Wunjo Way of Joy
Years ago, I found The Book of Runes by Ralph H. Blum—a companion for the spiritual warrior, offering guidance through simple stones inscribed with ancient symbols. Among them, the rune Wunjo—joy—kept appearing, quietly insisting that joy is not just a fleeting feeling but a direction, a compass, a way of being. It still feels true. Wunjo is a reminder to orient toward inner alignment, beauty, and the harmonies that arise when we live close to nature and close to ourselves.
I’ve been writing on and off since my teenage years—scribbling into notebooks, chasing questions, trying to remember and reveal who I am and why I’m here in this body, on this Earth. Writing became a way of listening: to my own heart, to the natural world, to the whispers of something larger. Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages showed me how to meet myself on the page, honestly and without judgment. That practice stayed with me. Writing still brings me peace, joy, and the kind of clarity that comes only through attention and reflection.
This blog is an offering from that place—a contemplative space shaped by curiosity, longing, love, and a quiet devotion to beauty. It’s a way of tuning in, of learning through presence, of honoring the seasons both within and without. The Wunjo Way is not a fixed path—it’s a practice of becoming, again and again, with wonder and heart.
Self-Compassion
During this time of year, I’ve come to understand that there will likely be an emotional release at some (or several) point(s.) I over planned and under-felt my way though the last week, maybe even the last few weeks or more. Now that it’s over, a bubble I’d been living in burst and I realize…
Core Stories
Some ideas, statements and beliefs are harder and edgier for me to wrap my mind around than others. It’s likely because they go against some of the core stories that I’ve known or told about myself over the past 4 decades. It’s not that I am unable to reconsider or edit these core stories, but…
Expectations on Gratitude
I am sometimes aware of deep, spontaneous pockets of gratitude for my life. Possibly because I have lived extended periods of time not feeling grateful to be alive, I am so overcome when the gratitude rises up and takes over from the inside. It always feels like a miracle. I don’t ever expect it, but…
Being Alone
I guess I’ve needed to be alone all these years to be able to feel and know myself apart from the needs of anyone else. I needed a lot of time to be able to know who I am, what I want and be willing to protect that against merging with someone else and their…
Jemel Roberson
It’s not an accident or a mistake that Illinois police shot security guard #JemelRoberson, who risked his life to protect others as he apprehended a drunk, violent gunman. It’s systemic racism. Black, indigenous, people of color die/get shot when white people ignore, deny or are blind to our racial bias. It takes continuous work to…
Hugo Kojola
My paternal grandpa, Hugo “Joe” Kojola was born on this day in 1908 and died in 1994. As a kid I thought that he was Santa Claus because of his white beard, jolly laugh and round belly. He was always giving me cool, shiny rocks that he polished in his rock polishing machine. I still…
California
California, I love you! I want to hug every tree, pour my love into the trunks, out the roots & into the earth. I feel a primal love for these coastlines, foothills, mountains & valleys where I’ve lived. When alone in nature, I often walk slowly & gently imagining that my feet are kissing the…
Love
I’ve been single for 15 years. I’ve been saying 10 years for so long and recently realized that it’s now 15. That was a sobering moment of realization. Often when men learn this they don’t believe me or ask what is wrong with me. I am single. I try not to have beliefs about why.…
Best Person Ever
These are some things that George Gray Eagle Bertelstein has said to me over the years that are in my head and heart always to combat the other kinds of thoughts and feelings that aren’t aligned with who I actually am or who I pray to be. On the first day we met he said,…
Ocean
What’s compelling to me about the ocean today is the expanse of it, the width, length and depth of it going way out beyond my view, and the sound of the wind and the waves in conversation. The Pacific Ocean in Northern California is fierce and cold, but being next to it makes anything seem…
Filter
In my adult years of dating men, I often marvel at their collective inability to get me, to allow my feelings to exist without trying to fix or solve me, to comfortably let me lead, or to be curious about what I might say, do or be if they stopped talking for a bit and…
Tone Policing
If you feel the need to say “Not all white people,” you should watch this video. It’s not only aggravating to the very people you are opening your mouth to say that you are down with, it’s also counter-productive, unnecessary, and an exhibit of white privilege to believe that you have the right to demand…