That’s how the light gets in

This time of year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is home to many celebrations, nearly all of them involving people gathering together, feasting, and filling their homes with light and warmth. This past Monday was the longest night and the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, and in spite of everything (or

“Exhaustion is the body working to find comfort in a discomforting world.”

Two days ago, when I heard of the mass shooting in Orlando that has since then been an unavoidable theme in every waking moment of my life, my first response was that shot to the heart, punch in the chest sensation that then slowly seeps down into my stomach. The horror, dread, rage and sadness

My favorite response yet to the #yesallwomen thing.

In the wake of the horrific shootings this week, Twitter and other social media have been a-flurry with defensive remarks from men (hashtag: notallmen) and responses from women (hashtag: yesallwomen). The dialogue seems to be going past each other, in a way that neither increases understanding nor gets at the heart of why these awful

Today is World Listening Day

By chance on BBC this morning, I caught a story about the fact that today is World Listening Day, as established by the World Listening Project.  Given that the work I do has a strong basis in listening, and that in fact Ilana Rubenfeld’s book is called The Listening Hand…well, my ears perked up, so

Shelter in place

Today the weirdness around the Boston Marathon bombings continues, as Boston and surrounding areas are in lockdown, the police are on a supermilitarized manhunt, and residents are being ordered to stay inside with their doors locked.  I am just outside the lockdown area (by a town), and I for one will be going out of

“We are not built for this.”

Once again, in the face of unthinkable tragedy – this time much closer to home than any of us here in Boston would like – Mark Morford says the thing I need to hear, and that I wanted to say myself. I’ve asked here before how we humans are meant to deal with the tragedies

Funerals for six-year-olds, or, moving some of that emotion through

For all my compassion and concern for humanity and its state, oftentimes I find myself feeling closed off from larger events, the kind that get national attention: hurricanes, earthquakes, bombings in Gaza, shootings in Colorado.  The media bombard us with images, coverage, analysis, and repetition of all of the suffering, exploding, and ghastliness, and I

Sandy Hook, the gun control narrative, and sitting with pain

Today, I recognize that the horrible elementary school shooting in Sandy Hook, CT, is the one thing everyone is talking about, and with good reason.  27 people are dead, 18 of them children, at last count.  Even with the rash of random shootings in the past little while, this feels like a new low, a