Few things are as compelling—or as terrifying—as a blank sheet of paper. Everything is possible, which makes it ridiculously difficult to know where to begin. Setting down a word is setting off on a journey, and you never quite know where that journey might take you.
What sentence that you have written or read has altered the direction of your journey?
Is this a beach where clams live, or is it a stand of trees? Everything in life shifts and changes, but the past never really leaves us.
What traces of your younger self stand out most clearly in your life today?
Some theologies envision a God who watches every move, who notes and judges every sin. Some theologies imagine a God whose “eye is on the sparrow,” who sees every struggle and responds with loving care. Others take God out of the equation entirely, believing that the only thing that keeps complete tabs on our actions would be the law of cause and effect.
Do you feel that God or the universe watches you with judgment or compassion, or neither, or both?
The Jewish holiday of Purim honors the memory of Esther, who saved the Jewish people from the conspiracies of the evil Haman by means that included trickery, alcohol, food and sexuality. The holiday itself features drinking, rowdy play-acting, and generally the sort of activities that we don’t usually associate with religious observances.
How have you used unexpected means to turn around a bad situation?
Tea is the traditional British solution for pretty much anything. Crises are met with cups of tea, as are times of meeting, breaks from work and rallying oneself to move forward. A cup of tea is a way to pause, to gather your thoughts or to gather your friends, to fortify yourself so that you can carry on.
How do you create moments of pause or restoration in your day?
