Underneath
Beneath the feet of the monks, that which holds them and their houses of prayer, is this land. Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery on the coast of South Carolina, is where we’re on retreat. The land of my childhood. Beneath the years of their prayerful songs, as old as my dad, there is that which will outlast […]
Exploring the Dark to Become Light
It takes discipline for me to be visible in community. Valuing privacy, I’ve always liked to hang out in the back — in the shadows, perhaps — observing, taking it all in, revealing little of my interior self. A few years ago, I began a meditation practice where I learn to be present to myself, as […]
Heartbreak
In two recent gatherings on a contemplative way of life, we were asked the question, “What breaks your heart?” For me, what breaks my heart is that anyone does not realize that they are beloved of God. Perhaps that is why I feel such joy at Overlook where we offer hospitable space for people to […]
A Call for Me?
My dad was, in his own words, “just a country doctor with a sniff and sneeze practice.” It was his way of downplaying the extraordinary effort that it had taken him to work his way through medical school during the Depression because he wanted to help people. I also knew that he felt called to […]
