This month I took a strengths assessment survey as part of a writing workshop I'm taking part in. Interestingly enough, given that my One Word is "connect," my top strength came out as "Connectedness." Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com The survey's description of this characteristic includes phrases like "In your soul you know we … Continue reading #OneWord2022: Connecting with strength
It started when I was about nine years old, feeling lonely and displaced after my family had moved from California to Washington. Food became a major source of solace for me, junk food that I could not stop eating once I took the first bite. Potato chips, of course; I could not eat just one, … Continue reading Uncovering my eating disorder
This month, Lisa prompts us to "Tell us again why you chose your One Word." Here are my answers to the questions (in one sentence, as she challenged us): 1. WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS WORD? "Connect" just popped into my head as soon as I thought about choosing one word for the year, so … Continue reading #OneWord2022: Why Connect?
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
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
Four years ago, on November 9, 2016, my world turned upside down. I woke up to the news that Donald Trump had won the presidency (or at least the electoral college). Hardly anyone in my world had expected this result. I said to my husband in horror, "He won!" -- and he bizarrely thought I … Continue reading 9/11 and 11/9
When I lived in a community caring for adults with developmental disabilities, we had an annual Halloween party to which we invited people from other similar communities and homes in the area. It was always great fun to dress up, dance, and eat unhealthy treats -- a throwback to the slightly transgressive holiday of my … Continue reading Masks
Written in a time of transition a few years ago, this poem may not have have much literary value, but the process of working it out was valuable for me. The Greek krisis means turning point, as in the decisive moment of a disease leading to either recovery or death. I decided to take that … Continue reading Crisis: a poem
As we retreat from one another and the world to reduce our risk of contagion, the passing of harmful substances from one person to another, it makes me wonder about the transmission of health. Is this something that may also be passed from one person to another? It would seem not, because health is not … Continue reading Can health also be contagious?
Reading the Bible on the one-year plan is a fascinating experience. I've read it in bits and pieces before, but never so intensively. One thing I did not expect was how illuminating it would be to read the Old Testament. It is full of rich, archetypal picture-language that can still speak to us today with … Continue reading Our daily bread
