This week, I returned from my second humanitarian trip to Ukraine. People ask “how was it?” and I have no quick and easy answer. Here goes my attempt at answering that question for real. But first, you should understand why I went in the first place. It’s a long story that started with running and…

One day, I looked at my face in the mirror. Closely. Something that doesn’t happen often. It surprised me to see that my 41-year-old face was much older than I had noticed before. The lines and wrinkles looked like my mom’s skin. And I was in the same decade of life as the last one…

Destruction, starvation, death:Whispers from so far away.“Our world goes on as before.It can’t be that bad,” we say. “The media lies, AI just spews fakes. It’s not really real. They must all be snakes.”  “Death surrounds us,” they cry But no one hears their plea. “We are all safe here. Glad they are not we.”…

Have you ever stepped into the sunlight, closed your eyesand paused to let it in?Been blissfully enclosedin its warm embrace?Completely lost in the moment. The world is perfectly peacefulbeing nowhere but here.Soaking up the heatstraight to your heart and bones. Like the sunlight was made for you.Made to show you’re perfectly loveable.You’re enough. But while…

I am Golem: driven, strong, obsessive. I am Sméagol: playful, happy, careless.

I wish you knew how much I love you. And no matter what, I will love you fully and completely. The more you open up and show, the more lovable you are. Not less. The fear of being real is the very thing that builds barriers of isolation. I’m learning that being human is not…

This statue spoke to me when I came across it. Welcome to my exploration into what it was saying. Someone deep inside sends plea after plea.  She’s in a grey cage and wants to be free.  But day after day, I keep her at bay Each mindless moment seeps the grey moments away.  The fun…

I grew up in a “perfect” Christian family: two parents, eight kids, weekly family nights, church on Sunday, and nightly prayers. We normally ate dinner together, which was often takeout or soup on weekdays. Singing at the table got you banished to sit in the corner regardless of your age. When my mom reached her…