Month: March 2016

It is a sad fact of life that sometimes things—from teapots to relationships—sometimes break so thoroughly that you simply have to figure out how to go on without them.

How have you learned to live with loss?

It seems peculiar that one would call a holiday “Good Friday” when it recognizes the torture and state-sanctioned murder of a religious leader. There’s not much good to find in crucifixion. And yet, Christianity rests on the understanding that there can be no Easter without Good Friday, no resurrection without death.

What loss has led you toward new life?

“A writer’s heart, a poet’s heart, an artist’s heart, a musician’s heart is always breaking. It is through that broken window that we see the world…”
―Alice Walker

What broken window gives you a distinctive view of the world?

The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the courage and cleverness of Esther in defeating a plot to kill the Jews. Yes, a certain amount of misdirection was involved.

When, if ever, are you willing to compromise your ethics for the sake of the result?

“We can’t breathe” has become a powerful slogan in the movement to protest police brutality against unarmed Black people, recalling the final words of Eric Garner before he was choked to death by police. But there are many less literal ways that people are prevented from being able to draw a full, free, unhindered breath.

What impedes your ability to breathe freely?