Coming Alive Memoir
-
The Tortoise & the Hare
The Tortoise and the Hare I must have had some ministerial blood inside even as a child. I loved tales and fables with a moral message: Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm, Aesop’s Fables and especially stories about animals. In French class in high school we translated the fables of La Fontaine. My teacher who resembled Jiminy Cricket was named Napoleon Alphonse Fontaine. My first paper in seminary was on the book of Ecclesiastes. As a young adult I related to the unknown author called “Qoheleth” meaning preacher in Hebrew. I shared his philosophical turn of mind, beginning with skepticism and ending…
-
February: I am Singing of Tomorrow
Love from the Heart One morning I pulled out my Stevie Wonder album singing along: I am singing of tomorrow…I am singing of love. I am singing that sweet love will reign throughout this world of ours… I am singing of love from the heart. Suddenly, I feel free and happy with faith in tomorrow. The past, future, and present become one in a heart. What do you love? Who do you love? In 2023 what lovely thing or action do you wish to engage in? Perhaps something you miss that you use to do or someone you’d like to be in touch with? Retreat and Remembrances January was…
-
Celebrating Light: Winter Solstice
When the words come, they are merely empty shells without the music. They live as they are sung, for the words are the body and the music the spirit. – St. Hildegard of Bingen A Story When the great Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem-Tov saw misfortune threatening the Jews, it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light the fire, say a special prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune averted. Years later when a disciple of the Ba’al Shem-Tov, the celebrated Magid of Mezritch, had occasion for the same reason, to intercede with heaven, he…
-
Gratitude: Celebrating Friendships
November is a time of remembrance and change. Tonight we lit a beautiful fire in our fireplace. I gave Judy a “fire back” with a ship on it last Christmas, fitting that we live on the Captain’s Mile of historical homes in Yarmouth Port. Nature’s Colors On All Souls Day we explored Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. My writing mentor and friend, Kathleen Spivack, asked us to drive her to a place she has sorely missed because of ill health. We put her walker in the car and found a sacred place to rest and take in the beauty. Kathleen awakens the artist for all those privileged to have…
-
Let Autumn Come
Autumn is a time of change – leaves turning color and then falling to the ground. We have lots of trees in our yard many planted by Honey B.. our previous owner. Trees I never met before -Red Bud and Golden Rain. The humongous Evergreen drops its long pine combs continuing to be itself – ever-green. I like that. Stability. “Great is thy faithfulness, God my Creator, There is no turning or changing in Thee.” A small Japanese maple named “Grace” was a gift for my ministry. Grace can not be contained! She chose to keep expanding in varying shades of yellow, green, and orange. In winter when she sheds…
-
Summertime
In July I was at Endicott College for the wonder-filled International Women Writers Guild Conference. After waiting two years due to the virus, I imagined a peaceful time walking along the beach there. Instead, overwrought by the heat and humidity I got in my car and sought out a hairdresser at a Beverly salon. One more layer of my hair was removed but not before the room spun around from bending backward at the sink. The lady seemed to know all about the dizzies and brought me a cup of water. Moving into an empty dorm room made me realize I am not a kid anymore as I lay on…
-
Coming Alive: Mother’s Day
Make everyday Coming Alive Day! One May I spent Mother’s Day with my two aunts on my father’s side of the family who were alone and sad. Before I could feel guilty about dining with them my mother said, “go and be with them…You can see me another day….everyday is mother’s day ” Last fall, I bid good bye to my last living aunt, Aunt Helen. My mother died seven years ago. I was blessed to have eleven aunts to get to know and feel loved by. We get our start in life through our mother’s body. Only she can make the sacred choice of bringing life into the world.…
-
Coming Alive: Mid-Winter Anticipation
“Coming Alive” available by March 1st! With anticipatory joy I look forward to a new year and the publication of my book by Shanti Arts. For two decades, I followed my star to create this memoir. Through its ups and downs, revisions upon revisions I found my voice. While I don’t agree with Michelangelo that art is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration it is at least 50 -50! Epiphany in the Christian calendar is a session of realization, announcing the birth of the Prince of Peace and the wisdom of following a star. The truth is the world is pregnant with possibility however bleak mid winter appears. “What ifs?” My…
-
Twelve Signs of the Zodiac: Sagittarius: Adventure & Celebration
This is my last blog of 2021. I am grateful for all my friends and followers who have tuned in, commented and emailed as I explored this new medium. I began with the 10th sign of the zodiac last January and before I could harness the 9th sign of Sagittarius, the Archer’s arrow flew and I found myself back to the Sun in Capricorn and Christmas Eve! However, the planet Mars is now in the sign of Sagittarius for the next few weeks so there is plenty of Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius) energy remaining: celebration, faith, adventure and wisdom. “Coming Alive” in 2022! My memoir, “Coming Alive” will…
-
“Italy”
Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life. -Anna Akhmatova You may have the universe if I may have Italy. -Giuseppe Verdi Consider your origin; ye were not formed to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. -Canto XXVI, Dante Alighieri Italy is a dream! When my parents and I arrived at Kennedy airport in New York, we saw a bunch of tired, bored college students stretched out over the carpet and chairs in the terminal. They were to be among the eighty students I would live with in Tuscany. My mother’s worries about the dangers of the pinching and prowling behavior of…