thoughts &
notes

Solstice

These are dark times. Rumors of war rise like smoke in the east. Drought widens its misery. In the west, glittering towers collapse in a...

September Morning

Early sunlight filtered through treetops onto Trail A of the Ephrata Bike Park at Heatherwood. On that late September morning, 2019, I...

When Gratitude Isn’t Enough

Poem by Ann Bourmanne We wanna be grateful because we read everywhere that being grateful is what it takes to be happy. We name five...

Darkness Can Be a Teacher

Text by Parker J. Palmer Soon, in my patch on this planet, we mark the winter solstice. As we move through the shortest day and longest...

Fall Garden

In fall the garden is spent having given its all. Cucumber vines lie exhausted on the ground Tomato plants list to one side Cornstalks...

Do You Think Your Inner Critic is a Gremlin? Think Again.

I’ve tried calling my inner critic names, laughing it off as my inner gremlin or mean girl, or labelling it as a monster—something inside...

Befriending Ourselves: An Invitation to Love

KRISTI NELSON You are the one you have been waiting for. ~ Byron Katie Everything flourishes in the nourishment of our appreciation. If...

We Look with Uncertainty

We look with uncertainty beyond the old choices for clear-cut answers to a softer, more permeable aliveness which is every moment at the...

Quotes on Being Human

Honesty is an integral part of humility, which means saying yes to our humanness, accepting both the agony and the ecstasy of who we are....