The excited anticipation of Christmas is always juxtaposed with a bombardment of requests from organizations begging for year-end donations from a hoped-for sense of generosity and a surplus of savings. How do you decide where and how much to donate? Do you have a formula that you follow to give certain percentages? Do you give to at least one organization in each of the categories such as: environment? animal welfare? education? mental health? social/racial justice? hunger? How do you decide which causes are “good?” Do you look up on the internet the ratings of the different charities? Do you just go on the recommendation of a friend? Or do you just give to the church and the groups we support? Paul and I have never been ones to be all that organized when it comes to giving. We give to the church and some extra to some of the groups

I almost forgot to turn it on 6:28 on Christmas Eve and I was busy washing dishes from dinner She asked, ‘what about your church service?’ And I started, and wiped my hands on the dish towel not wanting to be late. On the screen a room full of boxes all of my friends and acquaintances in miniature, just like every Sunday for what feels like weary years. First children dressed up as Mary and Joseph and Angels and Wise Men and Women then dogs and babies dressed up like Sheep. And footage from Christmas plays past, children we haven’t seen in almost a year looking so small and people crowded so close together that I feel the startle of danger that this year has implanted in us. Some prayers and readings and hymns recorded from past years when the world felt less perilous, full of angst and possibility. Then,

If you are like me, there are certain buzzwords out there in the world that elicit a visceral response that can ruin your day. If I get invited one more time to “mastermind (used as a verb) about potential innovation that can 10X our vertical growth by leveraging human assets to become influencers and thought leaders within our space,” I’m gonna lose it. One of those terms is “GRATITUDE JOURNAL.” I love the idea of a gratitude journal, but for whatever reason, those words put together make me cringe. However, I do practice journaling…about gratitude…in my as-yet-unnamed, but certainly NOT “gratitude journal.” Maybe my “Thankfulness Notebook.” Whatever one chooses to call it, here is a list of gratitudes that have spilled out since Covid hit. 1.       SO MUCH less driving. 2.       No in-person office meetings/social events. 3.       No networking events. 4.       No more handshakes and faux interest in that colleague(s)

I’m guessing most, all? of us have watched more films this year than past years.  The pandemic came at a time when just about any show ever made can be streamed into our homes. I love how films can open up whole new worlds to us, but I’m also interested in how they circumscribe the world.  The camera is so powerful not just for what it shows, but for what it doesn’t show.  Rather than flood us with a constant field of peripheral vision, from which we must continually choose where to focus our attention, the camera focuses the attention for us.  Rather than show us the whole crowd, it shows us a small group within the crowd, or a particular expression on the face of one person within that group.     The choices the film makes of what to show us and what not to show make the story