Breathe in. Breathe out. Remember, your breath. Don’t lose it in the movement. Your breath is your center, your stability. Sixty minutes of stretching, holding, and balancing, or shall I say, an attempt at such, constituted my first Yoga session. Skeptical and inexperienced, I entered the room at the invite of a friend and the … [Read More]
On Caring for Poinsettias
Francine began losing her leaves soon after Christmas. She has been a good houseplant, keeping me and my roommates company when we sit at our kitchen table. Her red and green leaves signaled the coming of Christmas, and though she was only intended to live with us for the 6 weeks up till Christmas, … [Read More]
Chasing the Demons Away
It’s not everyday you meet a witch at your bus stop. A silent snow, the normal routine: 9:43am, it’s time to catch the bus to church. Coffee has yet to touch my lips, so it takes a minute before I understand what’s going on. All I see is a fur-covered woman carrying a mask … [Read More]
Of Defiance and Starlight
“Sam struggled with his own weariness, and he took Frodo’s hand; and there he sat silent till deep night fell.” …till deep night fell. I know those words. I know that world. Another friend is sick, not with a cold. How many more loved ones will face this? How many deaths must we … [Read More]
Of Tantrums and Tiger Eyes
“We all do it. We may think we’re better than that, but every Adult is really still just a 5 year-old with a wallet and a key ring.” My pride wells up. No way. Not me. Come on, there’s a bit more maturity in me than a 5 year-old. “At some point or another, … [Read More]
On Loneliness
Of all the unspoken words in the wild world of language, few quiet a conversation as quickly as “lonely,” “loneliness,” and “alone,” especially when preceded with a confessional “I am…” The utterance of such brings a stillness into a conversation, whether one from empathy or from awkwardness. Empathy, because there are few things as … [Read More]
The Christmas Story and the God I didn’t want
What do you do with an estranged God? Maybe estranged isn’t the right word. It surely is strange, though, this whole “Christmas” thing. God becomes human, a human born to a poor family. This is God, right? He’s powerful and what not – couldn’t he be born into royalty or power or wealth? No, … [Read More]
Of Darkest Days and The Weight of Existence
“For what I seek is hope, a horizon for human destiny, for my own true self…” 4:31pm. That was 6 minutes ago, the official time of sunset. Dusk has made its home in the heavens. 8 hours, 17 minutes, and 45 seconds of daylight: the darkest day of the year. “…I … [Read More]
Of Winter Depression and Looking Up
Eleven. It’s been eleven days since I’ve seen the sun, and technically it’s not even winter yet. There’s still two weeks before we hit the darkest day. This is just the beginning. The grey light that comes through the clouds and fog during the eight hours of day are not much for encouragement toward … [Read More]
Of Broken Hearts and Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit; theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled … [Read More]