The hard part Is to find yourself at home with where and what you are And still remain amazed. (John Koethe, "Beyond Belief") We live in a trance so much of the time, don't we? Here, but not here. Restless, never really at home. We carry around a vague sense of unhappiness with who we […]

The deep rumble of thunder began about 5:00 this morning. One of life's most delicious sounds if you are tucked in a warm bed and have a few more hours to sleep. Luckily, I did. I woke well past my alarm, stretched, threw some clothes on and headed downstairs to pour myself a cup of […]

I just finished reading an Arthur Brooks column in the Atlantic. Gorgeous words. Here is a little excerpt I want to share with you: You will notice that all of the modern untruths I’ve identified have one big thing in common: They say you should focus on yourself—your future, your career, your discomfort, your truth. […]

I heard a poem yesterday … or I should say, a part of a poem. I am not sure who the author of the poem was. I am not even sure I have the phrase right. Nonetheless, I have been captured by its truth, this little, potentially misquoted, phrase: "Lord, most of what I love […]

I worked in the gardens until sweat poured down my face. It was one of those sultry August weekends in Iowa that makes us all flee inside to avoid wilting. Though tempted to sip iced tea in the air conditioning, my gardens called to me. It is that time of year when my flamboyant, showoff-y […]

It is difficult to know what and how to write in these times. Structures and norms and institutions we count on to be steady ground beneath our feet are crumbling or being intentionally destroyed. Though my life, in and of itself, could not be considered difficult or threatened, it is still hard to know how […]