I love dandelions. You need to know that to understand this story. I don’t see them as the pesky weeds many people do. I see them as these tiny gifts from the universe scattered all around in spring, summer, and early fall. They symbolize resiliency to me, surviving despite the efforts of many to destroy them. They remind me of the beauty in the common, help me to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and call my attention to the beloved wildness in all of us. After more than 40 years on this earth, I still smile when I see them. I am still grateful for each one. A few weeks ago I took a break from the work in my office and headed outside for a quick walk. My office is located on a b
I stepped out on my porch a few days ago to take an evening walk. It was mid-May, so it should have been 78 degrees. The sky should’ve been cornflower blue with fluffy clouds that reminded me of cotton balls. There should’ve been a gentle warm breeze blowing by. I should’ve been wearing flip-flops and a short sleeve t-shirt with some cheerful saying about sunshine on it. Instead I dug out the fuzzy pink jacket I wear in the winter and zipped it up to my chin to stave off the crisp cool wind. Instead of sun, the sky was full of silvery gray clouds, which spat out an occasional mist of rain, and the temperature never made it to 50 degrees. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature it was May,
When I was a little girl, I loved to play in the woods behind my house. Actually, it was just a small patch of trees that separated one neighborhood from another, a short cut for some, but to me it was a place of adventure and exploration. As I walked under the shade of the trees, I would stay in anticipation of a new discovery, looking for something I’d never seen before, the uncovering of some sort of mystery, whether it was a bug or a mushroom or a trickle of water. At times I would intentionally walk in new directions trying to get lost. It never happened of course. The area was too small, but I would hope to get lost in the woods. My adult brain, the brain that cannot stand being wi
I had a conflict the other day, nothing major but a conflict nonetheless. I am a “nine” on the Enneagram. If you know much about the personality type system called the Enneagram, you know that “nines” are considered the peacemakers. We don’t like conflict. At all. Sometimes we will do ridiculous things to avoid it. So after feeling twisted up by that conflict, I wondered, “Is conflict necessary?” Of course, I know it’s all around me, but is it necessary for our spiritual growth? I pondered all of this while standing overlooking Davis Creek watching a yellow butterfly float by. I’m still not sure if it’s necessary, but I do know that it’s inevitable. So how do we deal with it without
