The one word I chose to contemplate this year is CONNECT. So far I've been thinking about connecting with various things, shifting slightly from month to month. Last month I reflected on connecting with failure. That brought up memories of failures in communication, my own and others'. For me, connecting and communicating are so close … Continue reading #OneWord2022: Connecting and communicating
Category: Life
My functional medicine journey, Part I: Foundations
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've had digestive problems and gastric headaches for a large portion of my life. I've tried various things but nothing has worked for long, and last year things escalated to the point where I had to have my gallbladder removed. My regular family doctor saw "malfunctioning gallbladder" as the cause of … Continue reading My functional medicine journey, Part I: Foundations
#OneWord2022: Connecting with failure
I wasn't sure what to focus on this month with my One Word (CONNECT). But the theme of failure kept surfacing -- not something I generally want to connect with, though sometimes it is unavoidable. And sometimes, much as I do not want to acknowledge it, it is a gift. I was talking with a … Continue reading #OneWord2022: Connecting with failure
Postcards from Switzerland: Lovely Lucerne
We haven't been doing much traveling for the last few months, but last October on our way back from Ticino we stopped in Lucerne, a city in the heart of "old Switzerland." It was a gorgeous day to spend a couple of hours in this stunning location by the lake, with a view of the … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Lovely Lucerne
#OneWord2022: CONNECTing with my body
For my One Word intentional practice this year, with my word CONNECT, I plan to choose a focus each month, according to what seems most important to me as time goes by. . It was easy for me to choose my first goal. There's no question that a fundamental issue for me is connecting with … Continue reading #OneWord2022: CONNECTing with my body
A puzzling prayer
In my ongoing struggles with prayer, I have been saying The Lord's Prayer at least once a day for the last several years. That doesn't mean I understand it. Sometimes I wonder about the accuracy of the translation, and so recently I tried going back to the original Greek, and delving more into the meaning … Continue reading A puzzling prayer
Month in Review: January 2022
Dear blog readers, how have you been? What's on your mind and heart? Share your monthly review in the comments, or any other thoughts, and I'll be sure to follow up. In this time of distancing, lockdown, and just wintry coldness, I appreciate our interactions all the more. Literature I read a lot of books … Continue reading Month in Review: January 2022
One Word for 2022
This year, I decided to join in a new kind of blog activity for me, the "One Word" community at Lisa Notes. As far as I can tell, this involves choosing one word to engage with during the year, mindfully following it as a thread through life's ups and downs and distractions. Once a month … Continue reading One Word for 2022
My gluten-free life (with a recipe)
After I moved to Switzerland, digestive issues that had previously been annoying but manageable ramped up and made me quite miserable. So I tried eliminating a variety of foods in various combinations, at the most extreme point being unable to eat anything except vegetables (and not all of those either). This was depressing. Living in … Continue reading My gluten-free life (with a recipe)
Shepherds and Kings, warmth and light
Retable of the life of the Virgin, anonymous, c. 1480 At the turning point of timethe spirit light of the worldentered the stream of earth-existence.Darkness of nighthad ceased its reign;day-radiant lightshone forth in human souls.LightThat gives warmthTo simple shepherds' hearts;lightthat enlightensthe wise heads of kings. Light divine,Christ-Sun,warm our hearts,enlighten our heads,that good may becomewhat from … Continue reading Shepherds and Kings, warmth and light