In the Labyrinth

Rising Before Dawn to Greet the Harvest Moon

Sometimes I find it so amazing to live here in Boulder, beneath the Flat Irons of the Rocky Mountains. Every morning there is always something extraordinary to see, and to be filled with wonderment. Sometimes it is the elk coming down from the mountains to feed in the green flood plains where we walk, or to hear the early morning frog in the spring singing loudly to each other an invitation of sex. Sometimes the deep indigo blue of the bluebirds or the sun-yellow colors of the Mexican finches as they migrate through the fields of sunflowers and long grass. 

And sometimes, it is this gorgeous pre-dawn sky and the full harvest moon brilliantly white as a cosmic egg, just before its descent behind the mountains. 

 

 

 

A New Year, My Birthday, and the Solemnity of Mary

"Hail, heavenly ladder by which God came down; hail, bridge leading from earth to heaven." Agathistos Hymn, Greek --6th century.

It is a challenge to be born on a day so charged with potential and even more so to me, who was the first baby of that year in my city when I was born. There is a forward surge, everyone leaning into New Year's promises, open to the possibilities of new successes and new joys. And it is in the Catholic church, a holy day of obligation, celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, her life one long and never-ending New Year's promise to reconnect humanity with the divine.

This day offers me a moment to contemplate the example of Mary's life, rich in grace, compassion, and fertility. It's also an opportunity to think about how, in the coming year, I shall shape my actions, be productive in my work, and be open to those graces that enrich my life through family and friends. Not resolutions exactly, but a commitment to be fully present and thankful every day.

Art: Late 15th century (1485-1488) Italy Madonna and Child with Joseph, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist by Andrea Mantegna.

That Was Some Big Climb: Kilimanjaro in the 60s

Since I now live surrounded by mountains that I love and climb frequently -- I am re-posting 2 posts about my young teenage adventures climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It has taken many years to get off the prairie and the desert to return to the mountains, but to be in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies is now certainly worth it. I love the feeling of reconnecting to that younger self, who carried the then recently published Hobbit in her pack to read in camp at night.

A photo above of me at 14 in the blue anorak at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1968....long story really. The one below is of my brother and I after we arrived home to Dar es Salaam, after 12 hours by African bus. We are wearing our wreaths of everlasting flowers that the guides give you if you make the summit -- and you can see that some 50 years later, my wreath is a bit faded, but not bad for such a venerable award.

Remembering It's All About Balance After A Couple Of Long Weeks of Work

Sometimes in the midst of all our work, it seems impossible to find the breath or the balance to stay upright. I love this video of RIGOLO Sanddornbalance 2012 Art Installation - it has an almost instantly soothing effect. This is the way to work, breathing, focusing, a quiet intensity which balances effort on an idea as fragile as a feather. I love too that at the end of the day, it is all undone -- a way to relieve oneself of the burden and begin again the following day.

The Very Best Insults

This is why I love reading Shakespeare:

Prince Hal: "This sanguine coward, this bed-presser, this horse-back breaker, this huge hill of flesh."

Falstaff: "S'Blood, you starveling, you elf-skin, you dried neat's-tongue, you bull-pizzle, you stock fish. Oh for breath to utter what is like thee! You tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bow-case, you vile standing tuck!."

Prince Hal: Well, breathe awhile, and then to it again."   Henry IV, Part I

I have been busy preparing for an upcoming conference end of this month where I will be expected to have something to say about four of Shakespeare's histories, the British monarchy, and conditions of Liberty. It is these hilarious moments with Prince Hal and Falstaff that have provided much needed interludes of fun amid the seriousness of note-taking and researching.

Art: Johann Heinrich Fusili: "Falstaff in the Laundry," 1792

All Saints Day

At my confirmation I took the name of Martha -- a saint I identified with readily as she was always the first to cook for everyone, clean house for everyone, and in general, worry about everyone else. Admirable virtues to be sure -- but she needed a gentle reminder that there was nothing wrong with taking space and time for herself to reflect on her faith. The dinner could wait; so could the diners. On this All Saints Day, I remember her along with a few others I find helpful and worth thinking about: St. Ignatius, St Michael, St. Catherine, St Theresa, St Francis, St Peter, St John, St. Philip of Neri, St. Anthony, St. Jude, and St. Joan...to name a handful of regulars on my list.  I have the four volume set of Butler's Lives of the Saints (and people ask me where I get my ideas) and it is very enjoyable to read through it, discovering the biographies of little known saints, while eating miniature bars of Halloween chocolate. Nice segue.

**Art: Johannes (Jan) Vermeer, "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary," 1655