Smashing Convention

Of course, I had to read the recent NYT article “Kung Fu Nuns of Nepal Smash Convention.” It described how a group of Buddhist nuns are challenging longstanding traditional concepts about what women can and can’t do by practicing Kung Fu, which gives them “inner confidence” and readies them to “take care of others during crises.” And they […]

The One Who Has Two Coats – Dec. 9, 2022

“When the people asked him, “What should we do?” John replied, “Let the one who has two coats share with the one who has none. Let those who have food do the same.”” -Luke 3:10-11, The Inclusive Bible

Woodchuck Waits – Dec. 1, 2022

“Deep in his burrow he’s safe from other mouths. It’s his own hunger he has to escape. Winter has wiped bare his vegetarian table. He would starve if he stayed awake. Asleep—a sleep so deep his heart barely beats and his body cools to nearly the temperature of ice—he expends almost no energy. Only at […]

Seen

I saw a mother breastfeeding on the train. She covered herself as the child took what she was freely giving. A sacred sharing. Her tilted downward gaze, the shape of her eyes, the curl of her lips, glowed as if transfigured. Time stopped for one eternal moment, and on that specific day, in that specific place, I […]