A twig from heaven's choreography, are all the dances on earth,
And the dances of life are but branches of the dance of the soul.
-- Jelaladdin Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your houseempty of it's furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

~ Rumi

I just started surfing this year. I've been intrigued by surfing since high school, but my combined fears of being knocked unconscious by my own surfboard hitting me on the head and of being bitten by a shark kept me from trying. I pursued other interests, always dabbling in this and dabbling in that and never developing fluency in any one thing. I grew into a person with very broad interests who still experienced some of her interests vicariously...and I realized I was at a time in my lif... read more

"The place where you are right now, G-d circled on a map for you."

~ Hafiz

Someone asked me recently to explain my interest in joining a Jewish/Muslim dialogue group. I am a Persian (Iranian) Jew who grew up in the halcyonic days of "Free to Be You and Me" diversity. As a child, my melting pot group of friends and I shared our cultures and traditions with each other without any judgment. As an adult, things got more complicated. Old friends started to branch off into self-selected ethnic cliques. In college, I befriended a Muslim man who seemed to feel a sense ... read more