spiritual journey

See You – Progression of a Piece

  Before dawn, in the crisp cold air of an old house still thinking about firing up the furnace, I creep past sleeping lumps of my children and up the stairs. My friend and I smile greetings, unwilling to disturb with unnecessary words a quiet that feels somehow reverent. Large cups of coffee cradled in…Read more See You – Progression of a Piece

Painting a Place Beyond

I discovered this week that writing about the American/Vietnam War stirred up a torrent of scary emotions. I often “think” in feelings, not words or even images, but currents of emotional energy. After I wrote certain phrases, they tossed around in my head like a bare branch in the wind. Then, as I reflected further,…Read more Painting a Place Beyond

Grappling with the American/Vietnam War, Part 2 (of 2)

continued from my previous post… The Vietnam/American War resulted in a sharp increase in orphaned and abandoned children. Between 1966 and 1974, the number of children cared for by orphanages more than doubled (The War Cradle). Thousands of abandoned children, especially Amerasian children, were evacuated because of the fear that they would be killed by…Read more Grappling with the American/Vietnam War, Part 2 (of 2)

Grappling with the American/Vietnam War Part 1 (of 2)

When I mention that I have traveled to Vietnam, I am acutely aware of still-festering wounds endured by many. Although the “Vietnam War,” as we call it in America, ended before I was old enough to comprehend the intricacies of international politics, I grew up aware of the conflicting rhetoric and high emotion that surrounded…Read more Grappling with the American/Vietnam War Part 1 (of 2)

Held

I am battered, a bereft leaf loosed in murky mayhem, kicked up by frenzied heels Of moon and wind. No mooring remains in this, last corkscrew hour before dawn. I am a burnished shadow, a swirling swan song to inky nihility. Falling. Suddenly! Madness slivered, snagged in the hem of earth’s evergreen garment, quivering on the…Read more Held

Into the Light

Dense, opaque tendrils curl, clutch me captive. I wither in the cruel confines of this grasp. When suddenly, inexplicably, the darkness reels back upon itself, cringing. Light flung like glitter, gleaming like oil on water, unveils the secret of this murky prison cell. The mystery of the darkness – myriad colors warped, bound so densely as…Read more Into the Light

Footprints of the Unseen

When fire flings its last defiant spark and torrents of leaves crackle with laughter, I wonder if you are dancing on this flaming air? Here, on this hillside of memories, where dreams are laid to rest like carpets of gleaming leaves draped over stones. I am untethered, adrift, lured to the last place you touched. You were…Read more Footprints of the Unseen

To Know About God or to Know God

To hear about God, to know about God, you go through the motions. You don your Sunday best. You settle reverently on a golden wood pew. Like the words that are said, a smattering of colors from stained glass windows cascades across your face but never touches your heart. You bask in the peace of the sanctuary,…Read more To Know About God or to Know God

Progression of a piece – Songs in the Dark

There is an idyllic perception of the artist, wiling away hours in beauty and serenity. Paint streams from garden paths of the mind. Birds sing, sun shines - effortless flow. Perhaps this is the experience of some creatives. It is not a familiar space to me. Almost every piece I begin thrusts me onto a precipice…Read more Progression of a piece – Songs in the Dark