Welcome to The Messy!
Life is Messy.
The truth of things is we are each bumbling along this mysterious journey, making our ways as best we know how. I believe that the more honest we can be about this, the better for ourselves and our communities. I celebrate the mess. I affirm the unfinished, the ragged edges, the blessed imperfections. My writings which I post here are thoughts in process. I welcome helpful comments, questions, and challenges.
A Selection of Details Regarding the Life and Person who Authors These Musings
As you may gather from the pics below, I was young once, and now I am older. Older, even, than I appear in that pic that was taken last year. That runs in my family. I have studied philosophy and I have studied religion (mostly Christianity). I grew up in the church, and still love it, though I struggle with its Messy. Is that irony? I enjoy puns and good wit and irreverent humor. I am spiritual director.*
*What is spiritual direction? It is hard to define. I am still working on my own definition for it. The term “director” is a bit of a misnomer. She does not lead the seeker on a particular path, but listens well and asks deepening questions to aid the seeker in discerning what is, or what the next step may be. A seeker enters into spiritual direction with a director (also called a spiritual companion or soul friend) to explore or discern some aspect of their relationship with the divine. The role of a spiritual director is, to paraphrase Sharon Reed, “to listen someone into their own wisdom.” You can learn more about my practice at shadeoftheoak.com.
A Word About Pictures Which Appear on This Blog
Nearly all the images found on this site, including background images, come from the site Unsplash.com, a collective of photographers from around the world who share their work to be used by others. Some of the artists are available for hire. Some accept monetary support via PayPal. Please check it out their work by following the links below. Their work is stunning, provocative.