just enough light

For me, gratitude and grief often go together. This morning provided me with an example. As I engaged in my morning time of reading and writing, a sporadic activity I loosely call “a discipline,” the reading admonished me to “assume my creativity is of critical importance.” Only with that assumption will I take it seriously […]

Well, so much for a writing discipline. I have not added anything for a week. I could attribute this to any number of factors, but I have to go back to a quote I have near my desk. I’m not at my desk right now so I can’t quote it, but it reminds me that […]

For me, being genuinely grateful means learning to begin with gratitude, regardless of the moment. If I begin with an assessment of the moment, “Is this good or bad, frightening or enjoyable?” I won’t get to genuine gratitude. Instead, my gratitude gets determined by my assessment of how the moment may affect my comfort. Pema […]

A dear friend of mine, now deceased, used to lead his family in an interesting moment of thanksgiving before some of their meals. Rather than a rote prayer of thanks or a spontaneous one, he invited everyone at the table to mention someone who had been responsible for the meal set before them. Thanksgiving began […]

Most of my gratitude is conditional. I feel and express gratitude for those things that make my life easier, safer, more comfortable, less lonely. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my warm house, my safe neighborhood, my stable income and savings portfolio, the fact that while I don’t have lots of money, I […]

I took a few minutes Sunday morning to be still and to consider what I might focus on with my time and my writing this week. I asked myself, “What is Lent about for me?” An answer came quickly, gratitude and grief. The answer was so natural and spontaneous, it seemed it was simply waiting […]

Jesus told the crowd on the hill, “First, seek the kingdom of God and all that God requires of you, and all the other things you most need will be provided.” I grew up thinking that seeking the kingdom of God was behavioral. Do good things for others, be a good boy, avoid bad things. […]

I did some high level research into the topic of frustration over the past few days. You know, the same kind of research most of us do these days, I Googled it. I did more than that, but that was part of my research. What I found under the heading of “coping with frustration” was […]

“Frustration is a cover-up for something we have yet to face in ourselves.” -Joan Chittister. I’m still uncovering my cover-up. Frustration has a long, illustrious history with me that continues to play out every day. I learned frustration from my culture. I was taught to strive. We strive to do better, to get smarter, to […]

It seems trivial to be writing about frustration when so many in Ukraine are in real crisis. Crisis calls for action or for intentional non-action. Fight or flight or freeze are the responses to crisis. Frustration, on the other hand, prompts me toward hand wringing, brow furrowing, pacing, nervous inaction. I am not frustrated in […]