April 9, 2023 Today we have a touching story from Cynthia Aldinger, founder of LifeWays, about her reflections on her mother’s recent death during this sacred time leading up to Easter. I find it to be a very human, very heartfelt experience of the new life in death that is celebrated with Easter, but also …
March 13, 2022 This week’s blog post comes from author and early childhood educator, Judy Frizlen: When I was a child, we used to say, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. It’s a catchy reminder that when we call attention to others’ flaws, they may point out ours. Not to forget, we all …
February 6, 2022 From LifeWays’ founder, Cynthia Aldinger: Once again dear Puxatawney Phil has seen his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. Most of us have figured out by now that we almost always have six more weeks of winter regardless of his experience, but he has managed to weave his way into the …
January 30, 2021 Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist master, died this past week at the age of 95. He was much loved for his teaching of mindfulness, compassion and nonviolence. I have always appreciated the simple, yet profound, truths he was able to articulate in meaningful ways. More importantly, how authentically he walked …
January 9, 2022 Do you, like me, experience this time in midwinter as being sort of a time-out-of-time? Particularly if you have been celebrating sacred festivals, spending time with family, perhaps having more candlelight than usual, eating special foods, snuggling up together to watch a favorite movie, telling and reading stories, reaching out more to …
January 2, 2021 From Cynthia Aldinger, Founder of LifeWays: Oh my goodness, I feel so full, perhaps overripe, with thoughts and feelings about this post I am offering today. It is meant to be about the Festival of Three Kings celebrated on January 6, which is also the day of Epiphany. My fullness arises from …
December 19, 2021 Waiting is often not easy for us. We want to be finished quickly, and see a result immediately. Waiting teaches us to deal with time. Wishes and fantasies hurry ahead into the future. To fulfill them we need time, and we must wait and overcome impatience. -Freya Jaffke, from Advent: Preparation for …
September 26, 2021 Today’s blog post was written by Cynthia Aldinger, LifeWays’ Founder and Executive Director: There we were in the Las Vegas airport with a two-hour wait for our next flight. Heads down, hearts in mourning, we were on our way for our final farewell to the earthly life of my father. Just the …
August 22, 2021 Today’s guest blog post is from LifeWays Training graduate Erin Houlihan, director of Violet Glen School in the Woods, in East Troy, WI: I got to watch my daughters jump from a cliff this summer. There are selective things in life I hope for them to experience. Physically jumping from the edge …
July 11, 2021 To be native to a place we must learn to speak its language. ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass My family just spent a long weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks. We have a small house directly on the lake that has belonged to my family since my dad was a …
