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Moments in Time: Dingle, Ireland
As many of us celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this week, we find ourselves on the Dingle Peninsula in the southwest part of Ireland. The town of Dingle is the largest town on the peninsula located in County Kerry. The magnificent road that winds around the peninsula is called Slea Head Drive. A little side note, the westernmost part of the peninsula not only brings a spectacularly beautiful view of the rough surf of the Atlantic. But the islands off to the west are the closest part of mainland Ireland that you can get to the United States. Nestled in the rock just off the road sits a statue of the…
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Moments in Time: Glen Coe, Scotland (Highlands)
The winds were overwhelming but calming. The periods of rain were drenching but refreshing. The brisk air cut through your skin but awakened the very breath of your life. Standing in its midst was somehow a confrontation with truth beyond the ability to explain with my senses. Quite simply, it was one of the most mystical experiences of my life. Glencoe is nestled in the Scottish Highlands. It is about 100 miles or so from Edinburgh. Suppose you leave from Edinburgh, as I did. In that case, you go through the lush greenery of the Scottish lowlands, passing many breathtaking lochs (lakes) and some picturesque towns. Stirling, for one, with…
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Hard To Be Human
It’s well documented that the pandemic has brought to the surface many challenges for millions of people around the globe. Not only physical illness but loneliness and isolation have sparked a wave of mental illness as well. The pandemic has affected all of us in some way. Like so many things in life, although the struggles we face are felt by many, they are unique. In other words, our experiences and struggles are our own. The pandemic for us has been about navigating being home with two school-aged boys every day for almost a year. On the one hand, I have loved it because I know this is a time…
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Moments in Time: Helena, MT
This week’s destination brings us to Helena, MT. Helena is the state capital of Montana and became known as the “Queen City of the Rockies” due to the boom of the 1864 gold strike. That said, what brings us to the beautiful city of Helena today, is baseball. Specifically, June 1996. We find ourselves at Kendrick Legion Field, at that time, home of the Milwaukee Brewers Rookie Ball Team. I was a skinny young 18-year-old, a boy, playing for the Great Falls Dodgers, the Rookie Ball Team for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the opening night of the Pioneer League, and we had a road series against the…
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Moments in Time: Worb, Switzerland
This week’s journey takes us to Worb, Switzerland….specifically to a particular bench that was one of my favorite places to sit and regain perspective. Worb is a small village southeast of the city of Bern. It was our home for 4 1/2 years while we lived in Switzerland. We loved it. We lived in a house that sat halfway up the “Worb Hill,” as we would often refer to it. Down the street sat the 13th century Worb Schloss, Worb Castle. We stayed in the converted stable of the NeuSchloss, or the New Castle of Worb. A quick side fun fact to the Neuschloss, the Von Grafienrieds family, has owned…
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Random Thoughts on my 43 Birthday
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A Moment in Time
There are times in our lives when we are fully present to a moment. Birth of a child, a loss of a loved one, falling in love, traveling, experiencing different cultures, or being taken over by the beauty of nature. During these times, our senses, minds, and souls are open to an enlightened grace and higher consciousness…we are open to a deeper reality and profound beauty. That said, there are other times when we come to see the same unseen truths only through the reflection of our past. As we begin to think back to specific moments throughout our lives, all of the hidden grace, beauty, and truth, become visible…
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A Plea for Truth
As our National Independence Day has come and gone, the state of our country continues to experience turbulent times. Problems that have been thrown onto us (Corona-19) and problems we have thrown onto ourselves (racism and it’s after-effects). It is also an election year that can bring the noise to a deafening pitch. Through 24/7 news headlines and the blurbs and opinions from our social media feeds from all sides claiming to speak the truth, it can be hard to decipher what is true or not. This reflection is not a political plea or to give another opinion to the millions already out there, rather, this is more of a…
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Gift of Silence
Due to Covid-19, the world community has paused. Humanity has been forced to stop, allowing for a type of collective vulnerability that rarely, if not ever, has happened before. Through this joined experience, we have been forced to look at ourselves both individually and culturally in ways we might never have been able to do so during our times of “normalcy”. The first observation is one of sadness. Sadness for those who have died, usually alone, and for the families who have had to watch a loved one die from afar. Sadness for the millions who have lost their jobs and with that, their dignity, and now struggle to find…
