Carol's Reflections

Journal of a Solitude

Ask me about the meaning of life, and I’ll have tons to say. Ask me if I’ve come to terms with mortality, and you’ll get a thoughtful answer complete with sub-texts. But the other day, someone asked me something that left me speechless. “Are you happy?” I wish I could

Personal Note: Angelica’s Last Breath

“Try to live with the part of your soul which understands eternity, which is not afraid of death. And that part of your soul is love.” –Leo Tolstoy Dear Friends of Older, Wiser, Fiercer, Over the past few years, many of you have given me valuable feedback on several of

Moses–Benched

When I speak before audiences, I often ask them to picture an old woman sitting alone on a park bench. Then I ask them to share the first image/thought/impulse that pops into their mind. The younger the audience, the more likely they are to feel sorry for the lonely woman

Time for Us to Face(book) the Music?

For 14 years, our generation has stuck with Facebook: invested our hearts and souls in it–while younger generations have largely bailed. For many of us as we’ve aged, Facebook has increasingly become a lifeline to the world. At a stage in our lives when our work and social communities are

The Tethered Boat

A few years ago, Dan and I bought a little houseboat. Dan sees it as a vehicle for adventure, captain of the high seas, although with an old engine that burns hot, we don’t go far from shore. Because of the boat, we have transformed Nashville’s humid summers from something

Homecoming 10/16/17

What happens to us after we die? I’m fairly certain that personal ego is not in the picture–that one will be rewarded for one’s special goodness; that one is uniquely qualified to co-pilot with God and the like. Lately, I’ve been having intimations of a more humble but dependable possibility. These