I love nature. Dew on roses in early morning. Vast fields of sunflowers raising their heads. The chorus of cicadas in summer. Rhythmic winds that sound like ocean waves. They’re harmony. But wind also destroys and water rushes in and rises. Fire and ice. J. will sometimes ask me, based…
Category: Ideals
Not so keen on getting out of my pajamas to do the highest thing
In the middle of another organizing project, I found notes from a few years ago when I was captivated by the idea of summum bonum, a Latin expression introduced by the Roman philosopher Cicero that means the highest good. I thought it would be amazing to write a memoir of…
People, perennials and the matter of interest
I loved spring in my garden beds. It brought a little more fullness to the boxwood we were pruning in the Japanese cloud style. Blue delphinium, blue cranesbill geranium, pink clematis, pink and creamy English roses came into play all at the same time under the snowy watch of blooming…
Beauty in brokenness and the remarkable capacity of the human spirit
We opened our door into the blinding lights of a dozen emergency vehicles, twisted metal and an explosion of glass. Two jet pilots here for training and covered in the powder of it say our new, sleek van saved their lives. Parked on the street in front of our apartment,…
Knife, fork and spoonful of credit
We branded a farm in Kansas that we now find out our back door each Saturday in the summer at the Old Town Farmers’ Market. When we’re home we’ll walk with Freddie and coffee and trade news with our owner/grower friend. She called this week and credited our work for…
Toni, teachable moments and places in our lives like Rome
Toni (lifelong friend and living-breathing muse) and I lingered over lunch at a favorite French bistro. We talked about work, loving work and being in no hurry to stop working and our conversation strayed to living beautifully in spite of the demands of work. We parted on a challenge to…