“For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” The Apostle Paul, Ephesians 2:6, New Living Translation I got out of my seat. Even after spending months meditating on these words of the Apostle Paul and finally gettingContinue reading “Please Remain Seated”
Author Archives: thedeepened
A Father’s Love (or in this case, My Daughter’s Love)
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? I apologize for my lack of activity on The Deepening Ground recently. Over the last two weeks, I’ve spent little time nurturing my poetic soul. Rather I’ve finished the flooring in our addition, ripped sixteen foot boards with a friend for the trim, and finished work on myContinue reading “A Father’s Love (or in this case, My Daughter’s Love)”
Choosing Forgiveness
“Got a whole lotta reasons to be mad, let’s not pick one.” from “Ain’t No Man” by The Avett Brothers Today in my Creative Writing & Contemporary Literature class our discussion of Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom turned to the life lesson of forgiveness. Timely, to say the least. As I shared with myContinue reading “Choosing Forgiveness”
What Can You Do with Five Words?
When it rains it pours. Those aren’t the five words I intend for you to ponder in this post, but a reflection of my current state of the union. The appliances arrive tomorrow, the HVAC company will be here as well to install the heat pumps and AC, the wood for the trim arrives onContinue reading “What Can You Do with Five Words?”
The Sanctity of Shared Ritual
As the fullness of life in such uncommon times (exacerbated by the extra work required of me on our addition) continues to absorb much of my bandwidth, my mind stumbled back to a poem my wife wrote over a year ago reflecting on one of the most common occurrences of a common day: making theContinue reading “The Sanctity of Shared Ritual”
That Awkward Silence
As promised, the Japanese Tanka on Silence, in honor of every awkward waiting-room-train-platform moment, and the gap between my posts, that measures the audible space between humans. Silence Vincent H. Anastasi 2015 This silence is raw,like the skinned elbow of Time,and you and I sitimmutable and awkward:two columns of decorum.
Choosing to Live: Enlightened Contentment
“It is the time’s discipline to think of the death of all living, and yet live.” Wendell Berry, “A Discipline” Into a third late night of balancing the demands of being an educator, a cooperating teacher, a husband, a father, a son, a home remodeler, and a writer, I offer this gentle reminder to live.Continue reading “Choosing to Live: Enlightened Contentment”
All Aboard! From Rails to Sunrise
“We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They areContinue reading “All Aboard! From Rails to Sunrise”
Monsters or Men?
Tonight as I read to my two youngest sons from C. S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian, one of Lucy’s lines cut to the quick. I had to stop and take a picture of it with my phone, lest I forget it. I’ve read the novel multiple times, but tonight these words rang more true than ever.Continue reading “Monsters or Men?”
Art’s Deepening Place: A Reflection on Sarah Oppenheimer’s “610-3356”
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” Leonardo da Vinci My thanks to Jack Warner, former colleague and cooperating teacher, for introducing me to one of Pittsburgh’s hidden gems, The Mattress Factory Art Museum. Since that initial visit almost twenty years ago, I’veContinue reading “Art’s Deepening Place: A Reflection on Sarah Oppenheimer’s “610-3356””
