Summer Vacation….

Friends,

That time has arrived…vacation!  The rains pour down, the grass needs cutting, a hundred (at least) projects will get a chance to rest and wait while I take myself away on retreat for several weeks.

The re-opening time has reminded me of all the ways in which it is so easy to grow anxious and over-burdened with mental to-do lists.  What better time to step away — as much as one can — and evaluate once more what one’s life is truly in service to.

I don’t know what these few weeks will bring, but I’m sure enough to share with you upon my return.

Meanwhile, I share a short reading list of works I highly recommend during the lull before September:

The Book of Longings, by Sue Monk Kidd (a fascinating midrash on 1st century Palestine, as told through the life experience of an Israeli girl who, in this novel, becomes Jesus’s wife.  One of the most interesting depictions is the very different status of women in Israel at that time, as compared to their relatively greater autonomy in Egypt.)

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (the deeply moving tale of a middle-aged couple, faced with utter financial and physical loss, who walked 630 miles, living on the wild coastline of England, in a search for healing and redemption.)

The Wild Silence, by Raynor Winn (the sequel.  Winn writes beautifully about nature and the land.)

Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart (winner of the 2020 Booker Prize, an astonishing masterpiece of fiction that calls to mind the best of Joyce, depicting the journey of a single mother and her struggle with addiction, her children’s attempts to make “home” despite her, and the power of family bonds of love.)

Be well.

Namaste.