Hello, friends. How are you? This is a hard time we are in. The other night, I couldn't fall asleep. I had a hard time breathing and couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't stop shaking. My thoughts went to: "Oh no! It's Corona! Who have I made sick?" I ran downstairs to take my temperature. … Continue reading You are not Alone
Today is filled with all sorts of heaviness--for a number of people we know and hold dear. This past month has been a heavy month for us. I know that it's always a heavy time for someone, somewhere. I often have a hard time praying with impromptu sentences these days: the kind of prayer I … Continue reading Kyrie Eleison: A prayer for heavy times
"The sun comes up and we start again. The sun comes up and we start again... Be here now." Mason Jennings sang me to wake this morning with words that I needed to hear and carry with me today. They echo words from St. Benedict that I have tucked into my heart: "always we begin … Continue reading Why I always begin again (and again)
Hi. How are you doing? Me? Honestly? I have anxiety in me. My body hasn't felt such a fist in my chest or a jaw this tight since my lawyer days. It doesn't feel great. I have a lot of questions: questions about what is happening in our country; questions about what I can do. … Continue reading This is how I want to be
There is a song in my heart. One I am meant to play. But it comes out all wrong when I sit down in front of those black and white keys. My left hand is weak and rusty from nearly 20 years of practicing every once in a very great while. The song should … Continue reading The Song Needs Each One of Us (A Piano Parable)
Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone started their day by cultivating lovingkindness in their hearts? (I'm an idealist. I like to imagine these things. I like to think that anything is possible.) Maybe that's too big. I should start smaller. How would my day, my interactions, my heart change if … Continue reading Heart Exercises: Stretching your heart with lovingkindness
My daughter had a giant-sized, shallow sliver sticking out of her finger. It could have been an easy, quick fix. I reached for her hand. She hid it behind her back and frantically screamed: "Don't touch it!" But I can get it out. "Don't touch it!" You can get it out. Why don't you try? "Noooo." … Continue reading Let’s Make Space for One Another Instead of Trying to Fix Each Other
"It is a lie--any talk of God that does not comfort you... How long will grown men and women in this world keep drawing in their coloring books an image of God that makes them sad?" - current translation of Meister Eckhart How do we heal from toxic images of God? How do we move … Continue reading How Do We Heal from Toxic Images of God?
How do we talk to our children about war and enemies and hope and love? How do we talk to one another? I had the opportunity to practice the other morning as my six-year-old examined the library books scattered on the family-room floor. The conversation went something like this: "Mom, that picture on The Vanished … Continue reading Can We Talk About War and Enemies and Hope and Love?
Lately, I've been trying to introduce my kids to the idea of being interrupters. Usually, we teach kids not to interrupt, that interrupting is rude. Often it is. But sometimes, interruption is exactly what is needed.
Jessica Sanborn 