Namely

They serve a purpose or they wouldn’t exist. Human artifacts are like that, even if the artifact in question’s only purpose is delight, like a Viennese pastry’s. And a name is, indeed, an artifact, a contrivance, a made-thing even if we can’t hold it. We can hold the object it refers to… if it’s the […]

No habits of mind here

While last week was wrapping around into this one, I was fooling around with the Enneagram. Yes, yet another personality quiz and human-sorter… I do love me some categories. I’d taken various f*ree online Enneagram assessments in years past, getting “well…. I guess…” results, but the one I chose most recently delivered a result that […]

Marriage^H^H^H people advice

At some point I’ll get around to writing about my recently acquired habits. Because much to my surprise, I have! Acquired a few habits that I’d wanted, that is. But it’s past 9:30pm, I have to get up early in the morning to go teach camping, and the other chief reason I’m writing is because […]

Cue the soundtrack

Question Two: What commitment am I willing to make? This question recognizes that if change is to occur, it will come from my own free choice, not from the investment of the institution or the transformation of others. Every project of consequence or personal calling will require more of us than we originally imagined. Sister […]

What’s in God’s toolbox?

“God has favorites.” Discuss this claim in light of the Joseph narrative. In case it’s been a while, here’s The Joseph Narrative So… I’ve always read the Joseph story in light of my own experience. Which, sure, is what we all have to do when we read anything in the Bible… but for this I […]

Worry-free

[N.B.: I discovered this leaf in an odd corner of my cellphone, dried out and a little dusty. It’s from my week at the Glen Workshop; the person I refer to here I later found was quite ill — she had to go home early — but I somehow don’t think her illness spawned this […]

Listen: do you want to know a secret?

What’s worth doing, even if I fail? –Brené Brown, Daring Greatly, p. 42 Really, what I want to be doing is to be climbing into bed at an absurdly early hour. My Sweetie is having a quiet night, too, of television and pine-nut shelling… he watches far less TV these past months than I’ve been […]

Things you cannot know

I am more than slightly startled that I came home drained from a Silver consult with a troop. Six girls, talking about two possible projects, for a couple of hours. But my brain is nevertheless spongy. Plus M sent me this most excellent bit of someone else’s writing! So I’ll share his today instead of […]

Moderated

Yesterday got all done. The concert was charming (though I’m not certain the lead singer would prefer that description), time with my friend more charming still, and I didn’t run myself into the ground. So all’s we’ll that ends well… . To make certain, however, I am tackling this day as a modified pajama day. […]