Come August

September 6, 2022 I live in the Southeastern United States where I am graced by the witness of Ruby-throated hummingbirds.  Each March, the scouts (males) begin to arrive here, searching for hospitable courting and nesting grounds.  Around late April, early May, the females arrive, and I spend a good part of my summer keeping twoContinueContinue reading “Come August”

Half-Mast

May 25, 2022 Our flag slides down the silver poleonce againstopping halfwayagainits trajectory now rooted in its memory.This time it pauses and waversin remembrance of nineteen childrentwo school teacherstrapped and murdered in a classroom,each crumbling one after anotheronto the blood-stained floor.I see their photos, smile after smileon brown faces, white faces,hopeful faces,one child wears aContinueContinue reading “Half-Mast”

A Way to Be: Bearing Witness

March 11, 2022 The Table You know these voices,if you have ears to hear.They are legion, whispering(or shouting) within youdesperate to be noticed,coming from all cornersof your life, east and west,north and south, from infancy,to old age, and all the seasonsin between,soloists tugging atyour sleeve for attention.You wonder why they botheryou and what they wantwhileContinueContinue reading “A Way to Be: Bearing Witness”

Thin Place

February 9, 2022 In Celtic Spirituality, there is an understanding that certain places become the meeting ground between heaven and earth, the “holy ground” of Moses before the burning bush.  Such spaces are called “thin places” because the division between the holy and the ordinary disappears and the time spent there usually is fleeting.  InContinueContinue reading “Thin Place”

The Return Trip

February 2, 2022 Counting Coats “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have any.””  Luke 3:11 I consider the number of coatsI own. More than two.Seven? Eight? Ten?Not all coats, of course.Some are jacketsa pink fleecea purple raincoat.In the checkout lanethe woman in a wind-thinblue sweaterfumbles with food stampsto pay forContinueContinue reading “The Return Trip”

If I Could Do it Over

Years ago, in another life, I met Amy Tunick at the beginning of my freshman year in college.  In those brief nine months, the two of us, so very different (I, then, a Roman Catholic from a small town who wanted to be a writer; she, a secular Jew from Miami who wanted to beContinueContinue reading “If I Could Do it Over”

Stopping on the Prayer Path

As a poet, writer, and spiritual seeker, the description of my blog, Spirit-reflections, reads:  “Walking the ancient path and shining the Light with prose, poetry, and prayer.”  I believe that we, as spiritual beings, have much to learn from our ancestors who also trusted in something bigger than themselves.  If we fail to look back,ContinueContinue reading “Stopping on the Prayer Path”

Showing Up When Life Gets Hard

“Life is difficult.”  That three-word truth is the sentence that opens The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck’s well-known book integrating spiritual and psychological insights.  It doesn’t sound like a welcoming beginning, though it certainly sets the stage for an exploration into spiritual and psychological growth.  Admit it.  Life is difficult.  Once we have admittedContinueContinue reading “Showing Up When Life Gets Hard”