Interconnectedness

Dear Laraine, Love Laraine

For my students at Kripalu

The Writing Warrior
The Way of the Writing WarriorIf true freedom is going to survive within you, you have to be willing to fight for it. You have to have a sword in each hand at all times. One sword is for your own mind and the other sword is for everyone else's mind. You must be ready to use them. Anyone who wants to be truly free must be willing to stand alone in the truth.-   

The Conviction of Things Not Seen
A few weeks ago, Keith and I went to see Hector Olivera at the performance hall on campus. We went because there weren't enough tickets sold so the school was offering two for one tickets to faculty. I had never heard of Hector Olivera. I just knew I was starved for something different. How many times in one s

Faculty Development Day! Hooray!
Warning: Snarky Rant Full of Judgment and Generalizations Forthcoming. Alright. I am basically a good employee. I am a dedicated teacher. I show up when I'm supposed to. I get papers returned quickly. I am generally friendly to everyone. And, I do like my job. Until days like today, which actually have nothing to do with my job.Every few months or so it

Can a Leopard Change Its Spots?
How do you know if you've actually done any work? You go to classes. You do the practices. You change your eating habits. You keep peeling back the layers that have, you thought, kept you safe. You keep showing up even when you don't want to, but you still don't know if your central beliefs about yourself and the way you navigate the world can fundamentally change. How can you tell?When e

Good Fences
Our house, July 2008**The essence of this essay is true. The spatial details within the house have been rearranged. Our house had not caught fire as I’d feared as a girl after watching the Walton’s house burn on TV, and then watching my father place his lit cigarette on the edge of the windowsill so he c