Who are your favorite artists? One of my graduate school requirements was to take an art class (yes, in seminary!). In the first class, I remember vividly the professor, herself an artist, said to us: Everyone is an artist. Then she looked carefully around the room, meeting each set of eyes, saying, “Yes, you are … Continue reading Everyone An Artist
Author: James
Stuff: A Slippery Slope
What would you do if you lost all your possessions? I find these hypothetical questions challenging and interesting. Since my answer is conceptual, I am only imagining how I would be impacted by losing all possessions. Writing about this question has invited deep self-reflection. I discovered some attachments I did not want to admit. Here … Continue reading Stuff: A Slippery Slope
Sabbath Slowdown
Sunday afternoon waxes The morning rush wanes Slow tempo Quiet grace Dawdling No agenda No guilt Permissive Spacious gift Notions of wasted time Dissipate in repose Celebrate living Thrive Disabused of notions Anything requires doing Nothing calls Only respite
A Transformed Mind
What's a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind? The question from the prompt is really, "Have you changed your opinion about anything?" What a question! Am I alive? Well then, my opinions1 about everything are constantly in flux no matter what I tell myself. Opinions Change, Sometimes Often Opinions. "Has my opinion … Continue reading A Transformed Mind
Not My Place, Not My People
Tell us about a time when you felt out of place. I arrived for my first day of the first-grade. Ms. Key was my teacher. I did not know her; I did not know anyone in my class. I did not like riding the bus. I did not like much that day. Thus, I began … Continue reading Not My Place, Not My People
Wanting to Say Something
Anxious Uncertain wanting to say something habit, not want no-thing needs saying no-thing rising to say
Handwriting and Board Games
Your life without a computer: what does it look like? I spent about half of my life without computers as household gadgets. Heck, I still remember going to work with my Dad one Saturday at the computer room in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s; he worked in a frigid room that housed part of a computer. … Continue reading Handwriting and Board Games
Dealing with the Unavoidable: Conflict
What skill would you like to learn? At one point in my life, conflict aversion was a core personality trait with the makings of a nickname, as in, “Just call me Conflict-Avoider.” My key skills in conflict-avoidance included, but were not limited to: Sprint away from the approach of perceived conflict; If the other person … Continue reading Dealing with the Unavoidable: Conflict
All of Them!
What details of your life could you pay more attention to? Attention is a fleeting companion. Being attentive in any moment is a challenge; still, to be awake is to attend one’s life. I love that word, “Attend.” We attend concerts, the movies, the theatre, parties, meetings, and school. Is our attendance more than an … Continue reading All of Them!
Hidden Markers, Broken Containers
world I imagined,world I knew,gone.familiar markers moved, changed.Unknown.Absent.container of faithcarefully curatedneatly shelvedbroken open.remembered contentleaking.what remains?Emptiness. Possibility.Love?who will guide my feet?what will mark the way?to what shall I turn?there is no re-turnonly forward, downwardmarkers goneis this the path?is there a path?what container will I use?is there a container at all?mind of a beginner, seekingUnknown and Known.Absent … Continue reading Hidden Markers, Broken Containers








