greenhouse with colorful folding chair

The Guest House

Rumi’s “The Guest House” is an invitation to be present to whatever season of life you are in, and to entertain the moment to moment experience of it. As someone who is still learning to acknowledge, accept, and appreciate all emotions, I find Rumi’s words both comforting and challenging.

A stack of stones

My Principles

I’m the sort of nerd who likes to articulate my principles. I love being able to recite these words in times of prayer and lean on them in times of stress. My articulations of my principles are largely borrowed from Thich Nhat Hanh’s mindfulness trainings, but I have gone ahead and made some modifications of my own.

Radical Friendship

I’ve recently started to re-examine what Arrupe actually meant by love in his “Fall in Love” prayer. What if we treated our friendships with the same kind of intentional love as other relationships?

Purpose Outside of Production — Is it Possible?

I’ve come to realize this past year that the striking contrast between being a JV and a capitalist actor manifests in the relation of myself to the rest of the world — a cataclysmic shift from freely and generously giving my time to speculating and assessing the monetary estimate of my productivity.

The Wisdom of Emptiness

Although we, as Catholics, make a commitment to the “one, holy, and apostolic church”, I have found a spiritual connection to Buddhism: a relationship that possibly expands and further explains what I value in the Catholic tradition.

Cami standing underneath the St. Louis Arch holding a completion medal for the half marathon

How I Became a Runner

By the end of a rough 2016, I knew I wanted to make a gesture that would symbolize the beginning of something new for me. Although I was not and had never been a runner, running the Go St. Louis! half marathon crept into my mind. During that spring, the time, energy, and concentration I expended on running became holy.

a green lawn in front of a large building with big chinese characters on top

My “Formation” Years

After graduating from SCU, I spent time with JVC, L’Arche, and the Maryknoll China Teachers Program. I’ve thought of these experiences as my “formation years,” as something akin to the notoriously long Jesuit formation process, which typically lasts at least ten years.

Breaking Up With My Phone: Part III

Many of us feel a lack of self-control around technology and have strong desires to develop healthier relationships with our devices. Luckily, there are dozens of authors, commentators, and individuals who are helping us envision radical new ways of living lives independent of technology, and intentionally with technology.