Author Archives: Francie

Pause. “People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged … Continued

Pause. “This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway. Step around the poisonous vipers that slither at your feet, attempting to throw you off your course. Be bold. Be humble. Put away the incense … Continued

Pause.  “There is a secret place. A radiant sanctuary. As real as your own kitchen. More real than that. Constructed of the purest elements. Overflowing with the ten thousand beautiful things. Worlds within worlds. Forests, rivers. Velvet coverlets thrown over … Continued

Pause. Need a swing out on the porch where you can sit and think? Need a gentle breeze, a quiet mind, and some cool shade as the sun melts the colors of a summer afternoon? Such a place exists. It … Continued

Pause. He said, in leadership –like symphonies– the stunning moments lie in silence at the end, in waiting, not rushing in. I thought of how that’s true in other things as well, in nature, and in Shakespeare, in skiing, and … Continued

Pause. Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota, Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass. And the eyes of those two Indian ponies Darken with kindness. They have come gladly out of the willows To welcome my friend and me. … Continued

Pause. My son brings me a stone and asks which star it fell from. He is serious and so I must be careful, even though I know he will place it among those things that will leave him someday, and … Continued

Pause. All day in shelter on a granary floor, rain on the roof like buckshot in branches. Aroma of wet earth, dry grain. The air unhurried and intentional. I have made a chair of hay bales, spread a saddle blanket. … Continued