You may even Hum a Bit

Oh, what a walk can do for the weary soul! Taking a walk for a lot of people is a luxury that doesn’t fit into busy schedules. Amidst the clutter of media overload, PowerPoint malaise, traffic, bills, groceries, laundry, and appointments . . . a walk may well be the best gift you can give yourself. Solvitur Ambulando! This Latin term means: It is solved by walking. The expression is often attributed to Saint Augustine of Hippo and to Diogenes … Read more

Path Back to Love

Recently I had the joy of hiking a section of the Ute Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. In the vast recesses of ancient times estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, early native people sojourned this trail between the high peaks of the Continental Divide and the lower hunting areas in the valleys and plains. In the more recent past, Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne bands traveled these original animal trails back and forth in … Read more

Cracking it Open

Days and days went by and the adult red-tailed hawks attended to the nest on the red cliff in the distance. They showed a great deal of fortitude while protecting the nest in snow and wind and rain. As yet, no sign of eggs or chicks. Then on Mother’s Day morning, white fluff moving! Oh, what a celebration. And a week later, the stretch of tiny wings, right there on the very edge of vertical rock and … Read more

Into Suppleness

Springtime. Season of Growth. Season of Emergence. New life pushing through iced snow fields, hard clumped soil, wooden-fibered branch. It can be a seemingly destructive enterprise; a formidable journey. What initially appears to be insurmountable chaos can transform into blossom and fruit, fragrance and color. Perhaps it is counter-intuitive that the flowering begins with sacrifice: the shedding of leaves, the slow breathless dormancy, the decomposition of outer shells. Status quo sloughed away for the ultimate journey … Read more

Recalibrate

  I saw an eagle today mount up beyond a hill and then turn in the wind currents, wings extended fully in lift. It veered sharply and then swooped below my line of sight only to rise and surf the sky again and again. The subdued lighting of a damp afternoon accentuated its wings into detailed fans of brown feathers textured and intricately woven in a multitude of shades. I watched its magnificent dance of … Read more

Trust and Try

Have you ever had doubts about your purpose? Experienced a lag in inspiration? Felt overwhelmed? Scratched your head? Well, say no more. It’s a common thing that happens to many people one time or another! A funny thing happened to me this month as I attended The Denver Post Pen and Podium lecture series featuring Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and short story writer Anthony Doerr at the University of Denver Newman Center for the Performing Arts. … Read more

Opening the Door of January

Opening the door of January, . . . what will it bring? Second chances, a new start, beginning again?  Such thoughts may bubble up like the effervescence of New Year’s champagne and will hopefully continue with vitality and a freshness as we step into the new year with hope, purpose, and resolve. I look out on a snowy meadow, the white flakes glistening on the bare hanger of branch. On that stark white outline before a blue sky, buds have … Read more

When a Story Takes Hold of Your Heart

Ever listen to a story or poem and become wrapped (rapt) in a heightened sense of imagination and wonder? Think snow in Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales about the author’s recollection as a small boy at Christmastime. Thomas’ radio recording of this piece in 1952 at Steinway Hall in New York soared with popularity for his playful and frolicking prose and wonderful speaking voice. Both his audio recording and his written words are celebrated by thousands … Read more

What Brings Us Back

In Pursuit of Bread and Angels ♥ At the bakery the other day, I bought two loaves of bread for a couple of teachers who had shared their wisdom and time in a class I was taking. The symbolism of breaking bread with others, especially in this month of Thanksgiving, tugged at my heartstrings. Thoughts of just baked bread steaming hot from the oven and then shared across the table with family and loved ones … Read more

Gentle the Way

What’s happened America? Sighs, disbelief, despair? Where has the honor and privilege of vying to lead our country gone? We’ve seen the most contentious presidential campaign right smack in the center of our day-to-days. So in place of the brutal attacks, ranting, and brow beating, here’s a thought or pause to gentle the way or maybe to salve the weary. Wonder is the beginning of Wisdom.     —Socrates Real Suffering bravely borne, melts even a heart of … Read more