Passion

July 13, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Follow your passion: pursue the things that lift you up, and trust that what you learn, whatever you do, will all add up to something worthwhile – so share it with the world. (Image my own)

Alina’s Dream

June 17, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

“Will you please write my story, V.J.?” fourteen-year-old Alina asked me recently. She and her family have now been living with Ric and I a month. Alina is a striking young woman, calm and poised, and over the past month, I have come to appreciate the strength of her determination. We talked about interests the […]

Something to Love

June 1, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

I met a woman once, so debilitated by disease that my impulse was to recoil. Then I remembered the words of one of my teachers: “There is something to love about everyone”, and I checked myself, and realized that this woman must have an incredibly strong will to live. I told her so, and noted […]

After the fear…

May 25, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Not Everything is Defined by Age

May 4, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

As a child, I knew no limits, setting out on adventures with never a fear for how I’d find my way back home. Now, nestled in my home, I limit myself to certainties, fearful of risks. Some days, I wonder about that child, and how it would feel to wander freely, and it makes me […]

Everyday Miracles

April 29, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

Can you help my friend, please? She is 32 weeks pregnant. The text came in mid-morning. I said I’d look into it. Mom, husband, 10-year-old, and baby on the way. Afraid of the encroaching war, they gambled their money on tickets to Canada. I thought of my own daughter-in-law, happily registering for an upcoming baby […]

Reminder for a rough day

April 20, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Life is transition. Be open to the process. There is peace to be had. (Art mine)

The River, My Heart

April 18, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

She holds my heart, this river followingthe ages, seasons measured by her flow Acknowledging change, she bears Winterregally, swells with confidence as Spring rains Will walk beside me in sunnier times, andstay loyal as Autumn charms us with her flames. My heart, my faith, always knows,that at the end of day, the river glows. (Image […]

Just a thought…

April 13, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(Image mine)

Heart Warmed

April 4, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

“Hi Mrs Knutson,Hope you are well!I saw that you and your husbandare hosting a family of refugeesfrom Ukraine….“ The writer of this message attended a school where I once taught. He was not a student of mine, but I did coach the boys’ soccer team, with this young man’s help and direction (he was our […]

Present Distance

I’ve lived the fog of distance –life’s highway a series of hillsdestination without promise Have learned that acceptance gains perspective,that climates change, and hope sustains,and that in the stillness dreams renew. Now I travel quieter paths, appreciatespace, have surrendered to a slower pace –certain that this too will change. (image my own)

Floral Balm

Of Trauma Born

Goodbyes tarnishfaith, like ashesscattered My heart grows dismissal,craves a balm of connectionseeks quiet harbour Remind me what it feels like to be safebreath nurturing life,love a rhythmic flow In meditationI reach for peaceimagine salvation But this wayward chaosunrestrainedcements me in doubt Tainted intentionsI lift up to the Universea tempest without hope My soul incubates malicea […]