In my most recent poem I mentioned that two poems came to me last week about softness. The first you can find here. The second began with a line borrowed from Mary Oliver's famous poem, Wild Geese: You do not have to be good. And so I wondered, how I…
In my most recent Soul Writer's circle, the theme was 'softness.' Two poems came to meet me in this reflection. The first poem wasn't about softness, but about strength - and how softness can be another kind of strength. My relationship with softness is multi-faceted. Sometimes softness feels painful…
Here in Texas where I live we've been in a drought for several weeks. Now that we're in September, we feel the gradual cooling and shortening of the days. It's so subtle it's easy to miss. And yet tuning to these changes brings hope and steadiness: this burning heat will…
Here in Texas, like so many parts of the world, it has been hot and dry. Each day it's 105, 106, 104, 107. You don't check the weather as you know it will be hot, it's only a matter of degree. With the heat there has been no rain and…
We recently drove across town on a quiet Saturday afternoon to visit friends and meet their newborn daughter. During our visit, their daughter mostly lay snuggled against her mother's chest, asleep. They told me about their daughter's first weeks and how she only slept when she was lying on their…
When my son was nine, his best friend moved three hours away. Over the next seven years, before the boys got their licenses, our two families would meet up halfway between us, coordinating weekend visits. We met at a barbeque restaurant and often ate lunch together. One day, because our…
A Sufi teacher once told me that the rain is a symbol of mercy, because nothing grows without rain. Here in Austin, we are thirsty for rain. We had a sprinkle a few evenings ago, but otherwise, the hot dry days stretch on for weeks. Most of my garden is…
Today is my Aunt Janet's birthday. And it's my friend Peter's birthday. And my friend Margaret's birthday. And I got a note from someone today about blessing things simply because they exist. What a powerful idea. And I got to thinking - what would it mean to bless ourselves, or…