Category: Reflections

topographia

A sanctuary for the quieted mind.
Here, we move beyond the “what” of our lives to the “why,” offering deeply personal essays and thoughtful examinations of the human experience. These are the chronicles of the inner life—the essential pause where the raw data of existence is composted into the soil of wisdom.

  • Where Is My Home?

    Where Is My Home?

    How difficult it is to be happy or content as a state of mind when one’s soul was schooled in loneliness, anxiety, and abandonment.

  • Repair

    Repair

    The feminine is receptive, inclusive, rejuvenating, nurturing; the masculine is about power, independence, initiative, logos, and wisdom. We need these traits to run a good race.

  • Bread of Life

    Bread of Life

    The incense is heady, frankincense and myrrh, recalling a bone-deep connectedness to ancient rites and mysteries as old as humankind. Modern research has discovered that burning frankincense activates areas of the brain that relieve anxiety and depression.

  • As If It Would Never End

    As If It Would Never End

    Every moment I spend by myself is a resurrection […] every single bit is like life was when time stood still.

  • April Fools

    April Fools

    I don’t mind laughing at myself, or having others laugh at me. But I have to admit that there are times when I’m mistaken about something and I see my arrogance and it’s not a pretty sight.

  • I Feel the Ancient Pulse

    I Feel the Ancient Pulse

    I kneel, and the smallness of the chapel is a welcome. It’s eternally quiet; no one seems to breathe. The sun is low in the sky and the wine in the chalice on the small altar glows with a fabulous fire.

  • Purity

    Purity

    “Oh, I hope it snows!” Rosemary exclaimed, clapping her mittened hands with excitement. “Me, too!” rejoined her sisters, practically skipping across the parking lot as the wind threatened to unhat us.

  • Warning Signs

    Warning Signs

    When I see myself at my worst, I want to apologize to my loved ones for being me. I’m a confusing mix of big-hearted and pig-headed, hearth-warmer and arsonist. I wonder what people will say about me at my memorial service.

  • I Believe in the Fall

    I Believe in the Fall

    I’ve realized something unexpected: wisdom is a resource—for me. It doesn’t always translate, persuade, or prevent when shared. But like a patient investment, wisdom accrues value over time—available to anyone willing to engage in reflection and growth.

  • MO-om! She’s staring at me!

    MO-om! She’s staring at me!

    Then, with a soft voice absent of guile, Olivia smiled sweetly and said …