Ever get overwhelmed? I bet I am not the only one to experience this suffocating feeling where even the smallest tasks loom so large your body abruptly stops in paralysis. I know when I am faced with too much on my to-do list, my breath becomes shallow, I feel out of control and ready to quit, and I find it difficult to focus on anything. Brene Brown writes, “The definition of overwhelm that I could FEEL the moment I read it is from Jon Kabat-Zinn: Overwhelm is the all-too-common feeling that ‘our lives are somehow unfolding faster than the human nervous system and psyche are able to manage well.’ Our bodies and minds are experiencing that quicksand feeling.” Last week too much stuff cried out to be done all at once. Overwhelm engulfed me. I stared at the big projects not sure what next step to take while the tiny ones scream for just as much attention. Urgent outshouted the important. Brain-dumping all I had to work on helped me to name what had to be done, but the waves of so … [Read more...]

I played in a spaceship when I was seven years old. I spent hours exploring new worlds found in my imagination while never really leaving my backyard. My spaceship? A stocky tree with great climbing branches planted next on the southeast corner of our house. Different limbs warped into sections of my spacecraft: the galley, the lookout, the bridge for guiding my rocket into the mysterious universe. Sigh. I loved that tree. One of my favorite books is The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen.  Henri imagines himself as the prodigal, as the older brother, even as the father and spiritual lessons sprout and flourish in the fertile ground of imagination. Imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something not present to the senses. It is our capacity we have for innovative thinking and creative expression. St. Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491 and is the founder of the Jesuits. His writing is a deep well for spiritual directors, those seeking … [Read more...]

Questions are a powerful tool for spiritual growth and practices. I have found writing out the questions that are stirring in my heart in my journal has helped me grow, find direction and sometimes even healing in staying with the unknowns. The very act of finding the words to describe my questions brings clarity and often peace. Articulating these questions is helpful and at times I discover I am asking the wrong question. I sit quietly, holding these questions lightly and open up to God for his light and insight. We are in times of uncertainty and many unknowns. Our human instinct is to rush to finding answers out of fear and insecurity. Thinking of our crazy and chaotic reality reminded me of one of my favorite quotes. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote this in his book, Letters to a Young Poet: “I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are … [Read more...]