Sometimes you just need a hug. This has been one of those months. So many of you responded to last week's reflection with thoughtful words of support. Friends have been equally kind. Today, Catherine, my friend whom I haven't seen in months, gave me the best hug ever. No little pat on the back, this was a full-body embrace that spoke in a language beyond words. Some of the hardness shielding my heart simply melted. Please, please, please, find someone to hug this week. It wil

Just a couple days ago, Patrick and I celebrated our anniversary. 27 years ago, in front of our family and friends, we vowed to make our...

Last week I shared a photo of a mountain landscape from the Olympic Peninsula. This week's photo highlights a magnificent plant from...

View from Weasel Hollow, where I stayed with friends in the Olympic Peninsula. Recently, I've been visiting various friends throughout...

Did you ever get lost in the wonder of the night sky? Or sit around a campfire, warmed by the glow of the fire, filled with a deep sense...

The Abbey of the Genesee is one of the first monasteries I visited as a young man in Western New York. I can still recall the smell of...

Franciscan monastery in Killala, Ireland from the 16th century Most people I know are way too busy. We are constantly going from texts to...

Sunrise at Rehoboth Beach When I was a Franciscan novice, a bell called us to prayer every morning, noon, evening, and night. Back then,...

Lance-leaved coreopsis I spent this past week at a friend's vacation home in New Hampshire. First thing in the mornings, I walked down to...

Image generated by Adobe Express. After many years in Rochester, NY, my youngest sister is packing up her home to move to another state....

The present moment... If you've been following this blog, you'll recognize this spot. This strip of beach is my favorite place to...

Lately when I've sat down to write these weekly reflections, I'm mostly aware of heaviness and uncertainty. Often I struggle to find...

My first zentangle There are many reasons for gloom these days. Federal friends have lost jobs. The granddaughter of my mother's neighbor...

Last weekend, I led a mini-meditation retreat for a group of friends contemplating retirement and how to approach the last third of life....

House Sparrow in my DC neighborhood I'm a third generation bird lover. My grandmother delighted whenever hummingbirds hovered at the...

Let's do a thought experiment. Answer the question: "Where are you right now?" Stop reading, close your eyes, and see what surfaces.  ...

Maybe because June begins with gay pride , maybe because my birthday falls in the middle of the month, or maybe because I eagerly await...

Maybe because we've reached the long days of summer, maybe because the community pool is open, maybe because the corn is so sweet, maybe...

Wednesday is my birthday. Whether you believe in the Big Bang or "Let there be light.", the stuff of the universe is all the same age,...

"Sometimes contemplation is a place I go , sometimes a practice I do , and sometimes a place I can be ." from Queering Contemplation by...