Singing Along the Journey
Thoughts about faith and wholeness set to the soundtrack of life

Thick and thin…

Thick and thin...now that's a familiar image.  We talk about those who will stick with us, through "thick and thin," and we mean those who will stand by us through whatever good or ill crosses our path.  In the language of spirituality, we talk about the thick times, the times when life is full to the bursting with meaning and our sense being alive, our sense of our God-self is full to the brim.  And we talk about those locations that we call thin places, places where it seems that time holds still and that the earth and the sky merge, revealing to us not our own God-self, but a momentary understanding of…
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I keep trying…

I'm still out here, each morning. I'm out here, walking the sidewalks of Capitol Hill, just as I have been since the day the world went pear-shaped with the news of COVID. But unlike those early days, I now walk well before sunrise. And the funny thing is, I like it. I like walking in the dark. There is something magical about walking across the border between night and day. There is something magical about feeling the transformation from cool night breeze to the stillness that often comes with the warmth of the sun. And I can almost forget that I am literally in the center of one of the…
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Nothing as it seems…

I'm still walking long before sunrise. Even though the temperatures are cooling a bit, that hour before the sun transforms the day with its power still draws me. There is no experience like feeling the wisps of a spider's work strung across the sidewalk, work that has been undisturbed because no human presence has walked that way in hours. But this morning, the glory of the hour was the call was the moon. As I looked at the near-harvest moon, I thought -- wait, maybe this beauty is not as far away as we think it is. Here I stand, on the back landing of my home, with a tiny…
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Not really 9, just 8…

I planned this celebration of a day that I call my new birthday for months. And I was totally convinced that it was the 9 year anniversary of my aortic valve replacement surgery. I was completely convinced. In fact, I wrote these words along with the pictures I shared from our time in the mountains: Celebration day 3 comes to an end with a little walk in the woods. A seriously more enjoyable day than 9 years ago, but a day only made possible by that day 9 years ago. Grateful for a day full of sunshine and activity. Grateful for the science and the faith that made today possible.…
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Dark peace by the light of the moon…

For most of the month of August, my day has begun before sunrise. I haven’t made this choice because of scheduling requirements or even a desire to walk so early. I have made this choice because the only way to spend substantial time moving outside these weeks has been to do it as early or as late as possible. And I am not an evening person, not in the slightest. The world is different, in those moments before the sun is visible over the horizon (or, in my case, over the buildings that block the horizon view). Even though I know that the day ahead will test my ability to…
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The best cure for writer’s block…

I'm not much of a poet, but a savvy writing teacher once taught me that one of the great ways to break through writer's block was to take a walk somewhere, be as deeply observant as you can be, and then, write a haiku about what you see. So here we go: Starfish laden beach, Dolphins present as I ride Sun, surf, this is peace. It doesn't hurt to have Hilton Head Island as your inspiration.
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Color and seeds and color…

More surprises from the hood. I have always thought this was a Japanese maple, a large one, but the little seed things look like oak. But they are not, it is indeed a Japanese maple (which I know thanks to Google image search). Notice the use of highly botanical language here (not). Anyway, I'm amazed at the color shading...I respond to color. And this definitely caught my eye...
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To the birds…again

It was a good morning for birds...side benefit of going back to the earliest walk time possible (because of the heat). Finally got a picture of this beautiful catbird...not too many of them in the neighborhood. Now, if my brain could just stop making sentences about finally being in the catbird seat. Yes, you can tell that it is hump day. And still hot.
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Suprises still possible…and welcome

Nice to know that my surroundings can still surprise me, now, in month 17 of my morning walks. How many times have I walked past this tree? 100's? And never once did I realize that it was an apple tree. Never. Once. But today I did. And the lesson for me is this: look hard at what you think is usual...you never know what surprises you might find.
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