Photo © 2014 Caleb Dodson. Several years ago, I stumbled upon simple but profound text, Listening to the Heartbeat of God. It was a book that resonated deep within my own soul as it eloquently reminded me of the heart of God beating in each and everyone of us – inviting me to look and […]
The years. The minutes and seconds and moments, both key and not so much so, all seem to happen so quickly; so instantly; so irretrievably wonderfully fast, don’t they? Our selves are born (thrown, I would say is more accurate) into relationship with this paradox known as life and helped to survive it; and if […]
It’s been just over five years now since my therapist suggested I attend The Story Workshop. At the time I had no idea that those four days would impact the entire arc of my life. Even today I am still living into the beauty and pain that was awakened in me and my story. I […]
When I was a first year student, I used to go to the communion that the MDiv students hold in the chapel every Wednesday and I would cry. The school and the move from California to Seattle had cracked open something deep inside me and I could not stop crying everywhere I went. My advisers […]
I’m always curious about the serendipity of things, especially since I don’t believe anything is simply happenstance. I’m not sure I chose to attend The Story Workshop in 2009 as much as it was something that just had to happen. Yes, I asked to be placed on a waiting list. Yes, I booked my own […]
At seven years old, I experienced a mind-bending crisis of identity. There I sat, watching the LA Olympics on a small black and white TV, as boxers from the United States and South Korea took the ring and began pounding one another senseless in mutual pursuit of gold and glory. The official result of that […]
Our stories are like a book unfolding, pages worn and marked, dog-eared to recall at a later time. Sometimes the page turns and we do not love what the next chapter holds. I thought my chapter of graduate school would go a certain way. I entered it with a grand naiveté and glamour around the […]
In the past, I have operated primarily through rationale and logic. Now, at The Seattle School, instead of relying on my ability to comprehend, understand, and analyze, I was being asked to wait, to ponder, and most of all to allow myself to be changed before looking for comprehension. It is scary, however, to stumble […]
Grief speaks. And, last week, it declared, “Here I am, Mallory! I’m not going anywhere and this time, I cannot be ignored.” I had just returned to Seattle from the funeral of my paternal Grandmother, the last of my grandparents to see this side of Heaven. Nine months earlier, I had attended the funeral of […]
I used to be a violinist. I had wanted to play professionally with orchestras and small ensembles, perhaps doing movie soundtracks. Those are always the best pieces – the narrative lays the groundwork, but it’s the music that really conjures emotions in the audience. Requiem for a Dream and Schindler’s List both rely on the intensity of a […]