A Blurred Reflection

Tag: fear

  • A Suspicious Red-Tailed Hawk

    The first golden sunrays had just stretched their fingers over the mountains and begun to play with the leaves of the wild cherry tree above me, when, from the low, delicate branches of that tree, a raucous cry startled me out of my stupor. It was the aggressive screech of a wild red-tailed hawk, shattering…

  • Steps

    Far below me on the canyon floor–well, more specifically, one of the many levels of the canyon floor–a round, muddy, teal-blue pool caught the five tiny rays that reached down to it, winking and twinkling them back to the sun on its barely-stirred ripples. Ivory walls rose straight up from this pool, circling up and…

  • Safe

    From the pebble beach of Blue Marsh Lake that yellow September day, I gazed at the sky above the vicious locust trees and asked Jesus what he had to say to me. “A storm is coming.” That’s what I thought he said. Had I just imagined the words? A wisp of mare’s tail cloud hung…

  • 5 Ways You Can Make Life Easier for Peeps with Social Anxiety

    I asked the babies, “What should I do if I say something very embarrassing in front of everyone?” “Run away,” declared the 8-year-old. “Cry,” from the 6-year-old, with empathy. “Get very mad and stomp my feet,” stated the 4-year-old, calmly, as if there was no other option. Hi, my name is Kara, and I have…

  • We Don’t Get To Be Here Long

    Bu-BUMP, bu-BUMP, goes the blood in my jugular vein, as if my blood vessels are a track and the blood cells are thoroughbreds, surging towards the finish line. I stomp the accelerator and turn the wheel into the mat of blackberry vines, very aware that my body is being forced back into the seat as…

  • Preparing for War

    “What would you like me to teach you?” 4 sleepy, innocent faces stared at the table. 2 sets of eyes blinked back at me. It was 10 am on a Sunday morning, but the brains in the 4th grade class were functioning at the slowest possible speed. “It’s ok.” I said, “We’ll talk about this…

  • No Looking Back

    “I’m ready for my scolding.” I draped my arm out the SUV window, desperately hoping my half-hearted smile would be enough to melt the ridge-runner’s stiff jaw line. It wasn’t. “Was that your trail magic?” He gestured towards the now-vacant trail-head. “I have to tell you, the food you left here was a very poor…

  • Less is more (usually)

    I’m preparing myself for a minimalistic future. Something around 90 square feet, if all goes as planned, so needless to say I have some changes to make. Today I took my first step in downsizing. I just chose one clothing item to start with. Dresses. This shouldn’t take long, I thought. I was wrong. That dark, cobweby…

  • If my hike had a soundtrack…

    The air was the perfect flavor of pine and clean wind as I sauntered along the smooth, shaded path past Lake Hebron that warm-but-not-too-warm day. The loons cried their short-lived daytime conversation and a bandana’d youth sat contemplatively underneath a fir tree, watching the reflection of clouds sweep across the slightly rippled water. His iPod played…

  • Victors

    Tonight, the headlines irrevocably declare: “120 Dead in Paris Attacks, Worst Since WWII”. Terror is spreading across our planet, and the people of this planet, like ancient wooden ships adrift in a storm, scatter. Some cry, some shout “Revenge!”, some huddle in the paralysis of fear. Some hold up signs that say ‘NOT AFRAID’–a distinctive…