Month: February 2014

How’s this for a tiny piece of heaven: a sunny day, a bike ride in shirt sleeves, a spot of shade under a palm tree. Feel free to close your eyes and imagine yourself there.

What does a tiny piece of heaven look like for you?

On this day people in the US honor George Washington as the “father of our country.” Of course, a country has many fathers and mothers over time, just as each of us is father or mother to a variety of things other than children.

Of what are you the parent/creator/sustainer?

One strategy to last the winter is to shed your leaves, to cut back to the bare minimum so as to make it through the cold months. Another is to grow in such a way that you are shaped to endure, that allows you to stay green regardless of the weather.

What helps you make it through the wintery periods of your life?

We squint our eyes when the sun is too bright, or when we are trying to focus something that is not quite clear. Sometimes clarity comes with less light, a narrowed view, a chance to prune back so that there are fewer distractions.

When has it helped you to restrict your focus so that you could see more clearly?

Valentine’s Day tends to be awkward for people who aren’t in a romantic relationship—or whose relationship doesn’t hold the romance they wish it would. But there are many kinds of love one could celebrate this holiday. The love of chocolate is only one.

What kind of love do you celebrate today?