Adapted from Unlikely Teachers: Finding the Hidden Gifts in Daily Conflict, by Judy Ringer

Driving home late one night during the first snow of the season, I hit a patch of ice on a slippery bridge and struck the barrier that separates the bridge from the air and the water. I careened off one side of the bridge, slid across three lanes of Interstate 95, and scraped along the barrier on the opposite side. 

Luckily there weren’t any other cars nearby.

As I slid on the frozen surface, my first awareness was fear. Then, as the car connected with the barrier, I was jolted into a powerfully present state of being. What flashed through my mind was: I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to be here for it. 

Then, deep calm, peace, and presence....

Walking early on a Sunday morning, I hear music playing loudly down the street. I realize it's coming from a parked car up ahead across from the Public Library. It's about 7:30 am. 

My initial reaction -- Pretty loud for so early on a Sunday in a residential neighborhood. Then I see a young man near the car either placing gear in the back seat or removing it. He's standing near the curb I'm about to walk by....

I'm on a spiritual journey. The church happens to be the boat I'm traveling on.

~William Kent Krueger

I'm recently returned from a silent retreat at the Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY, the retreat title: "In Silence with Thomas Merton", with Brother Ephrem Arcement, OHC. It was wonderful, On many levels....

Today I'm reprinting a post from the United Church of Christ's Daily Devotional written April 2024 by Mary Luti. Mary is one of my favorite UCC writers, and her story made me reflect on how the sacred can surprise us at any moment; also, on the beauty of nature, and, finally, on my sometimes quick-to-judge mindset.

Mary is a pastor and educator, and I have reprinted her post in its entirety, including the title and the Biblical passage that inspired her to write it....

How often do I revisit what I teach? Almost every day.

When the difficult, courageous, crucial, purposeful or just plain hard-to-hold conversation is imminent, I get out my "Checklist", tips, and resources. I call supportive friends and get to work on myself--looking inward to see what makes "this" one different, challenging, and off-putting.

I know I'm not the only one who's tentative about these conversations. In fact, most recently I've noticed a plethora of articles on the subject, which all pretty much say the same thing.

I'm revisiting the topic today with a few of the most common coaching suggestions....

I had the good fortune recently to be reminded of Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb". At 22, Gorman was the youngest person ever to deliver a poem at a U.S. presidential inauguration as Joe Biden amd Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President. 

These are tumultuous times, and we/I -- I'll speak for myself -- have days when I fear for my country's future and it's ability to recover from innumerable onslaughts, both internal and external.

"The Hill We Climb" brought hope today, and I share it here. If you like, you can watch again the Amanda Gorman's beautiful delivery on the Library of Congress website....

While I've written often over the years about the kind of conversations many of us put off (or never have) because it's just too hard, I believe wholeheartedly (and know from experience) that these tough conversations are the ones we need to have the most. If held well, they can build or rescue a relationship, find an elegant solution to a knotty problem, and even be energizing and thought-provoking....

Like waves crashing against the shore, worry, regret, and fear-based narratives wash through my brain. Over and over again. In the middle of the night, day, whenever, whenever. They find me.

Spinning thoughts -- "if onlys", missed "do overs", and anxiety

My husband called me to the kitchen window a few days ago and asked me what I thought was attached to (and hanging from) the squirrel's nest in the bushes that line our driveway. It looked like a dead rabbit, but it couldn't be, right? Too heavy! We stared at the thing for several minutes trying to understand what we were seeing. Then it moved--Woh! Could it be a live rabbit? A squirrel? Something else? 

The bush is only ten yards from the window but we couldn't figure it out.

It's New Year's Day and I'm thinking about and visualizing the year ahead.  My friend and mentor, author Thomas Crum, introduced an experience at one of his Magic trainings many years back. We were asked to imagine ourselves a year ahead and to write down all the things we were grateful for that had happened in the year just gone by. 

So... if I were to do that exercise today (and I did), I would be visualizing myself on January 1, 2025, and writing down all the events, experiences, people, and actions that happened in 2025 that I was grateful for....