Secret Beach

Originally uploaded by Undine74

If there has been any consistent theme in my life the past several months, it has been of “vulnerability.” Who hasn’t heard ad nauseam that wise adage that there is “strength in being weak”? Yes, yes, we all know this, don’t we? We hear the great wisdom of it recycled endlessly in the New Testament; in fact, it’s one of the primary messages of the gospels. Lambs are weak; Christians are sufferers; rich people must become poor; adults are to be like children; God is strong …

Fire in the Sky

Originally uploaded by pinkcigarette

Yesterday the sun was out and wind was up, whistling and jostling its way through the morning and early afternoon—the air slightly chilled and invigorating. I stuck my head outside for a moment and felt at once the cumulative prick of thousands of moisture particles, a soft spritz that woke up my skin—made it lively, alert. A dark aroma of warming earth was everywhere circulating: and I thought how perfect it was, this roaring spring day, in sight, by feel, in sound. The squirrels …

I’ve long regarded myself as an intensely hungry person, though not in the physical sense. I don’t care inordinately about my dinner, save that it is healthy; yet, I’ve always experienced the world itself—the concept of it, the vast beauty and mystery of it, as something I desperately long to bring nearer in order to incorporate it into my(S)elf. I experience this longing as hunger to be spiritually and emotionally intimate with the world by “consuming” it—by “feeding upon infinity,” as William Wordsworth might say, as if my mind and …

I heard the presiding priest pose an interesting question during his homily in mass this past Sunday: he asked us what kind of diet Jesus might have expected a Christian to adhere to…? I assume that his decision to use the word “diet” was mainly metaphorical, meant to draw out a reflection upon “the appetites” in general, and to emphasize the need for restraint among Christians regarding their indulgence in various kinds of consumption. The sad truth is, however, that I missed a few of what I imagine were his …