Wayfinding: “Making the best guess about which direction to try (not which destination to arrive at), then venturing forward for a bit, then stopping and taking note of where you are and what you can see from this new vantage point.” From “Designing Your New Work Life” (chapter: Now Where Are We?).
Continue reading “Wayfinding: direction, not destination”Finding a sheltering space (not a coffee shop)
In my creative meanders, this garden visit was on a whim. (Proving “yes” is the best response to an encouraging inner nudge to explore something unknown or forgotten.)
I entered a canopy of white crepe myrtles that created a sheltering space. It seemed as if two hands held an offering to any visitor. I sat on a bench and listened. The gentle bubbling of the fountain, the birdsong, the wind rustling leaves. I watched the water run down the side of the marble fountain. It was a place of peace. I felt unexpectedly happy as my eyes explored this space of details easily missed by sweeping surface glances.
Continue reading “Finding a sheltering space (not a coffee shop)”Find a field of sunflowers
“Come walk with me into the field of sunflowers” – Mary Oliver
Continue reading “Find a field of sunflowers”Helping the Human Spirit in Its Search for Peace
Today is Father’s Day. Ten years ago while in a bookstore in Highlands, North Carolina, an orange leaf on a book cover caught my attention. I read the title “Parting – A Handbook for Spiritual Care Near the End of Life.”
My initial thought, “It’s too late for that book.” My dad had passed away in April and the grief was raw in June. I had believed he would live for many more decades due to his love of life and learning. But everyone was blindsided when he was diagnosed in March.
Instead of passing by the book, I picked it up and read the Foreword, which included:
… Spiritual care for the purpose of this handbook is soul care, helping the human spirit in its search for peace. It is the attempt to help those near the end of life feel whole, fulfilled, and in harmony with their world and higher power. Religious experience may or may not be spiritual, and spiritual experience may or may not be religious. Regardless of the dying person’s religion or persuasion or faith tradition, spiritual care near the end of life supplies a deep human need.
My personal grief provided an heightened awareness of the collective grief. My dad had ensured everything was in order, but that orderliness didn’t lessen the grief, sorrow or the immense loss I felt and experienced.
Continue reading “Helping the Human Spirit in Its Search for Peace”Meandering in Late Summer
Keeping with the exploration of the second half of life, in February I attended “The Spirituality of Aging,” which provided aging in the framework of the seasons:
| Spring | 0-25 |
| Early Summer | 26-50 |
| Late Summer | 51-64 |
| Autumn | 65-75 |
| Winter | 76+ |
Life’s Reflection at 47E – the Interconnectedness of One Veteran’s Action to Remember Them
I visited 47E at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Labor Day. It’s been over two decades since my last visit. The photo is my attempt to capture the light, life’s reflections and the promise of RESURGAM, which is a vast interconnectedness that keeps weaving through time.
As for words, remembering Phil Woodall is important. His name is not on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He’s the Vietnam veteran who drew my attention to 47E with two written words: Alpha Company.
My mother’s dementia forced me to enter into deep paradoxes — to lose my mother while she was alive, to encounter the stranger in someone I had known all my life, to face the double bind — and respond the best way I could at the time.
creative meander 