Category Archives: Musings

Many years ago I heard the saying “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” It made sense that when overcome with the thought or emotion of fear one could become captured or paralyzed within its grasp. Yet, in this highly emotional, increasingly fear-filled world, how is one supposed to combat that? As always theContinue reading “When Fear Knocks”

Think of those Olympic diving contestants, balancing on steady toes, high above a deep pool. Place them on a spring-board, one that actually moves with barely the whisper of one’s controlled breathing. There they stand, forever it seems, collecting themselves, imagining in their minds the flawless twists and turns they would execute before slicing perfectly,Continue reading “On the Edge of Faith”

Tilting on a spinning top Keeping balance by a threadOne’s life whirling ‘til it flops Waiting ‘til it moves ahead Mesmerized by glorious gainFlinging, crashing uncontrolledExcited to start o’er again Climb to heights as yet untold Ordeals leaving one undone When the air becomes too thin Survival orders one come down Bittersweet the efforts thenContinue reading “Bittersweet”

Reality wrecks when crashing downExpectations shatter loud The hopes one had, the suretyNow cracked and broken at one’s feet Testing comes, rears up it’s headTo search what mettle one is madeA reed that’s supple, teachableOr stiff, aloof, willful instead If truth be shouted from the shards Of broken dreams in the dustAll dreamers have anContinue reading “Death of Expectations”

Wild hotdogs set to roast Ready to pluck from furrowed ditchGrow alongside mountain roadsCattails skewered on slender sticks Rhizomes spread tall spiky leaves Something homey in their grace Marking marshy, wetted lands Invite travelers stop their wayThey bend and sway with wind and rain Fluffy stuff when summer’s doneSeed heads waiting time to fly Autumn’sContinue reading “Wild Hotdogs”

Offered to our minds and heartsWords we listen to each dayWhat fellowship do we keep Truth or lies as our mainstay What do we welcome in as ours What names do others call us byAffirming or degrading onesTerms that uplift or decryCommon words in culture nowRarely spoken in my youth Harshly whittle people down ThenContinue reading “Fellowship of Thoughts”

Hugging her basket close as she hurried from her home to her employer’s house in the newer part of the town of Laon, Stephanie LaFleur anticipated the day ahead. It was the early 1950’s, the airbase at Laon-Couvron being restored by the United States Army Air Force. Resurrected from an old base Germany had claimedContinue reading “Strawberries for Richard”

Anna Marie skipped along the cobbled street. She had become adept at skipping from stone to stone, across the grooves in between, to land on just the smooth places that would keep her from wobbling. At age twelve she was just at the budding edge of becoming a teenager, and all of her being exultedContinue reading “The Winking Marionette”

I had I laugh, in a wry sort of way, when I read the meaning of dextroscoliosis, a word noted in an old chest X-ray report. One of those “deep meanings” I like to find, or maybe just a bit of light-heartedness in the tumble of things. Born with wryneck (really, I’m not kidding), IContinue reading “Wry Not?”

The dream was foggy in her memory… but for the words “He Who wants you.” The words stood out like a glowing banner, though no glow was visible, just the steady pulse of assurance deep inside the truth. It had nothing to do with human relationship, but of a deeper kind from the Source ofContinue reading “He Who Wants You”

Oh, the pain of brokenness,The grief, the sorrow carried thereAn opening door to let us soarTo freedoms from what binds and snares Cruel prisons long have held us back From true joy You’d have us live Through the broken door’s no lack Of the freedoms that You give And as those shattered fetters fall WhatContinue reading “Released”

You could say I have a bit of a glow going on. A far cry from Moses’ experience on the Mount, this glow is minute in comparison, and cannot be seen by anyone, besides my doctor and me. And that only on images produced by a high powered Spect scan nuclear medicine camera. A smallContinue reading “A Thing About Brains”

