When Barack, Michelle & I Took the Stage (Or So I Dreamed)

Last updated on: May 9, 2020 at 1:22 pm By Cara Meredith

The following exclusive essay ran in my monthly newsletter this last week, along with things I can’t get enough of, book recommendations, pictures, quote images and other articles I’ve written. Care to receive the newsletter too? Head to my website to sign up. — Last night I had a dream that I delivered a commencement address to hundreds of thousands of graduates. I stood onstage alongside Barack and Michelle, our collective messages a thing of beauty as we each delivered the most eloquent of speeches to the class of 2020. I... Read more

Gardening & Glory Happening (& Elements Beyond Our Control)

Last updated on: April 27, 2020 at 8:35 pm By Cara Meredith

The boys and I spent much of the weekend getting our hands dirty, digging in the dirt. We searched the backyard for potential patches of soil, certain one corner might just be right to harvest a batch of spinach seeds. After we’d found the perfect spot, one son sprayed water onto the hardened earth while the other dug a shovel into the ground, turning over tiny clumps, a few at a time. I struck the space with a hand trowel;... Read more

When Listening and Doing are Inseparable (Jane Dawson)

Last updated on: April 20, 2020 at 3:49 pm By Cara Meredith

Well, hello friends! I think you’ll find today’s guest post to be both an invitation and a breath of fresh air – I know I did! Jane Dawson is a writer, an educator and a spiritual director in Ottawa, Canada; I love her perspective on faith, which includes a strong emphasis on and understanding of Judaism. Enjoy. — This year, as a spiritual practice, I decided to learn to say a modified version of the first two verses of the Shema prayer (Deuteronomy... Read more

Being Single in this Season (Ashlee’ Thomas)

Last updated on: April 16, 2020 at 12:17 pm By Cara Meredith

Friends, it is a gift to bring you the voices of others, and today’s invitation to listen, learn and listen some more to justice and reconciliation advocate Ashlee’ Thomas is no exception. So, please, snuggle up, take notes and heed her words to us today. I know I am. Also, proceeds from today’s post go to RAICES. — About a year ago I was spending my 30th birthday with my favorite people, drinking a Pimm’s Cup, eating delicious food, and soaking... Read more

The Gift of Time, Even Right Now

Last updated on: April 16, 2020 at 11:59 am By Cara Meredith

I don’t know about you, but as this new normal becomes more and more real by the day, my emotions are all over the place. I fluctuate between being my best, most fully alive self and completely losing my mind, not wanting this new normal to be the new normal, like, at all. I miss the life that existed a mere five weeks ago, even if I doubt whether this five-weeks ago life will ever return. And perhaps like you, when... Read more

Indeed (Andrew Taylor-Troutman)

Last updated on: April 13, 2020 at 9:55 am By Cara Meredith

Friends, I’ve got an unexpected treat for you today: although I usually only post once guest voice a week, you’re getting two this week. It may not come as much of a surprise, that as this season is likely hard for you, it’s hard for me too. Sometimes I feel like I’m going batty NOT writing, then when (and if) I get the time to sit down and write, I’m so exhausted, no words seem to pour out of my fingers. That’s okay.... Read more

What Happens in Six Months (Jeff Shankle)

Last updated on: April 6, 2020 at 8:03 pm By Cara Meredith

Well friends, I’ve got a post that made me stop and pause …especially in such topsy-turvy, upside-down times like we find ourselves in now. What would it look like instead to stop and listen for just a second, through the barrage of noise that bombards us right now? My buddy Jeff Shankle has some raw thoughts for us, so y’all, pull up a chair and enjoy. — 100,000. 200,000. Less than SARS or more than H1N1. In about 6 months (or... Read more

Counting the Joys & Honoring the Griefs

Last updated on: April 3, 2020 at 2:50 pm By Cara Meredith

My friend Ashley said something earlier this week that I haven’t been able to get out of my head: Right now, all we can do is count our joys and honor our griefs. This is the one thing, the only thing, she can do right now. I wish I could say the same – that I don’t explode in anger when all of this staying indoors and away from other humans doesn’t get the best of me. That I do... Read more

All This Change, All This Transition

Last updated on: March 26, 2020 at 11:14 am By Cara Meredith

I don’t know about you, but it feels like everything is changing by the hour: the news changes by the hour. Directives change by the hour. Moods change by the hour. Grief itself changes by the hour. Just this morning we found out our boys will be out of school until at least the beginning of May. This is not surprising, but it’s another reality check, another dose of unwelcome (yet understandable) surprise. When news like this hits and all... Read more

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