A few mornings ago, I turned on NPR where program hosts were discussing the town of Raqqa, Syria, recently abandoned by ISIS. While the fighters were gone, they left behind a myriad of landmines. In just the last week, fifty people have been victims. Made from fishing line and small coin-like objects, they are placed … Continue reading Pebbles, Boulders and Landmines
Sorting through a stack of books, I encountered a small, thin volume written by a dear friend of mine several years ago. As I leafed through the pages I was struck by how many of his words had embedded themselves into my being. He has been gone now nearly five years and his voice remains … Continue reading Healing, wholeness, together
“I am as healthy as I am because of my positive thoughts. If I didn’t have a good attitude, I would be a mess. It has really saved my life.” “I meditate so that I don’t think about all the hard things that have happened in life. It gives me peace.” “I walk in nature … Continue reading Bypassing pain
Ahhhh, Ground Hog Day - the time of year when we look to a small round, burrowed creature in hopes of the encouragement of an early Spring. Nope. Not this year, and frankly, here in the Bold North another six weeks of Winter is usually quite secure, shadow or not. Security doesn't happen often, although we think it does. We make lots of plans … Continue reading The Security of Ground Hogs
There are times in life when multiple “griefs” collide producing a blizzard of complex emotions. It becomes difficult to sort through the feelings; one grief touches another and some days we feel like dominos tumbling out of control. It is in the stories of patients and families, friends and colleagues; a difficult diagnosis following a … Continue reading When a blizzard of grief arrives…
A few years ago I started a small annual pilgrimage to the north woods. The location lends a feeling of seclusion; a time to retreat, to crunch through the woods with my dogs and appreciate the lush green of July or the frozen snow globe of January. It is a time to silence the world; … Continue reading Desolate
You know winter has truly arrived when minnows live in your basement sink and your husband is fishing on the lake at 2 a.m. in below zero temperatures. Personally, I plan to wear long underwear until the thaw. Holidays wrap up and commercials, social media posts, magazines all begin notice of the cultural mandate: New … Continue reading Resolution
Winter Solstice is here. In the North light has been obscured by weeks of snow clouds. The falling flakes offer beauty for the brown dreariness at the end of autumn. The freezing lakes replace open and moving water. Everything in nature seems to grind to a halt while we rush to finish shopping for the … Continue reading Stillness of winter solstice
Behind the veneer of holiday hustle and bustle, for some of us there runs a secret river of sorrow. The cultural curtain of joy and good cheer can mask the most prominent cause of December tears: relationships. The holidays are advertised as jolly and bright and in many ways, and for many people they are … Continue reading The fullness of love
This morning I woke up early to find a mouse sitting on the kitchen counter, eating a crumb, looking down on and watching intently the three cats staring at their empty food bowl waiting for it to be filled. Sigh…you just can’t make this stuff up. Waiting is hard work. I have waited for something … Continue reading Waiting Advent
Andrea Tatley 