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Author: Erin Skinner Smith
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2 AM Thoughts on the Eclipse
I couldn’t sleep the other night. I tossed and turned, rehashing the insurmountable problem that is currently weighing on my shoulders. I played if then, made pro/con lists for my options. I catastrophized, imagining the worst possible outcomes. I worried, then tried to talk myself out of worrying, then worried some more. Every time I looked at the…
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My Cat Thinks He is a God … And He Might Not Be Wrong
I tried to pretend I didn’t hear the pitiful meows coming from the drainpipe under the front porch. I didn’t have the time, money, or patience to care for one more thing. I was doing well most days to keep the existing husband, daughter, business, dog, and cat alive. But when you live in the…
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Into the For Rest, or The Four Hills of Life
The Native American Medicine Wheel, sometimes called the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of indigenous First Peoples tribes for health and healing. One meaning reflects the so-called Four Hills of Life. Each hill characterizes a life stage. The hills one climbs along the way are the challenges we face and the responsibilities we must learn to accept. Spring…
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The Big Bang Versus the Big Guy in the Sky
“But you cannot prove that God exists!” he insisted emphatically. Indeed I cannot. I was having a spirited and engaging conversation with my friend Jim, an astronomy expert, math nerd, and avowed agnostic. We were discussing religion and quantum physics. I believe that spirituality and science dovetail beautifully. Jim’s stance holds that religions arose from…
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Great American Solar Eclipse
At first glance, the universe as a “cold, lonely place” might leave us feeling irrelevant, immaterial. But that’s not the point Dr. Tyson is making. Instead, he’s saying that because the universe is vast and unknowable, humans should strive harder to find meaning in their fleeting existence. The mystical laws of nature should make us feel connected,…
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To All the Girls Who Hate Their Body (Or, A Love Letter To Every Woman in America)
My friend Lauren shared a photo she took of me in Belize. I am in a pool, sun shining, mojito in my hand, a huge smile on my face. When I look at it, I am transported to that perfect moment, can smell the sunscreen and hear the howler monkeys nearby. I probably looked at…
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Happy (Real) New Year!
The vernal equinox occurs tomorrow, unofficially marking the spring season, and a time of rebirth and renewal. Many ancient – and some modern – cultures and societies celebrate the March equinox as the first day of the new year. It’s a much more reasonable choice than January 1. As far back as human beings can remember, we…
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Four Years Later: A Quarantine Reflection
Last week, I was cleaning out my closet and found my favorite tie-dyed cotton mask, stained inside with lipstick. It’s four years later, but with some eerie similarities. 2020 was a leap year, an election year, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. 2024, same, same, but also so, so different. What a strange time that…
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Rest Stop: Soubhiyé and the Art of Waking Early
One thing about me: I’m gonna go to bed early. Like, ridiculously early, according to most. 7 PM is perfect during the winter. I’ll go crazy in the summer and stay up until nine like some feral animal, but my true social battery bedtime is 7 PM. That means I’m not actually going to sleep at seven,…
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Meeting God at the Bar
If there is a consistent theme running through my writing, it’s the call to pay heed to the passing moments, to pay attention when the holy arises. The sacred is all around us and we each get to decide what’s meaningful. One thing about organized religion that never resonated with me was the idea that some council…