Who Am I Today? (the COVID-Brain Version)
I don’t know whether the term long COVID applies to me yet, but 12 weeks of brain fog and fatigue must count for something. In the grand scheme of long COVID, my symptoms are mild. [...]
In the Aftermath of COVID
In the last week of March, having shown my first signs of COVID, I wrote my spiritual director to postpone our appointment. He wrote back something no one else said: “May this be a challenging [...]
Do You Have Trouble Forgiving?
So do I. Maybe it’s because of the toxic family script I inhaled as a child: “Backmans never forgive.” Or maybe, being hypersensitive in general, I’m hypersensitive to “the heartache, and the thousand natural shocks that [...]
Walking in the Spirit, Not the Letter
The teaching is merely a vehicle to describe the truth. Don’t mistake it for the truth itself. A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. –Thich Nhat Hanh I am wild about [...]
We’re the Product of Many Forces, but We Are Not Helpless
For the months of March and April, I’d been in an odd place spiritually—not traumatic, just unsettling. Sorting through it took some serious work: a number of journal entries, an intense session with my spiritual [...]
Silent Prayer Made Easy (Sort Of)
Quick: what does contemplation mean? (No fair peeking at this post.) If you’re drawing a blank, don’t worry. It took me forever to understand it even a little—and I’m trying to live it. Contemplation doesn’t [...]
There Is So Much More to Listening, and Life, Than You Ever Imagined
Not everyone gets advice from a dying cat. Ours has decided to bestow a few nuggets of wisdom during her long exit. They have to do with euthanasia, as you might expect, but even more [...]