Defense: Resistance to something perceived as a threat. Fence: Tall, vertical surface. Person-made to keep something in or out.   In friendship, I’ve hit the De/Fence more times than I can count. The De/Fence hides in the landscape of friendship, like a camouflage wall sticking out of the desert sand, blending in until I smack into […]

Since I’ve been back from assisting my friend Corbett with her book launch (Fading Scars) I have been trying to catch my breath, trying to catch my heart. Coming home, a family member was in the hospital and my family was in crisis. Then the massacre in Charleston happened. The anniversary of Olmstead came and went and Goodwill still is […]

Comment on Caring for Others, Caring for Self: This was extremely helpful, thank you! I am wondering, though, if you have specific ways to practice checking in with yourself? I find that in the balance of finding what I need and what my community needs, I’m more apt to sway to the community needs. That’s the […]

Sometimes a simple reminder is all I need to remember that I am gifted with love and connection just by greeting the cacti and sun. “Grace” by Oriah House, helped me remember that today.  Grace Nothing I have ever done or will ever do can separate me from or bring me into the heart of the […]

Pushing Limits Radio Show 4.17.15  In the first 12 minutes of Pushing Limits, I talked with Adrienne Lauby about the tension of caring for others and caring for ourselves. To hear the interview, click on the link above. Below are notes from the interview which I adapted into a blog post. There are a couple […]

Driving up from the desert floor into the forests of Arizona has the excitement of driving through Salt River Canyon. When I was a kid, we had an older, small two-door car which was a stick shift whose name was “Puff.” Driving “Puff” through the Canyon was always precarious. The road through the Canyon has switchbacks and a constant […]

Sacred land that had previously been protected was “swapped” by Arizona State Senators earlier this year. The land including and around Oak Flat campground, part of the Tonto National Forest, was given to Resolution Copper (an Australian and British mining company) by Arizona State Senators who covertly attached the resolution as a rider to the […]

  Ocotillo in front of a desert mountain and cloud covered sky Over the past few months, my partner and I have had deaths of family and friends. We are some of many who have been dealing with loss.   This season has been a time heavy with grief. The passing of family and friends. […]

It feels heavy, persistent and I hear it rumbling deep inside. Like a hunger that I don’t have the time to feed. The rumbling which started softly, rises in volume until it is all I can hear. I want to be too busy with life that I can ignore it, but finally I have to […]

Thanks to Katie O’Rourke, a brilliant Fiction writer working on her third book, for inviting me to participate in the “My Writing Process Blog Tour”. Read Katie’s response to the tour and discover more about her books featuring complex characters navigating life at: katieorourke.blogspot.com   Writing to me is an ever-evolving practice. To be honest, I often […]