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What do we see when we look at others’ faces? We notice the outward appearance, whether we wish to or not. Skin color, eye color, clothing, and so on, are apparent features that are obvious and difficult to pretend we do not see. What we cannot see or know from the outward appearance is a…
I started listening to NPR a number of years ago because I felt a need to hear a different voice, to listen well, and to give consideration to viewpoints that I did not share. Since then, as the tone of challenging conversations around race and politics have become more shrill and as opinions have become…
My father and I shared our minds and Musings one late crisp eve. He beckoned my eyes to descry in the distance A silhouette of symmetry. A towering tree loomed in the darkness. Its branches clouded, its treetop round, Perfectly shaped as by a sculptor’s hand. To a secret, this tree was bound. The night…
When my family and I moved back home to America from South Africa, we were not prepared for what would greet us upon our return. The dead of winter in Boston with its frigid temperatures, gray skies, and snow were the least of them. We also noticed that the social climate had changed. Yes, our…
We couldn’t understand but a few words of the mass but the beautiful, flowing Arabic was music to our ears, rising up to the heavens along with the sweet-smelling incense. Not only was the language new to our ears, having only studied it for a couple months, but this was the first mass we’d ever…
There are many different varieties of trees on our 120-acre homestead, along with crops and brush, a bit of pasture and a spring-fed creek that flows year round from a pond that never freezes over. And don’t get me talking about the diversity of wildlife that thrives in our woods and around the pond. From…
In the month of December, the Christmas story often stands alone, lifted with huge parentheses out of the New Testament—maybe delivered in Linus’s hushed boy soprano, and then tucked away with the durable resin Nativity set and the twinkly white lights until next year. It’s a great story, so it’s easy to see why authors of…
I do not buy those words, sacred and secular, They’ve rent the world in two. They take the magic from how a speck of dust catches the light Or how the cadence of footfall is poetry. They make too much of church casseroles that do not feed the multitudes. Blind adult eyes Miss the…
Within moments of birth, a child’s life is driven by needs. Their first cry begins years of demands. And the demands get more insistent and determined as the child grows. By the time a child is two, he or she is determined that life is unfair and that they have to fight to get what…
I leaned forward in my seat, caught up by the music coming from the choir and symphony orchestra. It was the church’s annual Christmas concert, and the melodies coming from the stage pulled at my heartstrings. Strangely, though, the music made me both happy and sad at the same time. You see, I grew up…
Balance has always been important to me. I thrive on variety and fear being one-dimensional, so I dabble in a host of things, contorting myself as I try to keep them all suspended mid-air. Until just recently, I felt almost cocky when it came to balance. I thought I had it down. That’s when the…
As I moved through the buffet line, I tried to choose a well-balanced meal: half my plate for vegetables, one-quarter for protein, one-quarter for carbs. The selection of crisp salads, hot vegetables, perfect roast chicken, fresh bread, and rice made my dinner both healthy and delicious. I used to think of living a well-balanced life…
I’ve always associated a balanced life with an ultra-organized Martha Stewart type. But as I ponder my life, I realize that although it’s often messy, I take great joy in the journey. I wear many different hats and sometimes pivot so quickly I become dizzy, but I am, after all, still upright. And, when you…
Have you ever owned something that was a limited edition? The numbered painting, hand-signed record, first edition print, or maybe a cereal box with a special face or event. Whatever the item, it’s valuable and feels worth whatever price of time or resources you paid to get it. While a limited edition painting can…