Jane Pettibone

A sigh is a sigh is a sigh. Happy ones and sad. Merriam Webster defines a sigh as an involuntary act especially when expressing an emotion or feeling; or the sound of gently moving or escaping air like wind sighing in the branches. It seems a sigh suffices quite well without words. What journeys forth in one exhaled breath could paint a masterpiece—each sigh brimming colors without the brushstrokes of the spoken word. Joy, grief, … Read more

Near Camelback Mountain as the stone monk prays on his knees . . . a place thrives in the wilderness and fills the soul. During this time of Easter joy, I share my personal refuge where I always find beauty and renewal. Inside the sanctuary, when the light from the sun breaks through the vibrantly-hued glass, it washes over the viewer in a variety of colors. It’s something like being doused in the waters of … Read more

A beautiful note will journey to the deepest recesses of the human heart, if you allow it there when it arrives by surprise, or by intent. It might be hand-written characters on yellowed stationary, or the musical notes alighting the airwaves of sound, but somehow, at some moment, something meaningful casts a profound impact upon the tender territory of one’s very heart. That’s what happened recently in war-torn Kharkiv when a cellist set a stool … Read more

When will every nation seek peace instead of conquest? We watch. We weep. We pray. The cities and countryside are under siege. The streets are without the normal melodies of life: music; children playing; lovers strolling; workers working; and simple day-to-day tasks like washing clothes, seasoning stew, reading mail. Obliteration. Bombs. Missiles. Tanks. Guns. Sacred worship spaces bereft. Restaurants empty. Homes ravaged. Timbers burned. Windows broken. Concrete crumbled. Steel twisted. Most disturbing is the assault … Read more

Hope emerges in the thick of winter, on this side of the winter solstice, when the sun starts to lengthen our daylight hours in the northern hemisphere. More light means greater visibility. More visibility means greater clarity. More clarity means greater inspiration. Even tightly closed buds on branches anticipate the bloom ahead. So what does your bloom look like in the cave of imagination when the season is still, perhaps, entrenched in a slow hibernation? … Read more

In the span of a week, two encounters of the heart: one in a doctor’s office, the other in an open space park. A bright-faced boy. A Majestic Stag. The curly head of hair sailed past me on the floor across the tile, his artificial limb extended in front of him like a baseball player sliding into second base. The boy immediately popped up on his one good leg, lifted his below-the-knee prosthesis behind him, … Read more

There’s one thing about this fall in the foothills outside Denver and the nearby higher elevations in towns like Evergreen or Conifer: leaves are holding tight to the branches in suspended shimmering animation. Snow comes late this year allowing for nature’s breathtaking mural of changing colors. And Wow! This lone aspen caught my attention among the surrounding green fir trees off a hiking trail days ago. The bright white column of bark, and the crown … Read more

I found a heart rock today on my walk. It’s something I look for whenever I’m out in the trees. And there it was . . . sunlight on the curvature of its form. Ah, what an assuring gesture from nature’s treasure trove of delightful objects. I collect these stones as signs of hope and sometimes give them away. One of my all-time favorites had a fissure down the middle. God heals the brokenhearted is … Read more

The unhealed pain of disappointment, even destruction, can leave a seemingly open wound within a person or a place. We probably all have a wound or two in our personal landscapes that come to mind. One need only walk near the burnt trails in Rocky Mountain National Park to experience the great weight of disaster that occurred in that beloved wilderness last year. The charred landscape of the Cameron Peak Fire and East Troublesome Fire … Read more

What is it about reflection that takes us back with the added grace of discernment? Time often provides the space for acquiring understanding. And understanding, after all, is one of the sweetest virtues. So we celebrate Memorial Day and we remember. We remember those who have given their lives in service to our country. We remember those who are living and make daily sacrifices in the service to others. We remember those lost and forgotten. … Read more