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.

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…

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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…

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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…

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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.…

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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,…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Co-Conspirator’s Lounge

Recently I had a lot of feelings about being recruited, evangelized or pressured into things in a sales-y way. I’ve been reflecting on those feelings and looking for ways that I behave in the same way as those I condemned. I see that there’s a difference between an organization that pressures/requires you to get your…

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Rivka

I’m thinking about my friend and client, Rivka Wendy Faith. She’s gone. Ending her life was her final decision. I honor her and I will miss her. She was always so warm and kind to me when I saw her. She’d come over to my house to work on her website and bring me tea,…

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Tuesday Thoughts

I saw pumpkins on a porch in Berkeley. I noticed that the leaves are starting to change color. Summer is waning, but it’s still warm enough to eat outside in the shade and sleep with the windows open. I smelled a hint of fall in the air last night. I felt both relieved and anxious.…

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Alone

I didn’t expect be 41 and have been single for over a decade, but that’s what is happening. I’ve decided that I’m done writing and re-writing dating profiles and going on endless dates to prove that I’m taking action and putting myself out there. All the stories and anecdotal evidence of what “worked” for some…

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