“Our relentless emphasis on success and productivity has become a form of violence. We have lost the necessary rhythm of life, the balance between effort and rest, doing and not doing.” Wayne Muller If you happen to find yourself in Israel on a Saturday you may encounter this peculiar phenomenon when using the elevators: they…Continue reading Reflections from Shabbat: A Call to Rest
Category: Books
What can we learn from a Hobbit?
Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea … Our family is Tolkien possessed. My deep appreciation of the writing of this wonderful author has fortunately spilt over to my partner and children. So when Peter Jackson put the Lord…Continue reading What can we learn from a Hobbit?
This is My Story
“We cannot wish old feelings away nor do spiritual exercises for overcoming them until we have woven a healing story that transforms our previous life’s experience and gives meaning to whatever pain we have endured.” Joe Borysenko When was the first story ever told? We do not know. We do know that storytelling has been…Continue reading This is My Story
The Colours of Autumn
Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees. – Faith Baldwin I love Autumn. I love watching the light change to thick, plush gold as our planet tilts on its axis while we orbit the sun. In our Southern Hemisphere, the temperature begins to drop in March. Well, that…Continue reading The Colours of Autumn
Those Wonderful Irish: Reflections on Irish Poetry
Hearts are not to be had as a gift, hearts are to be earned. William Butler Yeats Three years ago we visited Ireland. I fell in love. In love with a countryside so spectacular it takes your breath away. In love with the people whose melodic, lilting accents had me so fascinated that I stared at…Continue reading Those Wonderful Irish: Reflections on Irish Poetry
From Russia with love
It is better to have dreamed a thousand dreams that never were, than never to have dreamed at all. – Alexander Pushkin The love of poetry runs in my family. My father knows endless renditions of beautiful German poetry, especially that of Goethe and Schiller. Travelling through Russia reminded me of the gifted poets that…Continue reading From Russia with love
Confessions of a Bibliophile
“There is no friend as loyal as a book” Ernest Hemingway I am an only child. From time to time people ask whether I missed having brothers or sisters. This is rather a peculiar question. It’s like asking someone who has never tasted eggs whether they miss quiche. In short, no. I did not miss…Continue reading Confessions of a Bibliophile