picnic tables, from the castle to the soccer field, …
Leave your base camp
“Money often costs too much.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson Last Tuesday, I found myself in the unusual position of being at the very top and very bottom of Maslow’s Happy Hierarchy of Needs at exactly the same time. I can’t recall ever being in two places at one time like this, …
Own your typhoon
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. …
Mind the gap
“Compassionate action starts with seeing yourself when you start to make yourself right and when you start to make yourself wrong. At that point you could just contemplate the fact that there is a larger alternative to either of those, a more tender, shaky kind of place where you could …
Let go of your legal pad
“The best things in life are not things.” – C. & J. Woods On Sunday, August 28, 2005, as I cleaned Cheerios off the kitchen floor for the 59th time, and just after the contents of a 12.5 fluid ounce glass bottle of maple syrup were ceremoniously unleashed onto that …
Follow the chili peppers
“how like the bumble bee I am in my work or my life i see where i want to go and in my panic i forget to look for the open window” -Marybeth Fidler This week, I had an extraordinary experience with chili peppers, mints, a smoking cook, and big …
