Practices for Recovering Resilience
Keep the Sacred in the Giving
I do try to keep the giving of thanks in mind at Thanksgiving, as in my Thanksgiving post on gratitude, as in calling to mind that day each person in […]
This Is Your Brain on “Deep Reading”
My friend Lynn reliably sends me links to relevant and thought-provoking podcasts, often BBC or Frontline. This time, Ezra Klein’s recent interview with neuroscientist and reading specialist Maryanne Wolf about […]
The Season of the Dark and Happily EVEN After
The poem below, The Season of the Dark, speaks so eloquently to the ongoing grieving of our souls for all we love, for the world, as we try, try, try […]
Alive Until You’re Dead
I haven’t devoted an entire newsletter to just one book in a long time, and won’t do that here either, but Susan Moon’s Alive Until You’re Dead: Notes on the […]
Poem Bathing
Poem Bathing by Gail Onion Poem bathing.An hour spent reading favorite poetry.Sometimes there is ecstasy, a respite from care, sometimes reassurance that the world has meaningthere is wonder and aweand how to find peace […]
Gratitude: We Are Participant and Witness All at Once
I have found no more resonant reflection on the true meanings of gratitude for this [U.S.] Thanksgiving Day than this excerpt from the poet David Whyte’s Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment, […]
Fury and Faith – A Poem for These Times
Someone shared Amanda Gorman’s poem Fury and Faith at our recent Gourmet Poets Society gathering. These words in these times of rapid social and political turmoil remind us: “whether we […]
Ditch the Despair
I confess. There was quite a bit of whooping and hollering when my Gourmet Poets Society friends and I learned last weekend that the Democrats had won the Senate seat […]
Worst Day Ever?
This poem must be read straight through, top to bottom, then, as the poet instructs, read again from the bottom to the top. It’s a brilliant lesson in the power […]
Especially When We Disagree – a Post-Election Post-Mortem
I wrote this post two days before the 2022 mid-term elections in the U.S., not yet knowing the results, but fearing for the integrity of our democracy, even for the […]