Just Tulips
Dedicated to: My Mom Last week in my chaplaincy internship, we were asked to select a photo from a spread on the table, and write a story. Afterward, we each shared with the group and discussed how the story reflects our theology […]
Letting Go
Self-Judgement on the Path
Entering a new environment of any kind can bring up wonder, curiosity, fear, anxiety, joy. The experience was no different as I entered the zendo (Buddhist temple) at Upaya Zen Center for the first time. Although I had been studying […]
Spreading Ashes: A Poem
As we delve into a series on the world of grief rituals, I wanted to begin by offering this poem that was written by a dear friend, Lauri Stock, after a weekend spent spreading her mother’s ashes with her family and mother’s […]
The Art of Grieving
photo courtesy of www.tnhtour.org A year and a half after my mom passed, I attended a 7-day meditation retreat at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, CA with Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (or “Thay”, as many affectionately call him, which is […]
Motherless Day
Tonight I am enjoying a quiet night in with my sleeping niece while my sister enjoys a (rare) evening out with a friend. It’s Mother’s Day Eve, our third since our mom passed — and the second since my sister became a mother. […]
Six Steps for Saying Goodbye to Stuff
Saying Goodbye to Stuff: Six Steps for Letting Go After Loss Sorting through our loved one’s belongings can feel daunting and overwhelming, not to mention emotional. We often find ourselves clinging to their material items because we no longer have […]
