“Compassion, sweet compassion, is the never-ending story of how we embrace each other and forgive ourselves for not accepting our beautifully particular place in the fabric of all there is.”
~ Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening
“In your heart may there be a sanctuary
For the stillness where clarity is born
May your work be infused with passion and creativity
And have the wisdom to balance compassion and challenge.”
~ John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us
It is a hard thing, to challenge where we must. Without forsaking compassion. Without losing sight of love. Without caving to what Pema Chodron calls idiot compassion, standing by when we need to be speaking up. It is a harder thing yet to keep watch over our minds and our motives and our cranky little egos while struggling to hold the balance.
I don’t know about you, but that unholy trinity is capable of throwing me every which way but up. My need to be right and my tiny little superiority complex hibernate deep and well when I’m safe and warm and coasting through the ether sans impediment. But oh, when an obstacle crops up–an opportunity disguised as a menace–the dragons wake, and the fire is not easily contained. Humility delivered to our doorsteps, please tip your driver.
Yet, still, here we are, swimming in it. Here we are, confronted with messy, beautiful lives and all the responsibilities that come with them, to do our best, yes, even when prodded. Gah.
What an opportunity.
Is it me, or could we do with fewer opportunities?
Time to love louder.
“Let no man pull you so low as to make you hate him.”
~ Booker T. Washington
Packing List for Conflict
Bring a flashlight,
for darkness falls quickly.
A map, to remind you where home is,
a beacon flashing in the fog.
For the goal is not the summit;
but returning alive and in one piece.
All of you.
All of your fellow travelers.
In one piece.
Bring layers
and use them judiciously,
skillfully.
Know where they shine,
Know where they lack.
Bring your best ears, unstopped, to the trail
for listening well:
to the other, with your heart open
to yourself, with your mind watchful
to the hidden, the sharers of your trail
Listen, hear, repeat.
Rest as needed. Hydrate with love.
Breathe.
Conserve your breath,
especially the words that it forms.
Conserve your energy;
don’t wander off carelessly.
Bring silence on your tongue,
prudence in your footsteps.
Bring honesty, integrity,
determination in your pack.
Bring hope, love, peace in your thermos.
Bring you, me, we to the table,
we, me, you to the well.
Bring Us to the end.
“Welcome to the temple of your regular life. The garden of your days, the harbor where you catch your breath, the theater of your relationships. This is the terrain where you wake up and transform.”
~ Mirabai Starr, Ordinary Mysticism
Tucked happily into the gorgeous hills and woods of Wisconsin, I write about life, faith, and the humor that both require. 
Tales From the Nexus 
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