Tag: connection

Celebrating Ramadan with Feasting and Philoxenia at the Divan Center

March 28, 2025

Last night I had a very special opportunity to celebrate the Islamic spiritual practice of Ramadan, even though I am not Muslim. Ramadan is one of the most sacred traditions in Islam. It commemorates the revelation of the Qur’an through a month in which Muslims shift their focus from their material world to their spiritual … More Celebrating Ramadan with Feasting and Philoxenia at the Divan Center

This Thing Called Hope…or Are You A Sports Fan or a WordleBot?

December 3, 2022

I woke up this morning to a suggested video on my phone, which was by one of the people that I find most interesting on this planet, John Green, but about a subject that I find one of the least interesting on the planet (to me), which is sports. But, as usual, John Green found … More This Thing Called Hope…or Are You A Sports Fan or a WordleBot?

Of Kookaburras and Unicorns

May 29, 2020

“The time has come,” the lock-downed said,   “To laugh at many things:Like shows—and books—and fairy tales— kookaburra that sings—And pink rainbow unicorn hugs— And beavers safe in springs.” “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” ― J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban OK, so … More Of Kookaburras and Unicorns

Celebrating Community

April 3, 2017

I had a glorious weekend the past couple of days.  How about you? For me, it wasn’t just that the weather was ideal and my community is alive with all the signs of spring–birds singing, colorful blossoms in the sky and on the ground, that special spring green color of brand-new leaves, or the people […]

… More Celebrating Community

The Worm Whisperer

February 9, 2017

It’s a blustery day here in North Carolina.  It’s relatively warm for February (48 degrees F) and sunny, but the wind is blowing through the trees between 20-30 miles per hour.  Those blasts made me want to nestle down into my bedding and, uh,…meditate.  My friends the crows were calling out to me to join them, … More The Worm Whisperer

Finding the Dalai Lama in a Supermarket in North Carolina

February 4, 2017

Alan Ginsberg famously encountered Walt Whitman while he was grocery shopping, but today I think I did him one better.  For I found the Dalai Lama in my neighborhood grocery store in a town in North Carolina. There was no particular warning that this would be a transformative shopping experience.  I had bought what I could at a … More Finding the Dalai Lama in a Supermarket in North Carolina