Thinking and Seeing for Better Being
The Room Before the Noise. Later, one wall begins to change. One drawing from him.Two from her.Four from another.Five from someone else. An uneven scattering of faces. Different students.Different materials.Different surfaces. It is too early to know anything from this wall. You cannot know a person from a single drawing.You must see a body of... Continue Reading →
Through rain-streaked glass. Somewhere north of here I took this photo through a car window. Rain running down the glass. Everything outside distorted. Trees stretch into dark vertical smears.The road disappears.Even the horizon blurs. Paul once wrote: “Now we see through a glass darkly.” I understand that line differently now. I teach students how to... Continue Reading →
I had a plan. Being led. Retire.Slow mornings.Steam room.Coffee with friends solving the world over scrambled eggs. Write.Make resources for younger teachers.Supplement the pension.Be useful without being tired. It would have given me authorship again.It would have returned control to me. Others did not agree. “You are still useful.” And here I am. Still in... Continue Reading →
Refusal What we do not cross. Waiting taught me that not every open space is an invitation.Some surfaces look solid until you listen more closely. I wanted to move sooner.It would have looked faithful.It would have preserved momentum and control.It would have let me keep my competence and my reputation intact. But it would not... Continue Reading →
A Place to Stay Learning to Stay There are chairs that ask something of you.You perch.You lean forward.You stay alert. And then there are chairs that hold. The kind with arms.Wide enough to settle into.Stable enough that you stop checking your balance. I am learning the difference. Lately, I have noticed how quickly I move... Continue Reading →
A quiet return. An invitation to attention. A place to begin. I have been quiet here. Not because the words ran out,but because I did not want to add noisewhere attention was required. There are seasons when explaining feels productive.And there are seasons when explanation only protects the self. This has been the latter. So... Continue Reading →
Daily writing promptDescribe a man who has positively impacted your life.View all responses The Janitor Who Taught Me How to Listen If you were looking for one of the men who quietly shaped my life,you would not find him on a stage. You would find him unlocking doors,emptying garbage cans,caring for the grounds. I met... Continue Reading →
Are you more of a night or morning person? What a 3:30 A.M. Walk Taught Me About Being Instead of Doing People ask whether I am a night person or a morning person.The simple answer is that I wake early.The deeper answer is that morning keeps returning me to myself. One winter Friday around the... Continue Reading →
If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why? Choosing Paul, Learning from Saul, and Letting Christ Live Where It Matters Most I used to treat the question, “Which historical figure would you like to meet?”, like party trivia. Pick your favorite:Jesus (gold-star answer),Lincoln (safe),Rumi (mystic points),Van Gogh (artistic flex),or Da... Continue Reading →
Daily writing promptDo you trust your instincts?View all responses Do I Trust My Instincts? Grace with a trace of poison. Some days I want my instincts clean and whole, like the poison-dart frog I copied from a 2008 National Geographic—bright, unblinking, gripping its branch as if the whole forest depended on that small act of... Continue Reading →
Forming 2.0 