The road opened onto a wide snow-covered plain. Blue pine-covered mountains with fondant layers of snow reigned in the distance, surrounding the west and north views of valley. The east side was more windswept, yet flanked, too, with snow capped peaks that melted into treeless brown lazy lumps of snow-sprinkled hills, sagebrush poking up likeContinue reading “Sudden Storm”

I praise You, LORD, for Your might and power The grandeur of creation made Glorious mountains, waterfallsThe strength of love You have displayed The sky Your vast canvas where Daily color shows You paintLiving colors man desires With admiration to replicateEverywhere we look, dear LORDYour hand is evident to seeFrom tallest redwood to tiny cellThisContinue reading “Praise Always”

“What powers me today?” I thought as my eyes drifted close again. I still felt tired. Was it really time to arise? Did I really have to? Nothing pressing scheduled that demanded my obedient slap of feet onto the floor. How quickly I reach for that 3×5 sized slender electronic pack that reels my mindContinue reading “Power Source”

When cradled in his parent’s armsBeautiful how content a child Rocked in soothing to and fro Heartbeat songs of mother’s smile No wonder as we grow through life The holding hug brings solace, cheerNo matter in exult or strife The warmth of love affects us there Love ‘tis what that cradling means E’er tenderly orContinue reading “Cradled”

Awakened to a dim lit roomCovered warm in blankets heapedSecure and snug in my cocoonMy mind is free while body sleeps I begin to think of how I’m shaped Curled and curved, all tucked withinAnd ducks and geese and squirrels and snakesThe shapes they are when they beginBefore their birth all living thingsSeem to beContinue reading “Unfurled”

Hands on the wheel, sunglasses in place, she was ready to venture out into a sun-shiny day, a glaring contrast to the months of overcast skies, inversion fog, rain, lingering pandemic gloom. Some days even the sun was too bright, so used had the world become to the pall of gray that lay over it,Continue reading “Unzipping Gratitude”

While trying to tame unruly hair this morning I reflected on my hairdresser’s comment about the cowlicks I have here and there. Hmmm…maybe I was born in a barn. Barns conjure up thoughts of nurture, shelter, warmth, food, pungent refuse, true reality, and that life takes tending. They are strong structures that last for generations,Continue reading “Cowlicks”

It was a rite of passage back in the day. To go on a snipe hunt was beyond exciting. “Really? Really? Are we finally going snipe hunting this time?” We all knew it was a super secret event, a time of great revelation especially if one actually caught a snipe. Our grade school hearts fairlyContinue reading “Snipe Hunting”

If life is a box of chocolates What should I do with itGive mine away to othersShare some of the sweetened bitsSet it on the shelf for laterNibbling a little piece at a timeOr in some frenzied orgy Squander it all as mine Or shall I become an appraiserStudying each tiny piece Determining if eachContinue reading “The Box of Chocolates”

Do one’s assumptions that things will be hard Throw up barriers or prison bars Restrict them and others from their escape From the negativity that overtakes Their minds and hearts Does it claim the personal landscapeCluttering, marring relationships made Confining one’s ways to those that won’t grow Withhold from them the freedom to know TheContinue reading “Assumptions”

Peace through the trialsThough burdens are mournedWorries become less The heaviness borneCares of the world Suffering there Loved ones are hurtingLife’s hard to bearSharing with othersThoughts from the heartUplift our spiritsGive hope a fresh startReminds us to drink From that well that flows freeThe Water of LifeFrom Heavenly streamsMost of the above words were writtenContinue reading “A Burden Shared”

Not a tome about practicing yoga outside on a stormy day, this musing is about those soft baked pretzels, dough that’s formed and shaped, that still is pliable though firm. More flexible than its hard cast cousins that break with a snap, this pretzel has been given an ability to bend and endure pressure putContinue reading “A Pretzel In The Wind”

Someone very dear to me recently updated her Facebook profile picture, baring her left shoulder to reveal her Medusa tattoo. So far her tattoos have been reminiscent of home: the lilac tree, deer, quail. Lovely works of art representative of important parts of her life. Representing not only treasured things, but also her choice ofContinue reading “The Medusa Tattoo”