I sat at the shore, watching the water come and go. Beside me sat a basket filled with bottles, each one containing a note about my past and my secrets. Something’s wrong with me, one said. It broke me, said another. I can’t forgive myself for it. No one can ever know. For years, I kept the…
Grounding
That’s an offering of love. (Thank you for that.)
He kissed the top of her head at the gate and zipped up her coat. “Stay warm,” he said. She dedicated her morning yoga practice to gratitude as she unrolled the mat. They left behind a card and balloons in his hospital room. “Get well soon,” they wrote. He lit a candle for his daughter…
The perfect intricacy of it all.
She lies along the riverbank, watching the clouds paint on the blue canvas sky. She lifts a lazy finger overhead and traces the shapes as they emerge. Her right foot dangles in the water. She gives it a slow, easy kick, kick, kick. The sun drenches her skin in warm light, honey-gold and petal-soft….
To the voice in my head, I love you.
She’d tell me all the ways I wasn’t enough, and I’d shrink at her words. It’s not big enough, grand enough, fast enough. You’re not smart enough, kind enough, good enough. I don’t feel pleased enough, proud enough, sure enough, she said. I could do anything to set it right, but it was never enough, and…
#TBT and words of peace. Peace Week Day 4!
When I dreamed up Peace Week, I knew I had to share some of my earlier essays with you for Throwback Thursday. Whenever I retrace my steps, I feel a deeper appreciation for how I’ve grown, what I’ve learned, and how I came to be where I am. Even though I know that our stories…
What I’m here for. ( A vow.) Peace Week Day 3
What I’m here for. (A vow.) From There, I Might Find Peace. I will remember goodness in my darkest times. I will be moved. I will learn what it means to inhabit this human body on this wild and magic planet we call home. I will leave the world a little brighter than I found it….
Sometimes You Just Need to Remember: You Were Here
When I’m feeling uninspired, disconnected, or defeated. When I’m rushing or pushing. When I’m adrift and need to find my footing, I look for signs of life. And every time I do, I’m reminded that life speaks to me, everywhere and always. Life speaks to me in colors. Girls in crimson dresses gather around a…
An Invocation for Clarity
An invocation for clarity: Love, guide me into joy. Call me forward with wonder, and leave me there, fully present in my experience and unafraid. Remind me of what I cherish most, and plant gratitude on my lips. Love, give me clarity. Wisdom, guide me into simplicity. Lead me there with discernment, and leave me…
Be insatiable.
I found a little jar in a shop window, clear with blue paint chipped off at the rim. I carried it home in tissue and twine, rinsed it, and set it in the window to collect sunlight by day, starlight by night. I placed a feather from the yard inside, hawk I think, and a…
The most beautiful place I’ve seen. (Maybe you’ve been?)
I found a place more beautiful than any I’d ever seen. I first came across it while building sandcastles with my children. I showed them how to dig down to the wet sand beneath the surface. We raked our fingers through it, creating rivers and roads. The sand clung to my skin and told me of…