1. God
2. Dialectics
3. Mentors and other networks separate and no real separation
4. The speaker offering her heart and experience and future to young people
5. Unknown bird
6. Downy woodpecker straddling a sunflower stalk
7. Confession
8. Lessening of discomfort
9. Reading a great book, choked by emotion, not wanting it to end
“The problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time after which thought had to be transformed into action. Contemplation was like sitting on a committee that seldom made recommendations and was ignored when it did, a committee that lacked even the authority to disband.” Richard Russo, Empire Falls