“Hope is the boldest act of imagination I know” - Edith Eger

As a new month unfolds, we get the chance to begin again. 

Shifts and changes continue, in politics, in social life, in world events and in personal lives.

Music continues to offer ways to connect and to create through these changes. The natural word does too, whether that is the angle of light down a city street, the turn of a leaf falling in a forest, or a skein of stars across a night sky.

At times, musicians turn to images and ideas from nature to think and talk about ideas of connection and reflection in changing times.

This lovely, fascinating, gorgeous new edition of The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs, written by Dr. Richard Smith and published by Apollo Publishers, is a must-read.

I am so happy to share a funny, interesting, and (joyfully) timely book! The Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline, written by Dave Birkett and published by Reedy Press, is an excellent read and visual treasure.

The holidays are already a special time of year; when you add in all the cultural components and traditions that we hold onto through our families that have been passed down through generations, it adds something rather special to the holidays…because it’s filled with deep meaning. 

We’ve officially turned another calendar page. Whether you’re shocked, surprised, ready, still full of cheese, excited, nervous, or already on your way, amidst the fireworks and fanfare, January has arrived. 

How will you greet 2025?

It is December at this writing, a season of darkness and light, of looking forward and looking back.

There are many journeys each of us makes in the course of a day, not to mention across a week, a month, and a year from January to December.

These may be physical journeys to a new land to explore, down the street to help a friend, across a room to greet a stranger.

They could be journeys of thought, imagination, storytelling, learning, and reflecting on changes brought by these.

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” - Robin Williams

Williamsburg’s cobblestone streets are seeped with revolution, resistance, and restlessness. While the ancient buildings tell a story of the budding birth of a nation, they also tell a story of ghosts, spirits, and specters. 

Haunted Colonial Williamsburg - Copyright US Ghost Adventures

Indigenous people around the world have faced countless challenges in protecting and practicing their religions and beliefs. Indigenous beliefs are a part of Indigenous religions. Religion and beliefs are separate from Indigenous traditions, however. There are religious traditions within Indigenous cultures, and non-religious traditions within Indigenous cultures.