personal growth – Page 4 – A Grain of Salt

Back to School

Published August 22, 2022

I am back in school this year. After twenty-seven years of planning and preparing for students, I am buying books from my required reading lists and posting replies to discussion boards. I have always loved learning but have preferred my own curation of books and courses. What that does not provide, however, is a community within which to learn. I am pursuing a certificate in spiritual direction, and community will be crucial to my learning. …

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In Case of Emergency

Published August 1, 2022

I thought I was smart and safety conscious years ago when Gary came home and explained that we should put our numbers in each other’s cell phones as ICE – an acronym for In Case of Emergency. He explained that if I am on the side of the road, unavailable for comment, someone could open my phone, look for my ICE number and know who to call. I am sure we thought this all out…

Experience Glory

Published February 21, 2022

I invite you to take the time to enter into an experience – a personal Olympic story. Watch and imagine that it’s your sister in lane three. People lean overhearing your discussion and join you in cheering when they realize your sister is stepping up to the blocks. Imagine the feeling of being family in the stands. Feel the anticipation and hope build as you put yourself in the colossal crowd buzzing with excitement all gathered…

I Wander. Do you?

Published January 31, 2022

Here is my uncomfortable truth. I prefer wandering over following. There is nothing wrong with wandering except when I believe my indiscriminate movement conveys meaning and my restless activity purpose. I know this is not true. Even with “important” goals, a tightly packed calendar can still be filled with the most meaningless activities. What makes my wandering so distressing is that I realize this as an unconscious delay to the uncomfortable pause that thinking and…

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Look around. Look around.

Published November 1, 2021

The pandemic reignited walking around the neighborhood block. My neighborhood is a landscape that has been a part of my life since I was five years old. In the ’70s, I biked, raced, and wandered inside most of the homes in my neighborhood. I at least made it inside the front door for trick or treating. Every porch light was on for that night. In the ’80’s I walked around the block when I returned…

Monday Meanderings

Published September 20, 2021

3 BIG questions Fuller Youth Institute Anam Cara by John O’ Donohue Holy Post Fiddler on the Roof