By Taryn Strauss“When you reach out, I am here hell or high water / This nest is never going away / My mission is to keep the light in your eyes ablaze.” —Alanis Morissette, “Ablaze”"Mama, can I tell you something?"I wish I could answer yes. I would shine motherly grace upon my five-year-old son an
By Erica Shadowsong“It has been said that Sekhmet is the Goddess of Ten Thousand Names. Some of these names are to be found in Ancient Egyptian texts and inscriptions. Some are revealed in contemporary times, through dreams, revelations, meditations, and inspirations.” —from Heart of the Sun: An An
By Julie Fanselow“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” —Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall ApartSoon after my sweetheart was scheduled for a stem cell transplant, we realized it would take place the morning after the election. Day Zero is the nickname transplant patients
By Ndidi Achebe“i found god in myself and i loved her i loved her fiercely” ―Ntozake ShangeI grew up in a working-class neighborhood where everyone looked like me. At the same time, I struggled with isolation, fear, and deep sadness. All too often adults told me to “cheer up,” that things would get
By HP Rivers“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” —St. Francis of AssisiI open my Facebook feed and find another tragedy. Another beloved in pain. Another hug so desperately needed that I cannot give. Or receive. Those all seem to be piling up these days.I light a candle, then sn
By Karen G. Johnston“We practice safe six.” —sign at an eatery’s outdoor dining space during the COVID19 pandemicDuring this era of social distancing, to keep each other safe, we keep at least six feet distance between ourselves. One way to approximate this is by arm’s length: you extend your arm,
By Erika A. Hewitt“‘No’ is golden. ‘No’ is the kind of power the good witch wields. It’s the way whole, healthy, emotionally evolved people manage to have relationships with jackasses while limiting the amount of jackass in their lives.” —Cheryl Strayed, writing as advice columnist "Dear Sugar"A fe
By Rachel Lonberg“Surely we are safer behind some sort of a wall, protected from the grief of belonging. But all along your heart knew it was a lie, the polite fiction that you tell a child.Nothing bad can happen. You’re safe with me. —Rev. Lynn Ungar, in “Distance”In the early days of COVID-19, my
By Daniel Gregoire"...So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive." —Audre Lorde, “A Litany for Survival”Some days ago, a member of my congregation asked me how I’m coping with all that’s going on: a pandemic with no end in sight; the continuous loop of Black men being kille
By Christine Slocum"In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.” —Marianne WilliamsonNot atypical of Buffalo, there's a vacant house next door. And not atypical of vacant houses, it has a garage with a missing
