(written for Rev. Justin McCreary’s sermon, “The Devil I Know: Demonic Themes in Spiritual Formation”) The Garden Bountiful had everything we needed– The safest of havens, plotted for us in love Carefree, we moved among the trees Untouched by shame, untouched by pride. Innocent: how could we know? Our Perfection was lost upon us Until I laid […]
With summer kicking up, I am reminded of Camp Mercury’s philosophy that growth and learning doesn’t happen while safely contained in bubble wrap. We have to be willing to have “skin in the game,†to be willing to fall flat. I’m a huge comics/sci-fi nerd, and one of the things that always brings me to […]
Dear Mississippi, how should I begin? As a Unitarian Universalist, I can only speak my own truth, which is informed by a deep relationship with the elements. Water: In heavy rain, cats yowling, the lightning in the sky giving me a glimpse of the Chunky River’s churning. A sudden doom fell upon my shoulders: I was moving […]
BirdOfParadox is a name I’ve used nearly everywhere for fourteen years. While I think it absolutely is relevant to the very nature of my art, I believe it no longer represents All My Parts. In the spirit of that, I’ll be transferring the BlogOfParadox to another undisclosed location. I’m in no rush to vacate my digital […]
For years, I have been waging war against wild, barren brambles that have overtaken a section of my yard. I yank them up, only to have then defiantly crop up again, hardier than ever. For midsummer last year, I had the intention of uprooting them forever. I had grand plans to weave the strands into […]
I am sharing with you the message I presented at the UU Church’s Earth Day celebration. Dear Mississippi, how should I begin? Water: In heavy rain, cats yowling, the lightning in the sky giving me a glimpse of the Chunky River’s churning. A sudden doom fell upon my shoulders: I was moving somewhere they would name a […]
I live on a dead volcano beside a living serpent of a river. Because of the black earth streaked with red clay and the blood of civil rights heroes; the impossible green of sweet potato vine; the fossilized epic log jam just outside the city; and the Ragnarok-levels of lightning breaking through the storm outside. […]
never have i been a calm blue sea i have always been a storm — stevie nicks I’ve been quieter than I like to be for a long time. It is unsettling to settle in. I have a home, and I’ve been in a relationship for eleven years. I’ve been in Mississippi for nearly the […]
I’m A Yoga Teacher And I Still Need Help In Class. [context] Once you’ve gone through your 200 hour yoga teacher training, your hardcore anatomy, paid your insurance and RYT fees, you sometimes begin to feel like you Should Know Stuff, that you should be in advanced classes, that your ability to demonstrate xyz poses […]
Often, I hear older people complain that today’s youth and young adults are unwilling to work within established organizations, that they’re forcing donors to choose who they fund by creating new organizations… There’s a young person who’s created a model for cleaning the plastic from our oceans. A fourteen year old Taylor Wilson built a […]