"Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us."Meister Eckhart Dear Reader, You may have saved my life. I will explain. But first, a story. When I was in grammar school, I used to take piano lessons and … Continue reading Dear Reader
Reflections
Re-Wild, Ohio Part 7
There is nothing of me that is alone and absolute except my mind,and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself,it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of the waters.-DH Lawrence* Themes that keep arising: home, childhood, sacredness, intuition, rivers, ancestry. The place where I find myself today … Continue reading Re-Wild, Ohio Part 7
To Stevedore and More, Ohio Part 6
The sun shines not on us, but in us.The rivers flow not past, but through us.- John Muir Rivers are roads which move.- Blaise Pascal Over the past year we have been living in a small, closely knit community in eastern Ohio. Its tight-knittedness is partly because of its size and partly because of an … Continue reading To Stevedore and More, Ohio Part 6
is it written?
“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awakeis to be continually thrown out of the nest.”Pema Chodron It was Independence Day 2020 when we first looked at the Ohio property. G and I drove from Massachusetts, X and L from Michigan. Meeting here, on the Ohio River, we looked at the three buildings inside … Continue reading is it written?
Alma Mater
Over the past thirty years, the first weekend in June (or thereabouts) comes with it a perennial invitation to go back to school for the weekend. The most brilliant of fundraising techniques, our university offers a free party for four out of five Junes. On the fifth—or the majors—we pay and cover the way for … Continue reading Alma Mater
Squaring the Circle, Ohio Part 5
First weeks of June. 85-100 degrees. 99% humidity. The latest from our Ohio project. If you were to create a square out of the land and three buildings in our project, until a few weeks ago, you would have seen a fourth structure in the northwest quadrant. A house overcome with weeds climbing into windows, … Continue reading Squaring the Circle, Ohio Part 5
Set and Setting
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,We must carry it with us or we find it not.Emerson A few weeks into first grade, I saw my parents drive up to school in the middle of the day. Our classroom window faced the parking lot, and I watched as they emerged, immaculately dressed. … Continue reading Set and Setting
Open Doors, Ohio Part 4
On the first night I arrived in Ohio to stay, G gave me a tour of the house on the river—the former rectory—and all of the demolition work she had done in the month of my absence. A bat soared across the room vanishing into the darkness. A few days later I grabbed my work … Continue reading Open Doors, Ohio Part 4
The Power of Tomorrow
“The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun. Just thinkin’ about tomorrow, clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow, til there’s none.” How those lines from Annie lit me up on the inside when I first heard them! One of the few records I owned, I still can see its bright … Continue reading The Power of Tomorrow
2/22
Christmas of my eleventh year I asked for a stuffed animal. Specifically a grey donkey. I remember getting in bed that night, and my dad coming into my room to say goodnight, asking me what I would name it. We often played name games. Dad is the one who named our cat Hamilton. The donkey … Continue reading 2/22
Where I End & She Begins 