Author Archives: janishaag

…my whole selfsaying and singing what it knew… —Denise Levertov from “Variations on a Theme By Rilke” ••• At the endmay my whole self rise saying and singingwhat it knew after a life in whichI mostly did not know or … Continue reading →

To see the sea run from clear aquato darker turquoise to genuine navy. To watch it grow storm cloud gray,then blacken like cooled lava. To have the genuine birds’ eye view,the top-down perspective of below, the one rowing, anchor at … Continue reading →

And for a moment, looking at this photo,I feel whatever part of me that travelswithout my body wander into wonder, transfixed by the symmetry of concretepillars topped with soothing arches.But it doesn’t look like the I-80 I know. And then … Continue reading →

Janis Ian (who spells her first namethe “correct” way, according to the woman who gave it to me) sang that shelearned the truth at 17. I believe her. But, at 67, this Janis is 17 again—another odd truth. For instance, … Continue reading →

Gratitude is the confidence in life itself. In it, we feel how the same force that pushes grass through cracks in the sidewalk invigorates our own life. —Jack Kornfield ••• The essence that nudges tiny green bitsupward, searching for light … Continue reading →

Start close in,don’t take the second stepor the third,start with the firstthingclose in,the stepyou don’t want to take.—David Whyte(from “Start Close In”) ••• At first it is lending a hand when sheneeds to take the small step up a curb. … Continue reading →

for the night, they wing into the rookery where others like themwill rest after their daily travels, or travails, as the case may be,which, I imagine, for large huntingbirds, might consist of missed prey, avoiding power lines andother ravages of … Continue reading →

Walking across Virginia, Buddhist monksmake their way closer to D.C., monthsafter leaving their Texas home, buoyed by love, tended by strangersat every stop. And somehow that, for me,quells the awful—at least for a bit. I can’t say how following the … Continue reading →

Peace is not something to be found outside; it must be cultivated from within. Even in a divided world, peace is possible—not because the world changes, but because our hearts change.—Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, leading the Walk for Peace ••• We … Continue reading →

As kids, we counted every half birthday,50% older than we were six months earlier,on our way to the next number, which always felt like a better age to be.Older, we felt, was better than younger.Now, with more than six decades … Continue reading →