“We are all falling. This hand’s falling too— all have this falling-sickness none withstands.And yet there’s One whose gently-holding hands this universal falling can’t fall through. —Rainer Maria Rilke, “Autumn” (trans. J.B. Leishman)I hate flying. I get scared by turbulence; understanding the phys
“Yuri began crying and said in a sorrowful voice, ‘I don’t want stereo. I want terebi.’ She sounded so miserable that my spirit sunk... I wonder if not having a TV makes it hard at preschool. What is the point of being so proud about ‘not buying a TV’ if it makes her feel like that?” —from my father
“How forcible are right words!” —Job 6:25This past winter, I joined three co-defendants in Federal court to receive the verdict for our witness against family separation at the border. Nearly eighteen months prior, at the US Customs and Border Protection offices, and in the presence of law enforceme
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” —Hebrews 13: 2Last Friday night, six hundred people from my religious faith watched an online drag show together. It was one of those moments when you realize something epic is happe
"I am only one But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." —Edward Everett HaleEveryone's cries sound different on the phone. Over the phone I cannot see how their faces change, how
"Keep fresh before me the moments of my High Resolve, that in fair weather or in foul, in good times or in tempests… I may not forget that to which my life is committed. Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve." —Rev. Dr. Howard ThurmanWhen my spouse was a little kid, my mother-in-law's
“No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us." —Marsha P. JohnsonHappy Pride. It feels strange to say that; this moment is anything but happy because of an assault in this country on Black and brown bodies that has never really ended.The movement for Black Lives and what’s become known
"We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” —Son of Baldwin (Robert Jones, Jr.)Near the end of my sophomore year in high school, I decided to run for junior class secretary. Talked to my guidance counse
"..if we could perhaps do nothing for once, perhaps a great silence would interrupt this sadness, this never understanding ourselves and threatening ourselves with death, perhaps the earth is teaching us…." —Pablo Neruda, "A callarse" ("Keeping Quiet," translated by Stephen Mitchell)One of the regul
“Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved.” ―Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of CapitalismRaise your hand if you believe you’re not doing enough right now. Do you feel like you still
“There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.” ―the character of Gloria Dump in Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamilloIt's spring cleaning time, and all around me people are asking what sparks joy in their lives.
“In all this madness, even if it kills every single one of us and there’s no one left to tell the stories, it matters that we love each other well.” —Paul Richards, who died of AIDS, as remembered by Rev. Kim Crawford HarvieAn invisible virus without any cure; a death sentence for some and not for o
“The Spirit of the Holy is upon me, who has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. That one has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the time of blessing from the Holy.” —the prophet IsaiahI wake in the night with pain in my heart for all that
“My days are a thirsty atonal combination of the mundane and the apocalyptic.” — Audre Lorde, in A Burst of Light: And Other EssaysI have a muscular intimacy with my bathroom door. What I mean is that when I close the door, I sort of fling it shut behind me as I walk in. I realized the other day tha
“At any time, you can ask yourself: at which threshold am I now?… At this time in my life, what am I leaving? Where am I about to enter?” —John O’DonohueWhen I was a professor, I always stayed one move ahead of my students. Before an essay was due, the assignment was ready and last essay returned. E
“Your grandparents were called to war. You’re being called to sit on your couch.” —Internet memeWhile it’s true that we are not being called to war, it's also true that these are challenging times. I would argue that some of us are being called to do far more than sit on our couch. Most of us, in fa
In this community, we hold hope close. We don’t always know what comes next, but that cannot dissuade us. We don’t always know just what to do, but that will not mean that we are lost in the wilderness. We rely on the certainty beneath, the foundation of our values and ethics. —Rev. Theresa I. Soto,
“There is nothing unusual about feeling the suffering (or glory) of another life. This is how we are designed, to live in intimate relationship with all life around us.” —Susan RaffoThe video ended and the speakers were buzzing again while the professor lectured. I tried to ignore the sound but I co
Breathe deeply, until sweet air extinguishes the burn of fear in your lungs and every breath is a beautiful refusal to become anything less than infinite. —D. Antoinette Foycontent warning: pregnancy lossI’ve always found early morning a holy time—not that I necessarily want to be awake then; someti
“Search engines find the information, not necessarily the truth.” ― Amit Kalantri"How do you make the best vegan chocolate?” This simple question started a three-hour journey down an internet rabbit hole. One video led to another: Coconut oil or cacao butter as a base? Raw cacao or cocoa powder? Sug
"I live constantly with the awareness that there are no maps for what I am doing; that I am making the path as I go. Yet …even as I move across what seems like uncharted territory, there is a way that lies beneath the way that I am going. We are all creating the road as we go. Yet beneath this, und
“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” —Amelia EarhartMy friend Ty is a rock star. I mean, he’s literally a rock star. His band Vintage Trouble has played shows all over the world, headlined music festivals, and opened for the likes
“Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom [the Spirit] will next bestow this life from heaven.” —John 3:8 (The Living Bible)Fred didn’t have very long to live; that’s why he had called me to see him. I
“Shards of glass can cut and wound or magnify a vision. Mosaic celebrates brokenness and the beauty of being brought together.” ―Terry Tempest Williams, "Finding Beauty in a Broken World"I made a beautiful piece of art in a mosaic class this summer, but there were times when I was frustrated at my o
