the wisdom

Never doubt that you can change history. You already have.

Marge Piercy



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Blind Man in an Airport

When I think about fear…or it thinks about me and I respond…my mind goes immediately to this image of a blind many walking through a crowded airport alone with only his cane to guide him.

Defying Gravity

Outside my window is a very tall pine tree. It’s full of new growth, thin spindly long branches that grow up and out. Fat little birds will perch on the very end of these branches, relaxed as the skinny branch curves and bows under their weight into an upside down C. How do they understand the pliability of the branch?

The Semantics of Prayer

My mom once told me “Don’t pray for patience because you’ll be shown how to be patient in ways you never wanted to imagine.”
I try to never assume. Sometimes saying a prayer fills me with the same feeling I get before I assemble a wall unit from IKEA.

Red and Blue Latex is Thicker Than Water

Going to high school in Austin, MN—the Home of Hormel—grants one particular access. Unless you too grew up in a meat packing town, I doubt you know what I’m talking about.

Saying The Words

I am a believer in the power of words, the raw, knock you on your ass, change everything power of words. Some words change minds, some words change history change history.

Catastrophic Thinker

When I walk outside, dinosaurs don’t chase me. I don’t see danger at every turn. My fight or flight response rarely if ever has good cause to kick in.

When Life Asks More of You Than it Has Before

Tested.
Steeled.
Trial by fire.
Sometimes what feels really bad is really good for us. In a there’s no other way to get this information kind of way.

The Year of Living Dangerously

I’m finding that I like to designate a new year *The Year of Fill InThe Blank* before I get too far into it. Sort of give it a theme, like a ride and Disneyland.

At the Precipice, We Change

Take all choice away. Just grind me down to a nub. Shove and elbow me right to the very edge. Force me into a corner, take away my wet paint brush and turn off the lights.

The Best Christmas Ever

And if you don’t believe that everything happens for a reason, I hope this will change your mind. And if it doesn’t change your mind…I think you might be visited by three ghosts tonight.