Way Opening Workshops Blog

Eating Arzua Cheese in the Rain

I stood shivering in the rain on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain, a piece of bread in one hand and an enormous hunk of local Arzua cheese in the other.  Fellow pilgrims doggedly walked by, trailing colorful flowing rain ponchos over their packs.  Lovely plum jam dripped off my makeshift sandwich and fell…

by Way Opening Workshops

The consolations of grief

A year ago, I was fortunate to hear poet Tracy K. Smith speak to a group and broach the topic of grief. She was our U.S. poet laureate in 2012, and authentically acknowledges collective grief and longing as a black woman. My heart leapt when I heard her share the phrase, “grief is one of…

by Way Opening Workshops

Where your Heart is, there lies your Treasure

Midwinter, my husband and I escaped to New Mexico to care for a ranch owner’s two fancy dogs and two fancy horses.  Time on this beautiful ranch tending these animals and being a part of the landscape at the foothills of Los Cerillos was renewing and restoring. Before the owner left, he fortunately gave directions…

by Way Opening Workshops

Sharing high tea in low times

When you invited me to high tea at your favorite Indian restaurant, I really wanted to say no. I had spent that week wallowing in the news cycle from the comfort of my couch, and I wanted nothing more than to encounter real people. What made me say yes is that I sensed this was…

by Way Opening Workshops

Fallow

Recently I took a trip deep in rural Iowa to a friend’s farm. I lived in Iowa for over 20 years, but this landscape took my breath away: the signature rolling hills of the eastern area, creeks winding around bend after curvy bend, dotted plots of fallow land, some looking as if it was about…

by Way Opening Workshops

Drawing Connections

It was a cold and blustery April Saturday morning when we gathered for our first Drawing Connections event.  A few stray snowflakes crept into the air, barely reaching the ground before evaporating.  As volunteers started to arrive at the Longfellow Earth Day cleanup along the Mississippi River, Anne and I positioned our table in the…

by Way Opening Workshops

Poem of Kites for Peace

“IF I MUST DIE” BY REFAAT ALAREER If I must die, you must live  to tell my story  to sell my things  to buy a piece of cloth  and some strings,  (make it white with a long tail)  so that a child, somewhere in Gaza  while looking heaven in the eye  awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—  and bid no one farewell  not even to his flesh  not even…

by Way Opening Workshops

Leaning into Lent

Image by Jan Richardson https://www.janrichardson.com/ Psychologist Jonathan Adler speaks about the importance of the way we tell our stories and its impact on wellbeing. He defines two directions of story: contamination and redemption. The same story- for example a car accident- could be remembered and integrated in different ways. You may think- oh, that accident was the worst…

by Way Opening Workshops

Instead of Uncertainty

Hebrews 11:1 is a little like a paradoxical riddle- but its profundity and promise provide comfort through uncertain times.  Here is how it reads: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”    Seasons change, health changes, political leaders change, and circumstances change. We all know that there are…

by Way Opening Workshops

Making Room

We often host travelers in our home through a housesitting app, a brave chance to meet up with strangers, invite them to care for our home and pets, and then overlap with them for a few days or weeks- getting to know each other’s quirkiness and culture. This year we have hosted German students for a…

by Way Opening Workshops

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  • Eating Arzua Cheese in the Rain

    I stood shivering in the rain on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain, a piece of bread in one hand and an enormous hunk of local Arzua cheese in the other.  Fellow pilgrims doggedly walked by, trailing colorful flowing rain ponchos over their packs.  Lovely plum jam dripped off my makeshift sandwich and fellContinue…

  • The consolations of grief

    A year ago, I was fortunate to hear poet Tracy K. Smith speak to a group and broach the topic of grief. She was our U.S. poet laureate in 2012, and authentically acknowledges collective grief and longing as a black woman. My heart leapt when I heard her share the phrase, “grief is one ofContinue…

  • Where your Heart is, there lies your Treasure

    Midwinter, my husband and I escaped to New Mexico to care for a ranch owner’s two fancy dogs and two fancy horses.  Time on this beautiful ranch tending these animals and being a part of the landscape at the foothills of Los Cerillos was renewing and restoring. Before the owner left, he fortunately gave directionsContinue…