Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. Winnie-the-PoohA.A. Milne To me, Memorial Day weekend has always signified the beginning of summer. School is out, the weather is getting warmer, gardens are beginning to sprout, festivals and concerts are beginning. As I planned a Memorial…

Sometimes, carrying on, just caring on, is the superhuman achievement. Albert Camus Les Invalides contains the tomb of Napoleon. He knew something about carrying on.  Thankfully, we aren’t faced with his challenges. Still, this pandemic leaves us with no option except to move forward as best we can. I’ve been thinking about small changes I’ve…

All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow. Leo Tolstoy I visited the the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, where this photo was taken, on a dreary, damp day that threatened rain. Looking through my photos, I almost deleted it. After viewing the image closer, I noticed the play of…

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips it’s turn. Hal Borland Growing up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, spring did seem to skip it’s turn. Autumns were filled with forests of stunning, jewel colors  and the smell of wood smoke. Spring got lost between mountains of frigid snow and sudden, balmy days with bright blue…

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things they are transformed. Nhat Hanh Looking back at this photo, I thought of a a quote from Monet about looking at colors, not objects. I can see how buildings could be seen only as an oblong of pink or a square of yellow. A deeper…

The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected. Robert Frost My mother made it a point to visit the nursing home just a few blocks from where she lived, regularly. She would bring freshly baked cookies and cakes. Sitting at bedsides and reading aloud or listening to stories of the way things once were. It…

Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. Shannon L. Alder While contemplating a world turned upside down, I’ve been thinking about my grandmother. Born before the turn of the 20th century, she lived through the Spanish flu pandemic, a…

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen The first time I saw  Sacre-Coeur Basilicia  it was silhouetted against a brilliant blue sky. Climbing the many stairs to the entrance and finally stepping inside, I felt an immediate sense of peace. This wasn’t the feeling of awe I had…

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it mets us where we are but does not leave us where we found it. Anne Lamott I think we can safely say, without fear of exaggeration, we are all facing a personal crisis. The enormous threat of the Coronavirus has serious consequences…