Wherever you are reading this, you are invited to pause and notice. To notice where you are, the space you are in. To notice how you are – how you are feeling physically, how you are feeling emotionally. To notice how your breath is moving. As you notice, perhaps you sense a shift you canContinue reading “On Critical Embodied (Self) Reflection”
On Beauty
Casting my gaze toward the setting sun, I watch the illuminated horizon beyond a familiar coastline. Bright yellows and oranges emanate from the fiery orb. As the light shines upward, it creates an ombre sky, from glowing gold to pastel yellow to a clear blue darkening with each passing moment. As the light cascades downward,Continue reading “On Beauty”
On Simple Things
The journey of healing is a fractal and spiral shaped practice. In our individual paths of healing, we twist and turn, return and try again, catching ourselves in the process of finding new ways of being with ourselves, with others, with the world. Collectively, these twists and turns are long and slow, shaped by andContinue reading “On Simple Things”
Arboreal Resilience
Moving along paths that meander through a sequoia forest, I delight in the nourishment the space offers to my senses. Feeling the clay earth beneath my feet, softened with newly fallen leaves and branches, echoes of a recent storm. Hearing the gentle whisper of water flowing in a nearby stream. Receiving cool, damp air intoContinue reading “Arboreal Resilience”
On Safety and Normality
Through threads of conversation, listening and reflecting, two words emerge time and again as experiences disrupted through the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a matter of months, weeks, days, and hours, for so many people around the world, a sense of safety and normality was swiftly uprooted through the imposition of orders of physicalContinue reading “On Safety and Normality”
On Uncertainty
“May you find moments of ease in the unfolding of these times of great uncertainty.” I’ve found myself writing these words to many people with whom I’ve been in contact since the escalation of the covid-19 pandemic. Uncertainty. Merriam-Webster offers the following words in definition of certain – Fixed, settled. Dependable, reliable. Inevitable. For uncertain,Continue reading “On Uncertainty”
On Fear and Social Healing
Getting ready to emerge from the car, I fumbled as I tried to find the best way to tie a scarf into a makeshift face mask. After several attempts and multiple versions, I found what I thought would be the most effective and secure layered wrap and knot. I rubbed a small amount of everContinue reading “On Fear and Social Healing”
Lessons from the Sea
Most seasons in my life, I have lived close to the sea. Casting my gaze upon the Pacific Ocean was a daily occurrence, and yet only rarely did I ever dare to enter into the waves. It was not until my arrival to the coast of Northern Ireland that I took to swimming in theContinue reading “Lessons from the Sea”
Unspoken
Listen for the silences. A practice of presence, of listening, of listening differently. An invitation to consider, to feel into, to open toward what is subtle and yet all too apparent if only one shifts the orientation of one’s attention and awareness. Silences are amazingly full. Quieting oneself, we create the space to dive moreContinue reading “Unspoken”
Radical Hospitality
“You are very welcome.” A phrase of generosity, care, and warmth, emanating forth from a practice of radical hospitality. It is a phrase that echoes through the space of the Corrymeela Community upon one’s arrival to the beautiful centre, set upon the northern coast of Northern Ireland. Never before have I been present in aContinue reading “Radical Hospitality”
Embody Peacebuilding 