Maybe it's just me, but in addition to moments of deep connection with other people, I think some of the happiest moments in life are those (increasingly rare) moments of solitary quiet. Or maybe not happiest. Maybe most authentic. Or most peaceful. Moments that ground you to a place and a time—to your reality. Think … Continue reading To Be Present
For most of my childhood, my family had a home in northern Vermont. It was a home base during my family's peripatetic years, and it remained our fond home after we had moved to Illinois and it no longer made sense to have a home in the northeast. And so Vermont became an adopted home, … Continue reading Mysterious Beauty
To Kill a Mockingbird was on TV last night, and I am (not) embarrassed to admit that I was an utterly broken, weeping mess by the end. I've probably watched the movie dozens of times; I watched it well before I ever read the book—before I could even read—since it was a favorite in my … Continue reading Through the Eyes of a Child
I honestly cannot understand how the gun control debate breaks down along partisan lines. Doesn't everyone want to minimize the harm people can do to one another? Why do people cling so fiercely to their right to inflict violence on others? Just because you have the "right" to do something, does that mean it's a … Continue reading They’ve Got the Guts
I've moved a lot. And on every move, I've gotten some version of "Have you ever heard of a Kindle?" from the movers as they hoist heavy book box after heavy book box. Yes! I have a Kindle, and it's great. It's especially great when I want to download the latest Tana French murder mystery. … Continue reading Beautiful Books
If you're like me and have no interest in watching this evening's State of the Union address (or the "State of the Uniom," if you will), might I suggest you look at and read up on these ten works of art that are each in their own way appropriate for today's political climate? My suggestions: … Continue reading Avoiding the State of the “Uniom”?
In the fist third of the seventeenth century, Judith Leyster painted The Last Drop. It shows two young men in the prime of life, drinking and smoking. Mentally edit their clothing, and they could easily be a pair of young men from today, drunk, laughing, letting off steam. They seem carefree and genuinely happy. Which … Continue reading All Is Vanity? Methinks Not.
I saw the Andrew Wyeth exhibition (Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect) at the Seattle Art Museum a few weeks ago, and I found the artist's work uncommonly affecting. What is it about his work that's so profound, you ask? Well... You know those moments when things feel especially alive? Those moments that overflow with your acute … Continue reading Time Is Holding Its Breath
If you've ever read anything I've written about my mother, it will probably not surprise you to learn that she was a master gift wrapper. Whereas I usually have a lone roll of wrapping paper that is mostly empty and half-crumpled in the back of a closet somewhere, my mom had a whole wrapping station. At … Continue reading And Presents on the Tree
This morning my husband left for a business trip well before the crack of dawn. Although it was dark, everything was white with fog. The world looked rather striking in the street lights—far too dramatic for the moment. As I kissed my husband goodbye at the door, I felt that our goodbye did not fit … Continue reading Rain or Shine
Ellen A. Hurst 