Getting Clear about Fear

We may not be able to shield ourselves or our children from every harm, but we do have the power to change our careless words into caring ones, to transform our fear into fierce love, and trade our worry for wisdom.

Seeing Through the Big Door

The garden was now located somewhere inside. A door had opened to something unexpected. Poems can seem like doors, at once both obscuring and revealing, assuring and confounding.

From the Ashes Rises the Phoenix

When I feel such sadness as I did that day, I’ll start playing the flute in my heart and let the sadness be the melody. What comes out is always so beautiful.

Love Languages

The first time I talked to Egypt she was walking in the door to the church. “Welcome,” I said, smiling at her.  “I’ll punch you in the face,” she said with a determined look. Those aren’t words I’m used to hearing coming from anyone, much less a woman about twice my size. The intensity of […]

No Separation

My relationship with homeless people is changing. I grew up in Berkeley where it was common to see people living on the street year round. I would pass the same familiar faces selling “Street Sprit” newspaper by my favorite bakery, and wonder what it felt like to have that life. My family never gave money […]

The Prisons We Build Inside

We all want to be free. Whether we dwell in a prison cell block or live in a luxurious home, there is a longing for freedom from our innermost fears.

Chicken Adobo

Chicken Adobo, crowd pleaser, low key, accommodating, with some natural charisma and a ton of flavor. The chicken is a little sweet and a little savory, falling off the bone, and accompanied by tender whole cloves of garlic.

Caregivers, What *Not* to Do

I wanted to write something profound about how I have developed unconditional freedom in this 6-month journey with my mom, Karla, since her January breast cancer diagnosis, but the truth is — I am not free at all.