This morning, I wish I was a poet. I'm sitting in the middle of an experience that's hard to describe, and yet, it couldn't be simpler. To put it into words seems ridiculous. It reminds me of the day my first child was born. It's trying to turn a key in a lock in a …
Gratitude as Spiritual Practice
Gratitude as spiritual practice can be tricky. It's a bit like trying to help actors understand the difference in thinking about doing something or pretending to do something, and actually doing something. What are we truly grateful for? For me, gratitude is extremely powerful when you come to the place of awareness where your eyes …
Don’t Forget What You’re Doing…
Sometimes, we forget. We wake in the morning and hope to find our way to the desk. We hope to hear from the manuscript in front of us that we are welcome, that our company is longed for, that the stroke of our hands will be healing and full of discovery. But maybe the sleep …
The Unmerited Grace of the Work
"At its best, the sensation of writing is that of any unmerited grace. It is handed to you, but only if you look for it. You search, you break your heart, your back, your brain, and then--and only then--it is handed to you." --Annie Dillard, The Writing Life Odd isn't it, that there is work …
In the Questions
As I was working out this morning, I had to smile because the word I was living in the middle of wasn't the word I thought I was in the middle of. What I mean is this: About two years ago, in a quiet session of writing and prayer, six words came to me...no seven, …
JEFF BERRYMAN 