It’s easy during this season of holidays to get so caught up in the preparations – the shopping, cooking, cleaning, errand-running and all the rest – to miss the actual event itself. But if we choose, we can find a moment or two where the we not only observe the holiday but allow it to draw us beyond the ordinary. Which is only appropriate, as the word holiday itself is a combination of words, “holy day,” a day set aside to contemplate and give thanks for the blessings of this life. What I like about W.S. Merwin’s poem “For the Anniversary of My Death” is that it offers us a snapshot or frozen moment of such introspection. It...

I have a confession to make: I started listening to Christmas Carols in earnest two weeks ago. I know I’m not supposed to. I mean, I know that I should wait at least until Advent. (Actually, we’re often told that we should wait until Christmas itself to sing Christmas carols and should content ourselves with Advent songs until then. That’s a debate I’ve entered into before and something, quite frankly, about which I have some strong feelings. 🙂 ) So there’s no way around it: I know I shouldn’t be listening to Christmas music yet. But here’s the thing: listening to Christmas music makes me happy. I actually listen to it...