“Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards.” Soren Kierkegaard Here at The Phoenix Spirit, we take time each spring to reflect on and explore the practice of retreating. Retreats, like most rituals, come with a familiarity and a structure that can mask the magic of the experience. Whether you take a retreat …
“One can waste years this way, systematically postponing precisely the things one cares about the most.” ― Oliver Burkeman Another year dawns. Here in the northern hemisphere, we begin the year in darkness—our earth’s fallow time, rest time, quiet time. Yet I hurry to make lists to accomplish, to acquire, to get somewhere rather than …
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. —Alan Watts I live seven blocks from the edge of a bluff that was left standing by a larger, older, and mightier Mississippi River than now flows along its banks. These sandstone bluffs continue …
That night–fall of my senior year–was a Saturday night, so I headed to a party. A bonfire tucked in the woods off Hwy. 55, where we could drink underage to excess. I had a bottle of Seagram’s in my jacket along with a liter of Seven Up. Didn’t take long before I was smashed. I …
In his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller tells a powerful story he calls, “How Jason Saved His Family.” After returning from Los Angeles, where he took part in a storytelling workshop, Don got together with his friend, Jason, and learned of some trouble Jason and his wife were having with …
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” Claude Monet I greet my overflowing garden each morning with amazement and humility. My garden is a miniature paradise, the closest I get to being an artist. In the garden I partner with the natural world, giving me a palette to experiment with wonder and delight, failure and recovery. I learn …
“A man who doesn’t trust himself can never really trust anyone else” Cardinal De Retz My desire and ability to trust someone seemed unattainable for many years. When I first got into recovery I didn’t trust a soul, including myself, with the possible exceptions being my two young children. The two people I had been …
There are times that feel bigger than life itself. When these times happen, we may be filled with immeasurable inspiration as we escape the usual routines of ordinary living. Many of the tensions of daily stress and world turmoil disappear in the abundance of such special moments. Some magic moments we never forget — the …
Recently I had some catch up time with a supportive person at our regular meeting spot. While chatting she told me that she and her husband were out driving recently and unexpectedly another driver broadsided them. This incident has since caused them inconvenience due to having to take time for car repair as well as …
Baby Boomers, the generation that is 77 million strong, born between 1946 and 1964, have always assumed that they would live longer and healthier than their parents’ generation. The promise of ongoing youth, health and vitality was the accepted belief. However, there are some rocky obstacles on this road to healthy aging that have roots …
